The Rose Conspiracy

Upon receiving this book and looking at the blurb on the back cover, I was prepared not to like it. It has "conspiracy" in the title and mentioned the Freemasons in the blurb. In addition, it was a Christian novel. I don't read many of those because they tend to be romances (UGH :) ) and are usually very predictable, with a main character getting "saved" near the end. I was pleasantly surprised. Parshall has woven a nice little mystery around the Lincoln assassination, the Freemasons, the Smithsonian Institute, the Bible, greed, and man's eternal quest for immortality. The elements of conspiracy reminded me somewhat of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the legal maneuvering made me think back to Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent. Vinnie Archmont, a beautiful artist, is accused of killing the curator of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary. Financed by a wealthy Freemason living in England, she hires J. D. Blackstone, a law professor and high profile lawyer, to keep her from the death chamber. The key seems to be a cryptic fragment purportedly from the diary. Blackstone must crack this code before the lovely artist's trial. His journey to unscramble the meaning takes him into the secrets of Freemasonry, the occult and personal danger, while he tries to deal with his own personal demons. Then comes the day of the trial and a surprise ending. The last chapter almost ruined it for me, but was sufficiently vague as to keep Blackstone's salvation in question. In any case this is a worthy read.

The Rose Conspiracy is a great read. It's mixture of historical references, religious imagery, conspiracy and suspense are wonderfully intertwined. The story builds upon itself drawing you in emotionally with the background stories of the participants and how it informs their beliefs and thought processes. This book will hold your attention from beginning to end and keep you guessing "who done it" until the climatic court room scene.

This is an exciting book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an edge of your seat thriller about a lawyer who is trying to unravel a mystery in time to save his client from the death chamber. There are twists and turns and moments when you will catch your breath. It's an exciting legal thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I would call this book a 5 star thriller!

"The Rose Conspiracy" by Craig Parshall was a very pleasant surprise. At first, I was reminded of the movie "National Treasure 2", and thought this book was going to take too much of the film's storyline. But then, the author captured my attention with his fast-paced writing style, short chapters, and intriguing situations. This book was a wonderful combination of the best legal suspense, the most intense adventure stories and mental puzzles. This is a terrific story and a wonderful read.

I want to start of by saying that I loved this book. I am a tough sell, but once I find a book I like, I just can't put it down. The Rose Conspiracy was certainly a page turner! It was well-written with a carefully developed plot. The characters were bold and life-like. It was light reading by any measure, it was very intense. Many books have me flipping to the back of the book to find the predictable ending, but Parshall kept me engaged and I read every page until the end. I highly recommend this book to those who like a good mystery. As the icing on top, there was a good, moral message that underlies the entire novel. Kudos to the author!