I listened to this book on cd, and I really felt that hearing my name said over and over and over was disconcerting at first! At least the reader pronounced it right. These tales of the Magdalene and the bloodline of Christ really entertain me. I find the descriptions of how it is represented in art, or at least how we assume it is, to be especially interesting. After reading some of the other reviews, I don't care if the author thinks that every last bit of it is true, it doesn't infringe on my enjoyment. I agree it got a little draggy in places, and the writing is good but not excellent, which is fine with me, not everything can be. Ordered the next book last night, but I won't be dropping everything else when it comes in, I'll need a little break. ( )

This book really made me think. The plot was complex but not too confusing, the characters were realistic and engaging, and the premise is factually based, which made the book even more appealing. There is a list of references in the back for those who want to follow up on her research. Based on her website, it seems somewhat autobiographical as well, which I found very intriguing. I really looked forward to reading the next installment. ( )

Really not my thing. I wanted to like it. It alternately seeks to be a feminist retelling of the life of Jesus, or a secret-societies rule the world story. In my opinion, it fails pretty hard at both.

The retelling of Mary Magdalene and Jesus was adequate, but harped a little too much on the 'Jesus treated women as EQUALS' point for me really to get involved. I'm already on board -- tell me a good story. Mediocre at best.

The modern day 'thriller' was anything but. The plot was shallow and transparent, the characters boring and two-dimensional. I rolled my eyes countless times, and cringed a few more at the trite lines. In my head, I kept yelling at the author to SHOW, don't TELL.

Perhaps I wasn't the intended audience -- I'm already a feminist and I don't need convincing that there is more than one side to every story. I think my problem is that I was looking for a story, and I got a a Mary-Jane fanfic that needed a few more beta readers. ( )

70,00RMB, read 14-15/06/08

The story was great. I love reading different interpretations of familiar stories (stories from the bible, King Arthur, Robin Hood,...). I should have stopped before reading the author's notes claiming that it's all true but she didn't have quite enough proof to publish it as a scholarly work and so wrote it as a novel. Also, the author's picture on the back cover - she clearly described herself when she described Maureen and she's posed herself to show off her ring (Maureen's ring?) the way that Maureen was posed on her book that allowed Sinclair to recognize her from the ring on her finger. I'll admit that this isn't as annoying as Clive Cussler writing himself into all his Dirk Pitt novels... ( )

Engaging story, although a little Dan Brown or Steve Berry -ish. 1st in a series, apparently. I enjoyed it. ( )