The Vale of Tears [Kindle Edition]

The Vale of Tears is a thought provoking excursion through the history of a dark and secret society. Laura, the granddaughter of a religious scholar and Ed, an ex-secret agent turned author are thrown together when Laura's grandfather is kidnapped and threatened with death if Laura does not return some mysterious documents they claim she has. On her hunt to find them she runs into Ed and he saves her life more than once. Together they journey undercover through the churches and abbeys of England and France in search of the mysterious "Folio" that holds the key to exposing the secret society and saving her grandfather.

Following in the footsteps of the Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four, Murphy does an excellent job in his research. He drops hints of conspiracies that lace throughout history and connects dots that would normally be hard to believe, but are easy to swallow in context of the story. If you have an infinity for conspiracy theories and alternative history, this book is for you. But as an everyday read, it is too dry to relax and get absorbed in the story. Often the author favors tangential anecdotes over keeping in pace with the plot leading to a disruptive read. The tangents are interesting, but on occasion have nothing to do with the central plot. Also the change of POV between the different good guys the different bad guys and the journal of a long dead priest can sometimes be confusing.

I appreciated the way the potential romance in the novel was very understated, almost dismissed in favor of the more important search to uncover the truth, but the female character, Laura, I found the be bland. Her friend Sophie was much more interesting, but she had a minute part that was quickly over. The main male character, Ed, was more interesting, but the condescending way he treated Laura was annoying. She cried a lot and then he was gruff with her.

The bad guys (all male of course) were much more interesting and multifaceted, and I believe their portrayal really showed the author's strength.

The end was abrupt and disappointing considering the time and patience that had gone into the rest of the story, but not so abrupt that it wasn't worth reading.

A carefully thought-out and methodical piece of work. Again, recommend it for those of you who are alternative history buffs.

A literary masterpiece! A tremendously well-written work detailing the accurate, historical background leading up to the death of Princess Diana. Interwoven in the plot is an exciting and intriguing story of an ancient secret society 'Vigiles Regni', surviving to this day, whose main objective is to protect the Status Quo of the Protestant English throne at any costs. After a defection of one of the society's disillusioned leaders, documents have been leaked together with other historical evidence which can compromise 'Vigiles Regni' and its murderous deeds. The revelations in these documents will shake the world, but 'Vigiles Regni' will stop at nothing, including kidnap and murder, until these documents are recovered. Contained in this 'folio' is the truth behind the death of Princess Diana, and the identity of its perpetrators. Thwarting the efforts of Vigiles Regni is ex-SAS officer and writer, Ed Carson and Laura Ross, whose grandfather and former Vigiles Regni member, has been kidnapped by the society.
The book cleverly links past and present events by presenting testimonies of key family ancestral figures of Princess Diana which reference prophecies at an ancient French Monastery. These prophecies suggest a 'Tudor Rose' will accede to the throne of England
It is a masterly plot, well-researched and a valuable source of information for any history student. The intrigue, the drama, the suspense and tension throughout are breath-taking. Very quickly, you feel you know the characters and empathize with them.
James Murphy has set the bench-mark for mystery and suspense, and clinical historical research. But he has also shown us in his writing to be a highly gifted literary talent.
A truly great novel set in Liverpool, London, France and America, one of the best books I've ever read.

Max Gomes

This frighteningly plausible work is extremely well researched and very dfifficult to put down. Its colourful imagery makes it a terrific candidate for film and I look forward to its debut on the big screen soon. My advice to future readers is to hide away from any possible interruptions!