This
is the second of Jonathan Rabb’s novels to be published by Peter Halban
and The Overseer was such a brilliant thriller that it set a very high bar
indeed for the book that followed it.In my opinion the Book of Q confirms Jonathan Rabb as one of the
most intelligent, creative and dynamic thriller writers around.
The
Book of Q is a multi-national novel, taking in among others monastic
Greece, the war-riven Balkans, and the gorgeous environs of the Vatican.Rabb creates characters of satisfying complexity and then sets them
into situations the resolution of which is far from certain.
As
I read this book I couldn’t help thinking of that other Vatican
conspiracy blockbuster, the Da Vinci Code, the success of which still
amazes me.
The
Book of Q compares with Da Vinci as a throughbred compares with a donkey,
and it deserves to have even greater success.
What I admire the most about Jonathan Rabb is not just the intricacy of
his plot lines, nor the realism with which he draws his characters, nor
the incredible research that he has obviously done, it is the fact that he
credits his readers with intelligence and challenges them as well as
entertaining them.
I
urge any lover of thrillers, and especially any Vatican conspiracy
addicts, to read the Book of Q and revel in its sheer quality.This is quite simply a super book.
