A fast-paced thriller of a ride which kept this reader on her toes. With side by side search and chase sequences more than two centuries apart, the pace and mystery do not waver. A tremendous amount of research must have gone into this book, and into the hands of an author who knew what to do with it. J.G. Sandom has written previous thrillers, but this was my first introduction. It won't be my last.

The story is historical fiction written with a factual base. It touches on several levels of fear, legend, and historical religion. Exhilarating, penetrating, even while switching between centuries as far back as A.D.33, it does not lose its focus. But there are many red herrings, who does one trust? Is anyone who or what they seem? Is even the quest what it seems? These are but a few of the questions that must be solved.

This work of fiction will have the reader asking many questions along the way. Such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, and Thomas Edison are among the many seekers and inventors in this story. The search is purported to follow clues to the hiding place of The Book of Judas, but the action mushrooms as the search changes direction. The God Machine is claimed to be a machine, a direct line to God. Does it work? I recommend this book to readers of action, historical fiction, mystery, suspense and thrillers. ( )