The Thirteenth Apostle

July 6, 2009
Yet another discovery of a centuries-old secret that places “the very existence of the Catholic Church” at stake propels Benoît’s formulaic religious thriller. Sinister Vatican officials, afraid that Father Andrei has stumbled on a truth that will call Jesus’ divinity into question, arrange for Andrei’s demise—on a train headed for Rome, he’s tossed out a window to his death. Andrei leaves behind a clue in the form of some cryptic notes for his close friend, Father Nil, whose pursuit of evidence that there was a 13th apostle puts him in peril. Nil’s foes include an improbable odd couple of assassins, a former Mossad agent and a member of Hamas. Some readers may be irked by the author’s failure to explain such matters as why a key volume that leads Nil in the right direction is not better protected or why the ruthless forces behind Andrei’s killing don’t just eliminate Nil early on.

September 1, 2009
Already a hit overseas (it was published in France in 2006), this religious thriller explores the tantalizing, if unprovable, idea that Jesus, though a talented man with a great gift, was not the son of God. Father Nil, a Benedictine monk whos devoted his life to researching the circumstances surrounding the death of Jesus, is shocked to learn that Andrei, a friend and colleague, has suddenly died. Andrei, it seems, had documents that proved the existence of a supposedly mythical thirteenth apostle, documents that challenge the most fundamental beliefs of the church itself. But can Father Nil locate the documents and verify their contents before he, too, is mysteriously killed? This is an exceedingly clever thriller, with engaging characters and a compelling story (especially interesting are the chapters dramatizing episodes from the New Testament). In the obligatory comparison to the overrated Da Vinci Code, Benoits novel comes out ahead on every possible score.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)