The Blood Lance
In 1935 Otto Rahn publishes a book about the Holy Grail that catches the eye of Himmler. Rahn agrees to become the SS’s official historian and to search for the Blood Lance of Antioch, which legends claim will make its owner’s army unconquerable. In 1997 on their honeymoon, Robert and Kate Kenyon are attacked while climbing the Eiger Mountain. The assassins kill Robert and leave Kate for dead. In 2008, a board member of the philanthropic organization, the Order of the Knights of the Holy Lance, steals millions of dollars of corporate funds and goes into hiding with Europe’s most famous assassin. CIA agent T.K. Malloy enlists the help of Kate and Ethan Brand on this international manhunt, which may also lead them to the murderer of Kate’s first husband.
Switching between stories and decades, Smith takes readers on a fast-paced ride of love and revenge, innocence and guilt, with glimpses of the subtle areas that fall in between. Seamlessly mixing history, legend and fiction, Smith’s writing is both intelligent and exhilarating. His characters are alive, and the twists and turns of the several plots will keep readers breathless.
The Blood Lance is Smith’s second book to chronicle the exploits of CIA agent T.K.Malloy, who was also featured in The Painted Messiah (Myrmidon, 2007).
