Since Dan Brown's bestselling The Da Vinci Code, readers have been fascinated with the mysterious relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Howard, a Rhode Island pastor, offers a fascinating and unique interpretation, setting out a path to realizing the feminine and masculine divine within every soul. The story, essentially a reworking of Howard's 2007 self-published novel The Lost Epistle of Jesus, switches back and forth between two plots, one in the present day and the other in first-century Jerusalem. Karim, a young Palestinian, tries to escape his jihadist father, leader of the Palestinian Patriotic Alliance, and stumbles upon a buried relic. His discovery takes him on a high-stakes adventure to bring the relic's contents to the world. Simultaneously, we read of Judith, a young Jew of the ancient world, who becomes involved with anti-Roman zealots, the radical rabbi Jesus, and his companion Mary Magdalene. Both stories progress toward the same conclusion-a search for Jesus' deepest and as yet unrealized truth that will bring peace and love to all who can truly understand its worth. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the spirit of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Howard brings us the story of Karim Musalah, a young Palestinian who flees his father's radical and terrorist connections. Along his journey, he stumbles upon an ancient scroll that appears to be letters from Jesus to Mary Magdalene. Suspense ensues as he tries to bring the scroll's contents to the world's attention. The story alternates between the present day and 33 C.E., where readers learn about Judith, who elopes with the brother of her betrothed on their wedding day, an action that brings her into the inner circle of Jesus. VERDICT This reworking of Howard's 2007 self-published novel, The Lost Epistle of Jesus, is sure to bring him more readers, especially those who enjoyed Ki Longfellow's The Secret Magdalene or Kathleen McGowan's The Book of Love. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.