CELTICLADY'S REVIEWS: The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Christopher Columbus Mystery-Thriller Glen Craney Spotlight!

Rookie State Department lawyer Jaqueline Quartermane was never much good at puzzles. But now she must unlock an ancient magical palindrome to expose a global conspiracy that spans five centuries.

While Jaqueline investigates the murder of an American missionary in Ethiopia, she discovers the mysterious Latin word square carved into an underground church near the tomb of the biblical Adam. She becomes obsessed with solving its coded message and is soon drawn into a desperate race with an elusive Middle Eastern mastermind to find the last relic needed to resurrect Solomon's Temple. A trail of cabalistic clues leads her to the catacombs of Rome, the crypt below Chartres Cathedral, a Masonic shaft in Nova Scotia, a Portuguese shipwreck off Sumatra, and the caverns under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Intertwined in a time shift with this modern relic hunt, a parallel duel is waged:

The year is 1452, and one of the most secretive societies in history, Portugal's Order of Christ, is led by a reclusive visionary. Prince Henry the Navigator and his medieval version of NASA plot to foil their archenemies, the Inquisitor Torquemada and Queen Isabella of Castile, who scheme to bring back Christ for the Last Judgment by ridding the world of Jews, heretics, and unbelievers.

Separated by half a millennium, two conspiracies dovetail in this fast-paced historical thriller to expose the world's most explosive secret: The real identity of Christopher Columbus and the explorer's connection to those now trying to spark the End of Days.

Editorial praise:

"An exciting journey across time, with more twists and turns than a strawberry Twizzler. Craney has produced a page-turning adventure, with crisp, clean and measured prose... The research behind the stories is massive, lending credence to the cast of characters and authenticity to the historic periods. This is a highly recommended historical thriller in the manner of Dan Brown." -- Quarterdeck magazine

"Grips you in its teeth and whirls you through history... Naturally this novel will be compared to the books of Dan Brown but the quality of writing in The Virgin of the Wind Rose has the edge for me." -- Rosie Amber Reviews

"A page turner...and a very well written narrative which I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended." -- David Hayes, Editor, Historic Naval Fiction

"A fantastic and enthralling page-turner.... [W]ill keep you glued to your couch. It's the kind of book you can read without seeing the hours pass by, enveloping the reader in its complex and yet logical andwell-developed mystery. It's most certainly a tour-de-force." -- David Ben Efraim, QBR Reviews

“Craney is a master of holding back and building the suspense. Though this is a fast-paced romp through history and time, you are still holding your breath... I'm hoping for a sequel." -- One Book Shy of a Full Shelf Review Blog

"If you liked Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, or Dan Brown's, Da Vinci Code, you will find this story interesting, too...This book is wonderful in that when you are finished, you are still asking yourself all kinds of questions. It is a great story and one I enjoyed thoroughly." -- Olivia Morris, Review This!

Author bio:

Glen Craney is a screenwriter, novelist, journalist, and lawyer. After attending Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, he joined the Washington, D.C. press corps and covered national politics and the Iran-contra scandal for Congressional Quarterly magazine. His feature screenplay, Whisper the Wind, about the Navajo codetalkers of World War II, was awarded the Nicholl Fellowship prize by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences for best new screenwriting. His debut novel, The Fire and the Light, received several honors, including being named Best New Fiction by the National Indie Excellence Awards. He is a three-time Foreword Reviews BOYTA Finalist, a two-time Chaucer Award Finalist, and a two-time indieBRAG Medallion Honoree. His novels have taken readers to Occitania during the Albigensian Crusade, to the Scotland of Robert Bruce, to Portugal during the Age of Discovery, to the trenches of France during World War I, and to the American Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. He lives in southern California.