A fire at the Cathedral of Turin and the discovery of a strangely mutilated body attract the attention of Italy's special Art Crimes Department. For the fire is only the latest in a troubling series of arsons and break-ins at the cathedral, which houses what millions believe to be the authentic burial shroud of Jesus Christ.

A cop as well as an art historian, department chief Marco Valoni leads a crack team of investigators in a race to solve a crime he's certain is about to shock the world. Someone is planning to steal the Holy Shroud, and Valoni's only suspect — a mystery man who bears the same scars as the unidentified corpse — is currently serving out a sentence in a Turin prison.

Following a trail that stretches from the humble meeting places of the earliest Christian communities to the highest councils of the Vatican and the boardrooms that rule the world, Valoni and his associates will find themselves in the cross fire of an ancient conflict forged by mortal sacrifice, assassination, and secret societies with ties to the shadowy legend of the Knights Templar.

Spanning centuries and continents, from the storm-rent skies over Calvary, through the glories of Byzantium and the intrigue and treachery of the Crusades, to the modern-day citadels of Istanbul, New York, London, Paris, and Rome, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is a provocative page-turner of the highest order — one that will challenge you to believe.

"For readers who can't get enough of the religious suspense genre, here's a heaping helping of more of the same. When the unidentified body of a tongueless man turns up in the ashes of a suspicious fire in the Turin cathedral, home of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Marco Valoni, director of the Italian Art Crimes Department, investigates. This gruesome find reflects a pattern of tongueless men and mysterious fires that goes back many years and centers on the shroud. A history of Jesus' burial cloth through the ages alternates with a modern mystery involving several shadowy, anonymous groups of powerful, wealthy men, who either want to steal the sacred cloth or protect it. Marco and his band of art crimes cops and researchers must piece together who wants what and why. This was a bestseller in Europe, and while Navarro never gets up to Da Vinci Code speed, she does neatly solve the pesky problem of just why carbon dating puts the age of the shroud at the 13th or 14th century." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"For readers who can't get enough of the religious suspense genre, here's a heaping helping of more of the same. When the unidentified body of a tongueless man turns up in the ashes of a suspicious fire in the Turin cathedral, home of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Marco Valoni, director of the Italian Art Crimes Department, investigates. This gruesome find reflects a pattern of tongueless men and mysterious fires that goes back many years and centers on the shroud. A history of Jesus' burial cloth through the ages alternates with a modern mystery involving several shadowy, anonymous groups of powerful, wealthy men, who either want to steal the sacred cloth or protect it. Marco and his band of art crimes cops and researchers must piece together who wants what and why. This was a bestseller in Europe, and while Navarro never gets up to Da Vinci Code speed, she does neatly solve the pesky problem of just why carbon dating puts the age of the shroud at the 13th or 14th century." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"An exuberant, deeply involved thriller....Terrifically lively characterizations and the author's passion for her subject make this one stand out." Kirkus Reviews

"First novelist Navarro weaves a tale of mystery and intrigue....With rich detail, she traces the journey the Shroud has made...to the venerated relic it is today.....Brotherhood is to the Holy Shroud what Da Vinci Code is to the Holy Grail." Library Journal

"[F]ans of the genre will find much to like here, and Navarro even provides an explanation as to how the Shroud of Turin can be a true relic even though the cloth has been carbon-dated to the Middle Ages." Booklist

Julia Navarro is a well known Madrid-based journalist who is currently a political analyst for Agencia OTR/Europa Press and a correspondent for other prominent Spanish radio and television networks and print media, including a weekly column for Tiempo magazine. Bantam Dell will publish the English translation of her second novel, The Bible of Clay, in Spring 2008.

Andrew Hurley is best known for his translations of Jorge Luis Borges's Collected Fictions (1998), as well as Reinaldo Arenas's "Pentagony" novels (1986–2000). He lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico.