The Expected One

Historian Maureen Paschal finds herself in the middle of a religious cult war. On one side is a group that believes her to be the descendent of Jesus Christ and his wife, Mary Magdalene. On the other side is a violent sect that worships John the Baptist as the true savior and seeks to "kill the whore." Linda Stephens gives clear voice to Maureen; her Irish-Catholic cousin, a priest; and a Scottish cult leader. Stephens's skills are less suited to some of the accents, but her portrayals remain clear and consistent. While the plot premise sounds derivative, the details and performance offer enough variety to satisfy fans of the genre. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

June 26, 2006
The standard religious-thriller architecture is evident in McGowan's much-heralded debut, which coincidentally shares similarities with The Da Vinci Code
(e.g., murders, Vatican interference, nefarious secret societies), but mostly the characters sit and talk about biblical history and the search for Magdalene-connected treasure. Biblical dreams and visions plague American Maureen Paschal, author of the bestselling HERstory—a Defense of History's Most Hated
Heroines
. When she travels to France's mysterious Languedoc region at the urging of Magdalene scholar Lord Berenger Sinclair, Maureen finds what has eluded centuries of treasure hunters—the original Magdalene scrolls that detail her love affair with Jesus, their marriage and the crucifixion. Though the author makes no effort to render these gospel excerpts in period prose, they're the most compelling part of a novel otherwise freighted with romance-fiction stylings and unadorned facts numbingly narrated. Originally self-published, this first of a trilogy has already sold foreign rights in 22 countries. 350,000 printing; 15-city author tour.

This title shares a similarity of subject matter with THE DA VINCI CODE--the possibility of a Gospel written by Christ's wife and apostle, Mary Magdalene. But THE EXPECTED ONE takes a different approach. As read by Linda Emond, this story of a Magdalene descendant, writer Maureen Paschal, is certainly a spiritual quest. But it deals with the inner lives of the characters rather than focusing on a physical search for evidence. Emond's approach is low-key; her command of accents (American, French, Scots, Italian, and Irish) is never permitted to upstage the characters. The author's claim to be a Magdalene descendant and her afterword add further interest. C.E.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine