Thief on the Cross: Templar Secrets in America (Templars in America Series Book 2)

If you love history and live in New England this is a must read, love the references to local areas. Driving around these New England States I now have places I must see. Could not put the book down! The historical fiction makes you think and you will want more!

I read this book on Kindle and absolutely loved it. In fact, I've loved all of David Brody's books so far (I'm reading book 13 on Kindle). So, being a book collector, I decided to get physical copies of his books.When I received "Cabal of the Westford Knight" and this book ("Thief on the Cross"), I was disappointed as to the quality of the book. Whoever printed/created the book made it so that there were "bows/arches" in the book. I'm trying to press/flatten them with bigger, hardcover books, but it doesn't appear to be working. It's not a terrible flaw ... but it is kind of annoying to someone who likes his books nice and neat.So, I wish I could give two ratings ... 5 stars for the content, but only 3 stars for the print quality. I'll just give it a 4 as a compromise.

This was my 1st David Brody Templar book. It was on a limited time sale offer & since I am interested in & familiar with the subject matter I decided to get it. I've read other books on the Templar premise of the bloodline of Jesus & Templar symbolism, which I 1st learned about from Scott Wolter's TV shows & his book on the Hooked X. I find this fascinating so I wanted to read this one. I recently read a similar one which I think was my 1st in this action style format because I found it very exciting. I don't know if I got burned out on this style or what but I found this one a bit tiresome. Both were page after page of nonstop narrowly escaping people in hot pursuit wanting to kill you for the secrets you have uncovered which gets to be a bit much after a while. In this one the main characters are supposed to be very smart to outwit their pursuers but they leave their cell phones on including letting an 8 year old child continue to have hers after she has already called "one of the bad guys". They just told her not to call any more so she texts instead which they don't realize. Then towards the end one of the operatives, who turns out to be on their side, apologizes for leaving hers on only to be told it doesn't matter, the new phones can be tracked anyway. I don't know if the other phones were 'new' & therefore trackable or if all phones are trackable regardless of their being on or not but no concern, mention or thought was given to them. Then both main characters sustain what ordinarily would be incapacitating, if not life threatening, injuries yet they continue on, running through the woods up & down rugged slippery terrain with the fella carrying over 65 lbs on his back with a blown out knee & significant concussion. A lot of that was just ridiculous. But, the information on the Templars was very good. Some of it was new to me & I loved seeing the photos of the actual artifacts so that is what makes this book worth reading, IMO. In fact, right after I finished it, I got his 1st one on the Newport Tower in RI because he has 2 incredible photos of it in this book & Scott Wolter also talked about it. Right now I don't expect to get any more in this series but you never know.

This is a fairly fast paced adventure with strong religious implications. While I found the story and action to be exciting, the details regarding Christianity was a non Catholic, we're more difficult to follow

This was a great read. My faith is not shaken by new ideas of a good writer. I loved the book amd applaud the imagination it took to pull this together. The characters are each unique and I like how the writer helps you to get to know them. Maybe a little too many times the heroe and heroine get into trouble but it all spins a web to pull the story together. Good read.

The Templars have many secrets. Those secrets are large and strong enough to make the order wealthy and powerful. Until the Church betrays them on Friday the thirteenth.Cam and Amanda are seeking answers to some of those secrets as is Jackson January who believes he is on a mission from God to prove the truth of The Book of Morman.Others are hell bent to stop them.What are the secrets? Will the truth be found? If it is, will it be revealed?

This novel is good and entertaining, with plenty of visuals. It criticizes religion especially zealous religious people (Mormons in this case) throughout the novel, as well as the Vatican's past to conceal earth shattering truths only at the very end, however briefly. The story line is a bit roller-coaster like, showing us the extremes some religious people will go to -even killing in the name of god- in order to conceal any crucial information that would undermine their religion's core. The novel portrays extreme cases where an ex special-ops soldier turns hit man and a rogue religious CIA officer goes on his own agenda. Aside from that, the novel is not bad if you have time and are still waiting for the next Dan Brown's novel (like many of us). As for being offensive to people with strong Christian beliefs, not so much a warning as it is maybe to attract their attention. Another criticism Broody brings with his novel is about children being indoctrinated by religious caretakers rather than given guidance with a free will to discover their world on their own. As for the title of the book, it has nothing to do with the crucifixion of Jesus with two thieves, instead the author presents the idea that there was a reason the Templars venerated John the Baptist. In the plot, the Templar's supposedly used their secret about the man Jesus Christ was to gain the power they gained then, in a world dominated by the Catholic Church. At the end, the author finishes "Dan Brown's style", would the main characters choose to tell the truth to the world exposing the church's secret even if it means destroying the foundations of the Catholic/Christian religion, or would they allow religion to continue its work appeasing souls in need; Is the world ready to realize religion is but a spiritual crutch? Regardless, the end of the novel is interesting... Enjoy your reading.

The best bit about this book is the background research and the unarguable evidence that Europeans travelled to North America centuries before Columbus - who of course never reached the continent, despite what most Americans believe. The story is OK, just a bit silly and contrived, with some of the characters doing very strange things and acting in ways that don't make sense even within the pages of a novel. And it's marred by minor factual errors that should have been picked up by the editors.For example, bullets, especially bullets fired at close range from a sniper rifle, don't ricochet off cars: they go straight through them. Glock have never made a revolver in any calibre. They only make semi-automatic pistols, and the author appears to think that a revolver and an automatic are identical. In fact, they are identical in the same way that a bicycle and a car are identical - so not at all. And you can't feel the 'cold steel' of a Glock's barrel because it's shrouded by the polymer frame. 'Retched' is a verb but 'wretched ' is an adjective. And the 'unlucky' Friday 13th has nothing whatever to do with the Templars - it's a twentieth century superstition. Silly typos and errors that ten seconds of research on the Internet would have corrected.

This is a story in the "Templars in America" series. Although it is part of a series it can be read as a standalone. At the beginning of the book is a warning that the "book contains themes that may be offensive to readers with strong Christian or other religious beliefs." Without giving away the storyline it certainly gets you thinking about various tenets of the Christian faith.As with other books in the series, the story is woven around actual artefacts and includes photos of these. It makes for a very good read although I didn't find it quite as exciting as other books that I have read in this series but I still found it enjoyable.

The conclusion is our own. As well as history this is a fantastic thriller, Amanda and Cam play words and ideas off each other Astarte a young yet clever impressionable young lady her confusing thoughts comes from what her uncle had taught her and the beliefs of Amanda and Cam. Chased shot at danger all around them yet they persuaded the truth. Be prepared to be amazed, highly recommended

Why does a collector of ancient American artefacts hand over his best pieces to an historian and then shoot himself? And why does an ancient Templar scroll in his possession refer to Jesus Christ as “The Thief on the Cross?” Good storyline full of intrigue.

This book another in the Cam & Amanda Templars in the USA series is good example of mixing fact with fiction and leaving the reader to attempt to discern the truth. Some elements of the story seem far fetched especially the on-going battle with certain factions and ex-military man but otherwise it moves along a fare pace whilst still keeping the attention