In the course of their investigations into Leonardo da Vinci & the Turin Shroud Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince found clues in the work of the great Renaissance artist that pointed to the existence of a secret underground religion. More clues were found in a twentieth-century London church. These were the beginnings of a quest through time & space that led the authors into the mysterious world of secret societies & such bodies as the Freemasons the Knights Templar & the Cathars & finally back to the ideas & beliefs of the first century AD & a devastating new view of the real character & motives of the founder of Christianity & the roles of John the Baptist & Mary Magdalene. They reveal nothing less than a secret history preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art & even in the great Gothic cathedrals whose revelation could shake the foundations of the Church. ...

Constantinople 1203. As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city a small band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. They escape with three large chests filled with explosive secrets
- ones they will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City present day. In the hidden archives of the Inquisition FBI agent Sean Reilly has no choice but to violate the trust he has earned. A vicious terrorist has kidnapped Tess Chaykin & the key to her freedom lies in this underground crypt where a secret could explain the real reasons for the Templars' extermination & bring devastation to our world. A pulse-pounding manhunt takes Reilly & Tess across the world as they follow the blood-soaked trail of their enemy a devious uncompromising foe unlike any they have battled before.. .
...

The Templar Throne" is the third in Paul Christopher's exciting John Holliday series. The hidden hand which rules history... Army Ranger John Holliday has made it his life's mission to unlock the secrets of the ruthless ancient Templar Order who are as renowned for their hidden wealth & power as for their desperate secrecy. In " The Templar Throne" his quest has him crisscrossing Europe & the US hunting for the True Ark
- a box reputed to hold precious holy relics & the Templars' most powerful secrets. But Holliday's hunt is also a deadly chase. On the trail of the relics are the Vatican Secret Service the CIA & an arcane brotherhood of Templar descendants who know just how much power the Ark holds. & they'll kill anyone in their way..." The Templar Throne" by Paul Christopher is the third instalment in the historical thriller series following John Holliday on his quest to uncover the secrets of the ancient Templar Order. Subsequent titles include " The Templar Conspiracy" " Lost City of the Templars" & " Valley of the Templars". Paul Christopher is the pseudonym of a bestselling US novelist who lives in the Great Lakes region."
...

The Holy Land 1291. A war has been raging across these lands for decades. The forces of the Crusaders have been pushed back again & again by the Muslims & now just one city remains in Crusader control. That one city stands between the past & the future. One city which must be defended at all costs. That city is Acre. & into this battle where men will fight to the death to defend their city comes a young boy. Green & scared he has never seen battle before. But he is on the run from a dark past & he has no choice but to stay. & to stay means to fight. That boy is Baldwin de Furnshill. This is the story of the siege of Acre & of the moment Baldwin first charged into battle. This is just the beginning. The rest is history. ...

An ancient secret worth killing for... During the Middle Ages rumours about an ancient Egyptian text spread like wildfire among alchemists. Known as the Emerald Tablet this sacred text was said to contain the secret of creation. Some claimed it was crafted by the Egyptian god Thoth. Others claimed it was written by the Greek god Hermes. But there were a few who believed its true author was none other than Moses himself. Shock waves ripple across the world when an archaeologist is viciously murdered moments after he claims to have found ancient Templar symbols marking the way to a hidden treasure vault. & the discovery of a Maltese cross etched into the bloodied hilt of the dagger in his back makes his claims ring alarmingly true. Caedmon Aisquith Templar expert & hero of Stones of Fire" sets off on a hunt for the vault only to uncover a far more intriguing puzzle
- is the Templar code in fact the key to the long lost mystical Emerald Tablet? Caedmon's quest to decipher the symbols rapidly becomes a desperate struggle against a covert & terrifying enemy who will stop at nothing to use the Emerald Tablet's power to bring about apocalypse. Can anyone halt their deadly mission before all hell is unleashed?"
...

Sifting myth from history Piers Paul Read reveals the Templars the multinational force of warrior monks in their white tunics with red crosses over chainmail. They were not only unique among Christian institutions but constituted the first uniformed standing army in the western world & became pioneers of international banking. Expropriated by Philip IV of France in 1307 & confessing under torture to blasphemy heresy & sodomy the Order was finally suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312. In a narrative that incorporates the story of the crusades & the many colourful characters who had links with the Templars Piers Paul Read examines the question of their guilt & identifies their relevance to our own times. A highly readable & nicely paced book that draws on the lessons of modern historical scholarship while also communicating a sense of narrative excitement & drive Evocative measured & engaging Evening Standard Magnificent in every way Mail on Sunday ...

Deep in the jungles of Peru the contest of the century is underway. Its a race to locate a legendary Incan idol
- one carved out
...

In this enthralling historical detective story the authors of The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail trace the flight after 1309 of the Knights Templar from Europe to Scotland where the Templar heritage was to take root & would be perpetuated by a network of noble families. That heritage & the Freemasonry that arose from it became inseparable from the Stuart cause. The Temple & the Lodge charts the birth of Freemasonry through the survival of Templar traditions through currents of European thought through the mystery surrounding Rosslyn chapel & through an elite cadre of aristocrats attached as personal bodyguards to the French king. Pursuing Freemasonry through the 17th & 18th Centuries Michael Baigent & Richard Leigh reveal its contribution to the fostering of tolerance progressive values & cohesion in English society which helped to pre-empt a French-style revolution. Even more dramatically the influence of Freemasonry emerges as key facto in the formation of the United States of America as an embodiment of the ideal ' Masonic Republic'. ...

One of the world's holiest sites hides a secret worth killing for.. . Thomas Lourds the world's foremost scholar of ancient languages is contacted by an old friend Dr Lev Strauss. A long-lost ancient scripture has been discovered which holds the key to one of the world's greatest treasures hidden under the legendary Temple Mount. Lourds rushes to Jerusalem to inspect Strauss' find. But on arrival he learns his friend has been murdered. The book has vanished. Lourds knows he must uncover the murderer & track down the missing manuscript. Because this ancient artefact contains a hidden code. A code that will give its solver access to a formidable & frightening power. The fate of humankind rests in Lourds's hands. But time is not on his side.. . ...

Another brilliant Wilde/ Chase thriller from one of the best in the business
- Andy Mc Dermott. Archaeologist Nina Wilde's life
...