Innocent Blood

November 25, 2013
Biblical prophecies and vampires drive Rollins and Cantrell’s unwieldy second Sanguines thriller featuring archeologist Erin Granger and Sgt. Jordan Stone (after 2013’s The Blood Gospel). According to the long-lost Blood Gospel, Armageddon can only be averted if three figures—the Knight of Christ, the Warrior of Man, and the Woman of Learning—seek out another mysterious figure, the First Angel. Fr. Rhun Korza has been identified as the first, Jordan as the second, and Erin may be the third. Jordan and Erin are sent to Rome to help locate the vanished Korza and are drawn into a battle of wits and force with vampiric bloodsuckers known as strigoi and with Sanguinists, strigoi who serve the Catholic Church. The result is a less than convincing blend of fractured religion, history, and mythology. 5-city author tour. Agent: (for Rollins) Russ Galen and Danny Baror; (for Cantrell) Mary Alice Kier and Anna Cottle.

January 1, 2014
In this sequel to The Blood Gospel (2013), archaeologist Erin Granger receives a message from Cardinal Bernard, leader of the Order of Sanguines, a group of vampires operating within the Vatican, whose thirst for human blood is kept in check by the blood of Christ. The message leads Erin back into the ancient war between the Sanguines and the Strigoi, a rival group of vampires whose interests lie in a more evil direction than the Sanguines'. Now a new villain has surfaced, a man who calls himself Judas Iscariotand who may indeed be the biblical Judas. To save the world from Armageddon, Erin reluctantly joins forces with another entity whose evil nature is not to be trifled with. This collaboration between Rollins, the well-known author of the Sigma Force thrillers (contemporary stories with ties to ancient riddles), and Cantrell, author of the atmospheric Hannah Vogel mysteries (set in Berlin in the 1930s), should appeal to their fans, but also to readers who like an action-packed, epic-size story portraying the battle between Good and Evil.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)