Review
Spanning the period 1941 to 1970, this sixth book by Parker is a relentless page-turning adventure that should appeal to fans of Frederick Forsyth. It opens in the Vatican in 1941 and a Cardinal is substituting an important document in the Secret Archives. He is fearful for the original's safety, as it, together with Vatican gold, was being shipped abroad before either the Nazis or the Russians might plunder Rome. While passing through Chad, the secret Italian convoy transporting the Vatican gold is attacked by British troops led by Captain Miles Roselli. The transport truck is hidden away... Some 22 years later, one of the Vatican gold ingots is located and the hunt is on to find the hiding place. In truth, the document is more valuable than the gold, as if it is revealed to the world as a fake it could discredit the Roman Catholic Church. Those involved in the search are Roselli, the Vatican's special agent Cellini, the Mafia family Galliano, a French Foreign Legion commandant and Roselli's children Angelina and Bruno. Until her stepbrother arrived on the scene, Angelina's life had been pretty ordinary. Once she decided to take the chance `to change from a kind of quiescence that characterized her life into something that promised the unknown', she found herself fighting for dear life in dark wet caves and dodging bullets. Parker has peppered the story with telling description, notably of the inhospitable mountains, and nuggets of information whether about bullion dealing or the Vatican Institute for Religious Works. Also, there are plenty of great phrases, for example: `... once he stopped trying, he would start dying.' Another: `... began to think of other things rather than the footprints of a memory that he didn't know he possessed.' If you like your adventure tales with pace, intriguing characters, believable heroes and exotic locations, then this is definitely for you. --Nik Morton, Author and Editor
Product Description
During the Second World War, Captain Miles Roselli hides three dead comrades and a fortune in Vatican gold in the Tibesti Mountains of the northern Sahara. Twenty years later, he is forced into a battle of wits when the secret of the gold bullion is revealed. Roselli was the only man alive who knew anything about the gold’s whereabouts and never expected the truth to come to light. The slaughter of a gold bullion dealer in London opens up a race for the gold, which involves the Italian mafia and the Vatican. But for the Holy See of Rome, the gold is of little interest to them, it is the document that had been stolen from the Secret Archives and concealed with the gold; its revelation could do lasting damage to the Roman Catholic Church. Roselli has to call on all his old instincts and the guile of a Desert Rat to protect his name, his family and the truth that lies buried beneath the Tibesti Mountains.
