''Sign of the Cross'' is the second novel by '' New York Times'' bestselling author

Chris Kuzneski Chris Kuzneski (born 1969) is an American novelist. His eleventh novel, ''The Prisoner's Gold'', won the Thriller Award for the 2016 Book of the Year at a gala hosted by the International Thriller Writers (ITW) in New York City on July 9, 2016. H ...

. First published in October 2006 by Penguin Group (USA), the religious

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

followed the exploits of Jonathon Payne and David Jones, who have been featured in all of Kuzneski's thrillers. It also introduced the character of Nick Dial, who has appeared in every Kuzneski novel since. The book was endorsed by several notable authors, including Clive Cussler,

Nelson DeMille Nelson Richard DeMille (born August 23, 1943) is an American author of action adventure and suspense novels. His novels include '' Plum Island'', '' The Charm School'', and '' The Gold Coast''. DeMille has also written under the pen names Jack ...

, Steve Berry, James Rollins, and Tess Gerritsen. Penguin UK released the British version in April 2007, and the book climbed to #11 on the British bestseller list. The foreign rights to ''Sign of the Cross'' have sold in more than fifteen languages.

Plot summary

Jonathon Payne and David "D.J." Jones are recruited to find Dr. Charles Boyd, an archeologist who recently found the

Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

, the safe haven for the popes of the Middle Ages. While Boyd avoids pursuit, a series of victims turn up dead, people who were tortured and crucified like Jesus Christ on his final day. All the incidents are interconnected, but it’s up to Payne and Jones to figure out the common thread and why they were selected to solve the

puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...

Book reviews

From '' Publishers Weekly'' — "Kuzneski knows what fans of the genre want: compelling and well-researched history, high-tech 21st-century sleuthing, and a lot of action." From Crime Squad ( United Kingdom) — "In ''Sign of the Cross'',

has created an entirely original world-view and tells us an extraordinary tale with one hell of a sting to it. He writes like a dream and his thriller style is nigh on flawless. Indeed, the author has created a page-turning style that older thriller pros would give up serious appendages to perfect." From Clive Cussler — "Harrowing, but always suspenseful, ''Sign of the Cross'' makes you wish it would never end." From

— "Chris Kuzneski is a remarkable new writer, who completely understands what makes for a good story: action, sex, suspense, humor, and great characters."

References

External links

Chris Kuzneski's Official Site
2006 American novels American thriller novels {{2000s-thriller-novel-stub