This is the story of a woman who finds that she has links to the holy grail. She also finds that she's dragged into controversy and that there are a number of different people who want her to join them because she has a lot of potential power.

I found it readable but only just, there are huge leaps of faith involved in some of the logic and the story, despite it's claim of authenticity (which really didn't do anything to improve the story for me). The interlinks that it builds between almost all the famous women of history stretched even my flexible credulity! The fact that I've read almost everything that she's using as references didn't help.

It's not the worst thing I've read, I found it readable but it didn't make me want to rush out and get the sequel. ( )

Absolute caca. ( )

This is a mystery along the same lines as The Da Vinci Code only more interesting in my opinion. It explores the prominent position of Mary Magdalene in Christ's ministry and her exclusion from main stream Christianity as it developed. It also includes the ages old legend of the Holy Bloodline of Jesus and Mary and their descendents, as well as the rise of competing secret societies. The story is told through the character of Maureen, a modern day descendent of Mary and Jesus.

McGowan has researched the subject extensively, and while the book is very informative, it is not particularly well-written. There are many chapter breaks to indicate changes in point of view that make the story choppy. The author also tries to communicate the various Magdalene legends through the stilted dialogue of the characters. I enjoyed this book despite it's faults because of the fascinating subject matter. I recommend it to those who have an interest in alternative beliefs regarding the roots of Christianity. I found it totally absorbing and thought provoking. ( )

Urgh. Did not like at all. It was overly dramatic and pointless. ( )

Great read. I appreciated that the book focused on an historical figure that we know little about even though she is prevalent in art and culture, as well as insight on other female historical figures like Marie Antoinette. This book makes you think and question! Looking forward to the second in the series: The Book of Love.

See more of my reviews at http://myobsessionwithbooks.blogspot....
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This would have been a passable work of fiction had the author not claimed it was based on her own life story. That and her over-reliance on questionable extra-Biblical texts ruined the book for me. ( )

This novel kept me in its thrall from the first chapter straight to the last. I have always been fascinated by Mary Magdalene and Her role in Jesus' life so have read anything and everything on the subject that I could. This novel is by far one of the best fictional accounts of her life and one of the most believable as well.

The link between the present and the past, the coming of the Expected One and the history behind the other Expected One's who had arrived only to be thwarted by those who did not want the truth to be known was as fascinating as the Magdalene details. A rich, moving portrait of one of the most controversial women in history.

(However, I don't believe for a minute that the modern-day happenings detailed in the novel are based on the author's own life!) ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow moving but I really enjoyed the mystery once it sped up. I was intrigued by the claims in the book and am interested in reading the next books in this series and researching the validity of the sentiments. I don't usually read religious fiction like this, but I do like history and I found the book very interesting. ( )

The only bad thing is that is the first book of a trilogy. Other than that, a Da Vinci code like book, but with a good story. I'm looking forward to the other parts. ( )

In a word: creeepy. McGowan’s Expected One is another addition to the long line of Mary Magdalene-carrying-the-Bloodline-Of-Christ novels popularized by Dan Brown’s odious Da Vinci Code; put another way, one more novel by someone who read Holy Blood, Holy Grail and saw a way to make a quick buck without having to waste time on research, or indeed, coming up with any ideas on their own. (I recommend Clysta Kinstler’s The Moon Beneath Her Feet to anyone interested in a better than average take on this otherwise tired exercise.)

At any rate, The Expected One originally seemed solidly positioned at the lower end of passably mediocre: not excellent (or even decent) writing, but a perfect novel to pick up for anyone who’d like to let their brain take a holiday between more mentally taxing books. The plot unfolds in a highly predictable manner: petite, feisty redheaded heroine Maureen Paschal (get it?!) writes academically controversial yet widely acclaimed books on historical figures--most notably the Magdalene, goes to Jerusalem to investigate, and discovers that—gasp!—she herself shares an intimate connection with the woman and the Christ, our first clue being the mysterious ring she receives in an ancient market. This was all well and good until I happened to flip to the back inside cover and discovered an author photograph of a petite (likely unnatural) redheaded woman, pudgy fingers extended to prominently display just such a ring. Blech.

