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John Gardner is one of the top mystery/thriller writers in this country. For those of you reading this, this is not news. He is up to his old tricks again in DAY OF ABSOLUTION, a complicated intrigue that involves Scotland Yard with an infamous assassin named "The Alchemist."
Charlie is a newly married ex-foreign affairs officer whose new wife, Bex
Olesker, ends up with the unenviable and dangerous task of following a woman
to the lair of this renowned assassin. Charlie, left alone and missing his
wife, ends up involved in a mystery about ancient Christian scrolls that may
have been written by a prostitute who may have witnessed the last days of
Christ's life, setting a nasty spin on all of Christian belief and mythology.
Both partners end up finding their individual pursuits conjoined in strange
and evil ways and, eventually, they move faster and faster towards a
precipice that could spell the end of both their careers and lives.
Gardner is a fine writer, his thriller-speak down pat, but for a novice like
myself, I have to say I had to read several things over and over again. The
double-faced discussions that lead the protagonists in varying directions are
complicated and hard to decipher, but the pace of the story drags you along
with it until you have no choice but to surrender. It feels like a book
clearly written to become a major Hollywood film --- its Christianity is
sketchy but its grasp on history enough to support the story, although I
would like to see what scholars would say about his research. In the
meantime, if you're a fan, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
--- Reviewed by
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