About This Book
Dedicated to the readers of my first novel, In the Shadow of the Cross, who enthusiastically asked for this, a sequel, Nassr's second novel is a third-rate imitation of the sort of grand conspiracy thrillers made popular by Robert Ludlum and David Morrell. Long passages of quasi-history and plodding exposition alternate with cartoon-like action sequences as the gorgeous Juda Bonaparte, recent graduate, former assassin, returns from In the Shadow of the Cross to get involved with the discovery and theft of a copper scroll that promises to shake the world with new revelations about the body of Jesus Christ. Juda, the daughter of a Jewish general and an Austrian countess, attracts the attention of George Gamash, London's leading cardiovascular surgeon, who moonlights as a terrorist. When a fellow terrorist vows that Juda will die naked in my arms, screaming in ecstasy, Gamash responds, You forget, Rama, I saw her first... Juda Bonaparte is much too beautiful to die. I will make her mine. Soon enough, underground remnants of the Knights Templar and agents of a group called the Federation of the New World Order are wrestling with Juda and each other for the missing scroll. The derring-do is fast and furious but far-fetched and as hokey as the dialogue. Juda has some appeal as a female action heroine, however, and those who asked for this sequel will be pleased to learn that she will return in yet another novel, The Shroud. (Sept.)