On the other hand, it gave me a good idea of just what I was in for, and my expectations were not disappointed. McGowan--I mean, the main character, soon found herself in the midst of an international web of intrigue involving the Vatican, several ancient secret societies, friends who aren’t who they seem, and cryptic French villagers, as well as the requisite rougish Scots-French heart throb. Again, blech.

The predictability continues apace, made even more predictable by McGowan’s close borrowing from Brown. (Example: Renaissance artworks are at the heart of the mystery, although McGown clumsily attempts to disguise this patent cooptation from the Da Vinci Code by relegating Leonardo Da Vinci to the bad guys’ side, making her narrative debt to Brown’s masterturd all the more obvious.) So, as I’ve taken pains to make clear above, good trashy reading. Until, that is, one reaches the epilogue, in which we learn that it’s all true.

Indeed, unbeliever! McGowan herself is the descendant of the Magdalene, and carries within her own petite, feisty, (unnaturally) redheaded self the very blood of Jesus Christ the Savior. She really has been hunted by secret organizations bent on murder! She really has made harrowing, death-defying escapes! And she is indeed the “Chosen One” who’s been touched by the Hand of God (or in the head, depending on one's outlook) to continue his mission on earth. It makes for the most trying-manfully-not-to-wet-myself-hysterical reading experience I’ve had in living memory...if I hadn’t felt so embarrassed for the author, that is. Make of this what you will, but be warned: readers are in for one kooky experience. ( )

Pop culture may attribute it to Dan Brown. But fascination with Mary Magdalene is centuries old. That said, were it not for Brown’s bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, Kathleen McGowan’s The Expected One likely would not have had the draw to hit bestseller lists. Of course, McGowan’s back story on the novel and the press it received didn’t hurt.

Simply summarized, McGowan claims to be a descendant of Mary Magdalene. The Expected One is, according to her, based on her life and experiences. She has said that using fiction as a vehicle to tell here story allows it to be told more fully without risking exposure of her sources. She originally self-published the book in 2005 although she says she began working on it in 1989, 14 years before The Da Vinci Code was published. The vanity press edition came to the attention of publishers and ultimately was purchased and released by a division of Simon & Schuster with an initial press run of 250,000 copies. Though not in Brown’s league when it comes to dialogue and moving a tale along, McGowan does a sufficiently passable job that whether you accept her claims is largely irrelevant.

Balance of review at http://prairieprogressive.com/?p=813

Publishers Weekly Review: The standard religious-thriller architecture is evident in McGowan's much-heralded debut, which coincidentally shares similarities with The Da Vinci Code (e.g., murders, Vatican interference, nefarious secret societies), but mostly the characters sit and talk about biblical history and the search for Magdalene-connected treasure. Biblical dreams and visions plague American Maureen Paschal, author of the bestselling HERstory: a Defense of History's Most Hated Heroines. When she travels to France's mysterious Languedoc region at the urging of Magdalene scholar Lord Berenger Sinclair, Maureen finds what has eluded centuries of treasure hunters, the original Magdalene scrolls that detail her love affair with Jesus, their marriage and the crucifixion. Though the author makes no effort to render these gospel excerpts in period prose, they're the most compelling part of a novel otherwise freighted with romance-fiction stylings and unadorned facts numbingly narrated. Originally self-published, this first of a trilogy has already sold foreign rights in 22 countries.--Staff (Reviewed June 26, 2006) (Publishers Weekly, vol 253, issue 26, p29) ( )

What a refreshing book about the time of Jesus. Based on extensive research, the author weaves a believable tale that covers the past 2000 years. Mary Magdene's bloodline is traced thriough the agesa both by family and foe. The outcome takes the reader once again to the Vatican for surprising results. ( )