by James Rollins (Get the Book)Rollins, noted for his fast-paced thriller-adventure novels, often decorated with religious iconography, and Cantrell, a writer of historical mysteries with Nazi Germany as the backdrop, combine their talents for this mash-up of thriller and paranormal. After an earthquake destroys the Israeli fortress of Masada, the race is on to find a Jesus gospel that two groups suspect is in the rubble. One is the striogi, soulless, vampirelike creatures, led by evil, tortured Bathory, doing the bidding of Him. The other is the Sanguines, priests protected by the blood of Christ, called to battle the striogi. When Masada falls, archaeologist Erin Granger is there to find artifacts in the destruction. She and Sergeant Jordan Stone, an American soldier, meet the Vatican representative (and Sanguine extraordinaire) Father Rhun Korza, and after that, all hell breaks loose. This could have been an unholy mess, but as in Rollins' previous books, the pacing is heart-pounding and the conceit irresistible. At first, the introduction of ghouls seems gimmicky, but the authors suck you in and make it work. The Da Vinci Code meets vampires. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This first in the Order of the Sanguines series has one hot-name author, one warm one, and a big marketing campaign backing it up. --Booklist
