100 Pages A Day.... Stephanie's Book Reviews
  • Blog Tours
  • Historical Fiction
  • Sci Fi & Fantasy
  • Thriller & Horror
  • Non-Fiction
  • Middle Grade & Children's
  • Literary Fiction and Other Genres
  • Challenges
  • Promo's
  • Product Reviews

The Lost Catacomb

7/21/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
About the Book: 
The Lost Catacomb, by Shifra Hochberg
Historical mystery (108,935 words)

 An intoxicating blend of Vatican thriller and heart-rending love story, THE LOST CATACOMB is a stunning debut novel set against the backdrop of the Holocaust in Italy. At its heart is Nicola Page, a beautiful young art historian who flies to Rome to assess a newly discovered catacomb of enigmatic provenance. Its magnificent frescoes hold the clues to a centuries-old murder and the existence of a fabled treasure from the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. 

Assisted by a handsome Italian archaeologist, Nicola is quickly drawn into a tangled web of intrigue and peril, masterminded by a powerful priest who is determined to destroy those who would reveal the dark secrets of the past. And as Nicola uncovers layer after layer of this deadly past, she is brought face to face with shocking facts about her own family history—facts that will forever change the course of her life.          


Review: 
Nicola Page receives an invitation of a lifetime to explore a newly uncovered catacomb in the heart of Vatican Rome.  There is much at stake with the discoveries Nicola and her partner Bruno will make, if the art and artifacts are of Jewish origin, they will be turned over to the Marchesa, if they are of Catholic origin, they will be turned over to the Vatican.  That, however, is just the tip of the iceberg with the discoveries in the catacomb.  There is also a tomb and an set of ancient murders, a mystery uncovered about Nicola's own unknown family history and a very dark secret that a member of the Vatican has kept under wraps since World War II.

An involved historical thriller with a lot of different things going on.  I love dual-time stories and this one had three time periods that were involved, the present, then back to 235 A.D., and 1943-1944.  The multiple mysteries the Nicola and Bruno are fettering out in the catacomb is very ambitious.  There were times that I was completely drawn in and times where I felt like there was too much explanation of the characters motives and feelings that could have easily been inferred rather than spelled out; however, the overall feeling is one of intensity and intrigued and that kept me interested in what was going to happen next. The mystery that I was most interested in having Nicola solve was that of her own family.  This is set up at the very beginning and I'm glad that a portion of the story was reserved for her grandmother's story during World War II.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway






MX
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Follow at Bloglovin!

    Author

    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

    ​https://share.simonandschuster.com/stephanierhildreth

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Reading Addiction Blog Tours
    Xpresso Book Tours
    b00k r3vi3w Tours
    - See more at: http://b00kr3vi3wtours.blogspot.com/p/collect-badges.html#sthash.R4DGlIHF.dpuf

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Pump Up Your Book

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.