The Babylon Rite
A Novel
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
What terrible secret has driven the world’s foremost historian of the Knights Templar to kill himself?
Journalist Adam Blackwood has just been handed the story of a lifetime: something is hidden in the famous Knights Templar chapel of Rosslyn that could unlock the greatest mystery of the medieval Templars—until the one man who could decipher the final clue commits a grotesque suicide. Adam sets out to learn why.
In Peru, anthropologist Jess Silverton is researching the remnants of the Moche, a bloodthirsty, sexually voracious, lost Stone Age civilization. Amid the toxic turmoil of local gangs and corrupt politicians, her dogged pursuit for answers will lead Jess to cross paths with Adam as they unearth the ancient secret that enthralled the conquistadors, horrified the Church, and is threatening to reemerge—with catastrophic consequences.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Knox's greatest strength is coming up with original anthropological mysteries; his greatest weakness is stopping the action so his characters can expound at length as shown in this intriguing science quest thriller. Anthropologist Jessica Silverton's dig in Peru has discovered evidence of human sacrifice in the ancient Moche civilization. The Moche had a bizarre culture, as suggested by erotic pottery depicting "Sex with animals. Sex with the dead. Sex between skeletons." In Scotland, journalist Adam Blackwood witnesses the strange death of Knights Templar researcher Archibald McLintock. Adam teams with McLintock's daughter, Nina, to investigate her father's death. Many people die while the characters search for a mysterious drug that explains the barbaric oddities of both the Moche and the Templars. Knox (The Lost Goddess), the pseudonym of British journalist Sean Thomas, provides a surfeit of gruesome detail, but readers with strong stomachs and who don't mind the lectures will be satisfied.