Publishers Weekly called Craig Parshall’s Trial by Ordeal “an enjoyable romp for legal thriller aficionados.” Now Parshall takes his readers to the nation’s capital, where a hitherto unknown document has turned up...and turned into murder.
As the Smithsonian’s president examines a newly discovered account of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, an intruder steals in, kills him, and disappears into the night with the document.
Vinnie Archmont, an accomplished and stunningly beautiful artist, is implicated. She hires the brilliant but secretly guilt–burdened criminal law professor J.D. Blackstone.
Blackstone finds himself uncovering the Mystic Freemasons’ most guarded secret. He reluctantly turns to his uncle, a Bible–quoting Anglican priest and occult–religions expert. Enemies like a sorcery–obsessed billionaire English lord, a powerful U.S. Senator, and a ruthless prosecutor force Blackstone to employ all his cunning.
In the process, he is compelled to choose between spiritual counterfeit and Gospel truth, guilt and forgiveness...destruction and a new beginning.
The Rose Conspiracy is another exciting legal thriller by Craig Parshall. We meet J.D. Blackstone, a top defense attorney, who is hired to defend Vinnie Archmont. She is accused of the murder of the administrator of the Smithsonian Institute, and of the theft of some pages from John Wilkes Booth’s diary. J.D.’s defense preparation leads him into a background search of freemasonry and immortality. Is there eternal life? J.D.’s uncle, Reverend Lamb, seems to think Jesus holds some of these answers and hopes J.D. will come to the same conclusion.
Will J.D. find the Lord? Will he realize that he can’t control everything? Will he get Vinnie exonerated? Will she “capture” him? Who really killed the Smithsonian administrator? Do the pages from Mr. Booth’s diary hold the secret to immortality?
Matthew 7:7-8 would make a good theme for this novel. We have a man without peace and an empty heart needing answers, but not sure he wants them. The gospel is presented in conversations within the story, making this novel a good way to witness quietly to a friend or loved one.
This is a long book, but you won’t dare put it down until you reach the end. Readers get a glimpse into the court system, some background on Freemasons, and a hint of romance. What more could readers ask? Both men and women of any age will enjoy The Rose Conspiracy. – Linda Demorest, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
8 of 17 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by DB (Phoenix, AZ), August 17, 2009
This was a good read. I found myself thinkin surely this couldn't exist. But then reminded myself that the reason this is a lost and dying world is because the world has exchanged the Truth for a lie. It showed me some things I did not know existed or at least as a Christian am sometimes blind to their existance.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Elizabeth (Poway, CA), April 30, 2009
The Rose Conspiracy is the story of a lovely but eccentric artist (anymore, what artist isn't eccentric?) named Vinnie Archmont who is accused of murdering the president of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary. She is defended by a brilliant but flawed attorney (and what brilliant character isn’t flawed?) named JD Blackstone with the aid of his Christian uncle, an expert on occult religions. Yet in spite of the predictability and the stereotype of the beginning chapters, the story becomes riveting and the characters realistic.
For Blackstone, part of the difficulties in finding out the truth about the secret of the Freemasons lie on his own guilt-filled past over the death of his wife and daughter and his negative outlook on faith. Adding to the difficulties are his formidable and powerful foes across the aisle and a mysterious English lord. There are Christian undertones woven into the story, making it a matter of course rather than standing out like the preachy sore thumb. The story is an interesting historical suspense and one can't wait what the next page holds. The book as a whole is also well-edited, which is a real plus for me; I've read books by better-known authors with dismal editing, making for a jarring reading experience.
This book is a pleasant read. I recommend it.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by David Wells (Columbus, OH), April 20, 2009
Craig Parshall has done it again, he is an amazing author...one who 'hooks' the reader at the beginning and doesn't let you go until the very final paragraph.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Danny Carlton (Catoosa, Oklahoma), April 14, 2009
For those who bother to pay attention, reality comes with some very fascinating aspects, stories, plots, characters and situations. It has the added benefit of being real. But sometimes authors like to throw something extra in. Generally those stories fall in the genres of sci-fi and fantasy. Unfortunately some authors fail to grasp that unless one is writing in those genres one must stick very closely to the real and the believable. The fantastic comes across as forced, amateurish over-kill.
