The Expected One: Book One of the Magdalene Line

I am not a professional critic, nor an historian, and you won't find me writing any other reviews even though I am a voracious reader. But this is too important and very meaningful to me and potentially to others who decide whether to read Kathleen McGowan's books. This is the first book I have ever read that caused me to get goose bumps. It comes down to whether the words and ideas resonate with your heart or not. If you want a critique of the writing, don't look here because I can't do that. But I can tell you that this story gave me back a Jesus I can believe in. It touched me deeply and changed the way I view Jesus and the stories I grew up believing that never felt like more than irrelevant fables. Now it all makes much more sense. Whereas the DaVinci Code seems like a grand adventure story, this book and The Book of Love are invested with much research as Kathleen explains in the Afterward. Like faith in anything without scientific proof, some things either speak to you and you feel the rightness of them, or they don't. It's that simple. Either way, time spent reading either of Kathleen's books is well worth the effort whether you view them as engaging fiction or have a deeper reaction to the truth they contain, as I did. Please just judge them for yourself and don't miss the opportunity that these books offer because someone wants to pick apart Kathleen's version of "the truth against the world." Keep writing Kathleen. You know when you make the establishment that uncomfortable, you must be doing something right!

When I first picked it up, I thought it was just another one of those Da Vinci code wannabes. I'll have to admit though that I loved the more "magical" (for lack of a better word) approach this book took. There was still the intelligent combination of history and religion...but it had this really emotional/spiritual approach that I enjoyed. I loved how the current events of maureen was interwoven with the "true story" of Jesus and Mary. It was a great book...that really moved me.

After reading 'THE DAVINCI CODE' a few years ago I became very interested in the various theories surrounding the relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. However, with the emergence of so many religious thrillers I was a bit wary when I received 'THE EXPECTED ONE'in the mail. I did not want to read a 'DAVINCI CODE' clone, but the premise sounded interesting so I decided to go ahead and read it, and to my surprise the only similarity between 'THE EXPECTED ONE' and 'THE DAVINCI CODE' was that both stories centered around Jesus and Mary Magdalene but that is certainly where they end. As a non-practicing Christian I credited 'THE DAVINCI CODE' with introducing me to theories and ideas that I never knew existed and after having read 'THE EXPECTED ONE' I can now credit Kathleen McGowan with something much more important...increasing my faith. Granted, that is a bold statement when referring to a work of fiction, however, McGowen does a remarkable job at humanizing Jesus, Mary Magdalene, The Virgin Mary and his disciples. 'THE EXPECTED ONE' centers around Maureen Pashal, a scholar who is also the prophesied "expected one", the one who will finally uncover the much coveted and feared Mary Magdalene gospel. Maureen journeys from Jerusalem, a small Virginian town with strong ties to Mary Magdalene, Louisiana and finally France to find her true destiny and a truth about her family that has been hidden from her since she was a child. While most of the story centers around Maureen's journey it is the passages that focus on the life of Jesus that really put this book a step ahead of many religious thrillers. McGownan, while taking a huge risk, does an exceptional job at retelling one of histories oldest stories by focusing more on Jesus the man instead of the messiah. She tells a story that we all know inside and out from a new perspective and giving motives for the actions of those who surrounded Jesus such as Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate and many others, she showed the conflict that these people felt at the choices they had to make. She also shows how everything in life is not always black and white, not even 2,000 years ago. She also offers the reader a twist on this centuries old story that is quite unexpected but also quite believable in her telling. However, the most amazing thing she has done in this story is keeping away from placing blame on the Catholic Church as many felt 'THE DAVINCI CODE' did. It is clear that Kathleen McGowAn has very strong beliefs about what happened all those years ago but her faith is also very apparent in this novel. While this is clearly a work of fiction McGowan's retelling of the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene did serve to increase my faith and made me want to look further into their lives by not only reading various other non-fiction books about Jesus and Mary, but it also made me want to read the only true account of Jesus' life, The Bible. For anyone who's interest was piqued by 'TH

This book is absolutely wonderful in this new age of bringing hidden truths into the open. For someone who likes a good novel, simply for a good read, its great. For those whom like to consider alternative truths, its great. An all around great read, whatever your personal truth is. I picked it up and absolutely could not put it down.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would not presume to know the truth or fiction of the premise, to me it was irrelevant. However reviewed as a novel (fictional), it was well written, entertaining and thought provoking. I loved reading it and am looking forward to the next book in the story line.