Detective Antoine
Marcas is pleased to be serving as the grand expert for the night's
Freemason initiation ceremony. But, when he enters to the chamber of
reflection where the man is waiting, he finds the initiate dead on
the floor in a pool of blood. What's worse, when he confronts the
murderer, he discovers it's a Freemason brother.
In 1355, Nicolas
Flamel is closing his shop. Riots are a concern when an execution is
taking place. In this case a Jew will be burned at the stake at the
behest of the King. Nicolas is dragged unwillingly to the scene of
the execution. He's sickened by it and by the role played by his new
neighbor, the torturer. However, the
torturer drags him into the drama, taking down the words of a young
woman being tortured.
The authors
skillfully weaves these plots together in the hunt for the murder. The
underlying theme is alchemy and the ends to which the greed of men
will take them in a search for pure gold. Marcas is a troubled
character because of the link between his Freemason brothers and the
explosion of greed and murder. It goes against the Freemason
principles he cherishes.
I found the
background on the Freemasons very interesting. I had often wondered
about the brotherhood and their rituals. This book gives a good
description of the activities and beliefs of the society.
The book is fast
paced. It toggles back and forth between the present and 1355, but
the plots are easy to follow because the chapters are short and there
are hints of the way the pieces will fit together. I highly recommend
this book, not only for the mystery, but for the fascinating
background on the Freemasons.
I received this book
from Le French Book for this review.
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