But before I continue in that vein, let me note that I did thoroughly enjoy Craig Parshall’s new novel The Rose Conspiracy and in spite of the exaggerated character development, the plot was intriguing, to a point.
The main character, a retired law professor, now practicing law, by the name of [wait for it] J.D. Blackstone. [you may groan now] takes the case of an artist, a young woman, accused of murdering the head of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing the newly found and long lost letters of John Wilkes Booth.
The idea of the book is interesting albeit a bit tabloid.
The plot was, as I said, intriguing, but the climax a bit of a let down after so much exaggerated drama from the rest of the book.
I’ve never been impressed with using fiction to attack a group. I didn’t like it when Salmon Rushdie did it, and even though I’m no great fan of freemasonry, there are better avenues to launch criticism of them than fiction. Attacking the practices of a group, in that way seems to me a bit unmanly. Liberals do it all the time. Conservatives should really be above those kinds of base and lowly tactics.
While there was quite a bit of interesting “historical” data, I’ve learned that authors often will invent history to make a story more appealing, so it’s best never to assume any of it’s true unless you can confirm it somewhere else.
Parshall does miss one of the most important qualities necessary for good fiction—make it believable.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Monika Shaw (Tulsa, OK), April 09, 2009
A high-powered thriller weaving historical qualities with potent substance and electrifying twists to the end. Riveting and captivating, it is masterfully written and draws you into the inner workings of conspiracy theories that never lets up.
There are no slow moments, the timing of surprises are not anticipated. Thoroughly relishing the adventure it demands your attention until the last page.
Not only highly recommended, but hope to see more like this from the author!
-Monika Shaw, founder of the Winning Woman Network
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Dean (Waukesha, WI), April 03, 2009
Upon receiving this book and looking at the blurb on the back cover, I was prepared not to like it. It has “conspiracy” in the title and mentioned the Freemasons in the blurb.
In addition, it was a Christian novel. I don’t read many of those because they tend to be romances (UGH :) ) and are usually very predictable, with a main character getting “saved” near the end.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Parshall has woven a nice little mystery around the Lincoln assassination, the Freemasons, the Smithsonian Institute, the Bible, greed, and man’s eternal quest for immortality.
The elements of conspiracy reminded me somewhat of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and the legal maneuvering made me think back to Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.
Vinnie Archmont, a beautiful artist, is accused of killing the curator of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth’s diary. Financed by a wealthy Freemason living in England, she hires J. D. Blackstone, a law professor and high profile lawyer, to keep her from the death chamber.
The key seems to be a cryptic fragment purportedly from the diary. Blackstone must crack this code before the lovely artist’s trial. His journey to unscramble the meaning takes him into the secrets of Freemasonry, the occult and personal danger, while he tries to deal with his own personal demons.
Then comes the day of the trial and a surprise ending. The last chapter almost ruined it for me, but was sufficiently vague as to keep Blackstone’s salvation in question.
In any case this is a worthy read.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by John Gillmartin (Warrensburg, MO), April 03, 2009
On a scale of one to ten - an eight point five.
I would recommend this book to any reader; especially those who enjoy criminal or historical fiction, specifically those with a Judeo-Christian worldview.
My greatest criticism is predictability in the early chapters.
Overall I enjoyed the read; though not as engrossing as I prefer, it was a pleasant read and not a waste of time as so many are after you've read thousands; by that I mean the author overcame my overread prejudices.
As a big fan of historical fiction, I would have enjoyed a greater development of the Lincoln assassination and the plethora of Civil War connections. But on the whole the work did not suffer from their absence.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Mark Evans (Appleton, WI), April 01, 2009
If you want to read a good 'who done it' Rose Conspiracy is a great one for that. Also if you are at all interested in some of the mysteries of the Masons this book touches that area as well. If you have read other Craig Parshall fiction you won't be disappointed with his latest book. If you haven't read one of Craig Parshall's fictions Rose Conspiracy is a good book to start experiencing this author's nack of writing a 'page turner' 'don't want to put it down' book.
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