The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud
Modern-day Turin. A fire breaks out inside the Cathedral but is quickly extinguished before it can do much damage – but it happened dangerously near to the Turin Shroud. Marco Valoni of the Art Crimes Department is called in to investigate, as this is not the first unexplained incident to threaten the Shroud. Woven into the 21st century story, the Shroud’s history is traced back to its earliest time when it was believed to have been used to wrap Christ’s body after the Crucifixion. After the Resurrection, it was taken to Edessa, to King Abgar who was suffering from leprosy but cured by touching the Shroud. When Abgar eventually died, it was hidden away since his son had threatened to destroy it and stayed hidden until it was taken to Byzantium around 944. It finally ended up in Turin in the 19th century. Also involved in the tale are the Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud and the Templars.
I enjoyed it very much, but it does have marked overtones of The Da Vinci Code.
