'Sanctus'

During these dark, chilly days of Autumn, I like to hunker down with a good book.  I want something intriguing, something that keeps me in the bathtub until the water turns cold.


I'll admit it here:  I loved 'The DaVinci Code'.  It was fast-paced, centered on an age-old religious controversy, and made me think.  In fact, I've read the story a number of times because I always find something that I missed during previous readings.


So, I was happy to find another book that fit the same bill.


'Sanctus', by Simon Toyne, centers around the Sancti, a secretive, centuries-old religious order living in a mountain called The Citadel, near the town of Ruin in modern-day Turkey.  The escape of a member of the order and his subsequent display from atop the Citadel sets into motion the hunt for a young woman who is the key to solving the mystery of the Sancti.  But the Sancti does not want the world to learn their secret and they will employ any means necessary to make sure no one finds it.


Good and evil are aptly displayed in this story, and the denouement left me stunned.  It is a real 'page turner', and I was pleased to learn that this is the first book in the Ruin trilogy.


The second book cannot come soon enough.