Review – The Rose Conspiracy

In Parshall’s newest legal thriller, Horace Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, purposely waited until everyone had left for the day before he carefully removed the metal case from his office safe. Excitement made his hands quiver as he pulled sterile gloves on before he carefully removed the plastic encased folder from inside the case. He studied the folder’s contents, eighteen brittle pages, yellowed with age, missing for over a hundred and fifty years from the diary of John Wilkes Booth.

The pages disappearance had strangely coincided with the federal investigation into the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Even though the diary had been secured when the assassin was captured and killed, several witnesses testified eighteen pages had been torn from the book, but it was credited to be a rumor. It wasn’t until a century and a half later, when the missing pages were found in an attic with instructions to deliver them to the Smithsonian Institution did the rumor become fact. Those same pages now lay spread across Langley’s desk.

Langley sat down to examine the pages, and then began to copy cryptic ciphers onto his notepad.

To AP and KGC
Rose of 6 is Sur al ik’s golden tree
In gospel Mary first revealed
At Ashli Plot reveals the key

He heard someone enter from the office side door, turned and said, “I wasn’t sure I would see you?” He didn’t finish the words before muffled shots rang out and his body fell from the chair. The killer ripped the notes from the notepad, quickly stepped over Langley’s still warm body and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Thus begins this fast-paced mystery that includes murder, Freemason conspiracy theories, adventure, history, and even a subtle romance. J.D. Blackstone, college criminal-law professor and brilliant attorney, is attracted to Vinnie Archmont, his mysterious new client charged with the murder of Professor Langley. Vinnie, an artist in her early 30’s became a suspect when she was seen leaving the Smithsonian Institution about the time of the murder.

When Blackstone’s investigation points to the secretive Mystic Freemason’s most precious, guarded secret, he turns to his uncle for help. His uncle, a Bible-quoting Anglican priest and occult-religions expert, explains the secret and why it’s guarded-many think the secret holds the key to eternal life.

Add wealthy Freemason financier and religious philosopher, English Lord Dee, a powerful U.S. Senator with links to a ruthless prosecutor, and you have an addictive page-turner with a surprise ending that will shock the reader.

I believe all enthusiasts of thrillers and suspense will find hours of pleasure reading The Rose Conspiracy, just as I did. But for fans of National Treasure thrillers, and Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, this book is a must read. Well-drawn characters, a puzzling, complicated, and intriguing plot, combine with a subtle, non-preachy Christian message that will engage readers and leave them wanting more from this author.