Citadel

Following Mosse's successful historical fictions, LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE, this third in her trilogy takes us to the days before WWII and the Nazi occupation of France. Also, through shifting time lines, the story reaches even further back to 342 AD, when war is raging and a young monk searches for a safe place to hide a vitally important document. Narrator Finty Williams provides a wild ride from Vichy (code name: Citadel), France, to ancient Carcassonne and the revelation of a heretical parchment that allows the bearer to bring forth an army of ghosts. Williams delivers Nazi goons, Resistance good guys, a fourth-century holy man, and some intrepid young French women with just the right amount of understated drama. Williams's low-key performance allows Mosse's crisp prose to shine in this well-researched historical thriller. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine