One of the greatest pleasures of my life was a trip to Rome with a dear friend in October 2012. (Remember being able to travel to different countries? Oh the joy! How we all miss right now what we used to take for granted!) My travelling companion and I managed to take a free tour of the Vatican while we were there. It was breath-taking, awe-inspiring, and full of tourists like ourselves. The Sistine Chapel has to be seen with human eyes to be fully appreciated. And of course, being an Irishman,...

An absorbing thriller, The Magdalene Deception enjoys the subtle touch of a consummate storyteller. As Father Michael Dominic and Hana Sinclair, an investigative reporter for Le Monde, search for secret documents relating to Vatican blackmail payments, they confront challenges from within the Vatican.Gary McAvoy writes a complicated story with complex characters and authentic relationships. He weaves comprehensive research throughout the story to keep information about the secret’s importance an...

Oh my, that gave me flashback to Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series!!! It was a slow burner in the beginning unlike Dan Brown's books. That is not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed reading about Father Michael's "journey" to the Vatican. It was definitely a believable storyline and kept me drawn in the entire time. it was a great take on the history of Christianity and the "what ifs" and the consequences of said "what ifs." I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

This book is a religious mystery story which has some basis in fact. It is about Pope Pius XII who was the Pope during the Nazi takeover in Europe, and just what, if any, connection he had with them since he didn't really speak out against them during the war. It also is about the Nazi's killing Jews and others and taking any gold (or other precious items) from them and how, in the story, some of that gold ends up in the Vatican.It's also about a priest named Bérenger Saunière who was a real Cat...

Father Michael Dominic is a recently ordained Catholic priest assigned to work in the Vatican Library's Secret Archives, which aren't so much secret as reserved for elite scholars.Dominic is a classical medievalist whose rapid rise in the church was engineered by his mentor, Cardinal Enrico Petrini, who's known Michael since he was a boy. One of Dominic's jobs is to help digitalize the Vatican archives, so researchers around the world can have access to the documents housed there. Michael, who's...

This is a Vatican thriller with a believable storyline. The plot builds very slowly with intense action scenes near its conclusion. It is rich or dense (depending on the readers' reaction) with historic facts and speculations, making the story highly credible. Frequently pausing in my reading, I often consulted Wikipedia and Google which caused me to highly admire the author's scholarly knowledge and historical research. It was well-written but could have used some more lighter moments. Michael

The Magdalene Deception is an interesting read along the lines of Dan Brown novels. Dominic is a priest new to the Vatican who uncovers an interesting document that could lead to the downfall of the church. He pairs up with a French journalist, on her own quest, to unearth this potentially damaging find.I really enjoyed the book (a 3.5 rounded up to 4). While it held my interest the downgrade for me was the unlikely coincidences and the abrupt end.

McAvoy has done a good job of weaving a fictional story into historical events. The descriptions of locations are detailed, allowing readers to get a very good sense of the setting. The characters are well developed, providing an essential aspect to an engaging novel. Unfortunately, the egalley I read did not have an author's note indicating which parts of the novel were, in fact, based on history and which were the author's imagination. Readers who like speculative plots based on possible ancie...

4.5*I really enjoyed this novel. I love history and I found the information in this book fascinating. I kept putting my book down to research more about what I was reading. It is very well written and so engrossing. I will definitely be reading books 2 and 3.

STEP ASIDE DAN BROWN!!I haven't read a novel that was so intriguing, fascinating, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat exciting, and historically accurate and informative in a very long time. The main protagonists are Michael Dominic, a priest transferred to the Vatican to work in their Secret Archives due to his expertise in medieval paleography and codicology, and ancient documents and texts; and, Hana Sinclair, a journalist and cousin to one of the Vatican Guards Michael befriends. In the course of h...

This is a fantastic novel full of conspiracy, suspense and fantastic characters.When Michael finds the document that starts everything off, he definitely wasn’t prepared for what was to come! A fantastic character, I love that he’s a little rebellious and does things he shouldn’t, even if it does get him into some situations! At times I really felt for him as it’s clear that he has an internal battle on his hands – especially when there is clearly an attraction to Hanna! Also, with everything he...

“What we have here is the classic riddle, wrapped in a mystery, and literally hidden inside an enigma.”The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy is a thrilling caper that turns the long-standing belief of Jesus’ resurrection on its head. Father Michael Dominic is assigned as an archivist at the Vatican, and Hana Sinclair is a reporter on the hunt for evidence on gold stolen from Jews during WWII. When Father Dominic accidentally discovers a document allegedly written by Mary Magdalene herself, the

Secret Vatican manuscripts, what could be better?If like me you find the concept of secret, mysterious Vatican archives and a long tumultuous religious history, mixed with strong characters and moral dilemmas interesting than this books is for you!! This book focuses on father Michael Dominic, an American priest, who is an expert in middle age writings and his new posting as an archivist in the Vatican archives. The book spends a lot of time building on Dominic’s character, which I have to say I...

A mythic legend, Jesus’ resurrection, Holocaust Jewish gold, the French resistance, Nazis, Vatican palace intrigue, smoldering nascent romance, high tech and action — what more could you ask for in a novel?This is one of those books you starting reading in the evening and decide to skip work the next day so you can read all night. This a masterful blend of real history and what-if present day. I found myself several times putting down the book so I could do an online search just to confirm what

Mary Magdalene.The Vatican.An Ancient Manuscript.Hidden papyrus.The Ustaša.Historical Controversies.Swiss Guards...The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy is a book I listened to recently. You could say, I stumbled upon it and luckily so. It is a religious thriller which I must confess I quite enjoyed. ..It all starts when Jesuit priest Michael Dominics finds a hidden papyrus in the Vatican’s Secret Archives which could alter the cornerstone of Christian faith. This curious but important discover...

First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Gary McAvoy for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.Always a fan of novels with Catholic and/or historical twists, this book by Gary McAvoy caught my eye as soon as I found it. Michael Dominic grew up in United States, without a father but under the watchful eye of one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church. Having finished his seminary studies and been ordained...

Thank you Book Sirens, Literati Editions and the author for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.Ever since the the publication of The DaVinci Code, I have had a fascination with the area around Rennes-le-Chateau/Carcassonne in southwestern France. As an adjunct to the area itself, I found the story of the Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade against them to be very interesting. Over the last decade, I have read several books, fiction and nonfiction, about the area and the people. In 2011, I eve...

Thank you to BookSirens and Literati Editions for the opportunity to read The Magdalene Deception by Gary McAvoy for free in exchange for an honest review. Choosing this book would come as a surprise to all that know me, since I'm an atheist and don't believe in anything that deals with god, the bible or religious beliefs. However I'm a huge fan of historical fiction and a true lover of history. One can't be a lover of history without knowing how religion has shaped the outcome of so much and so...

Exquisitely written and highly entertaining, The Magdalene Deception is an investigative mystery in a very similar vein to The DaVinci Code, as a young, ambitious priest from New York starts a dream job as a Vatican digital archivist. In the course of his work he finds an ancient artefact which threatens the entire Catholic Church and sends him on an ominous quest, along with a feisty journalist investigating the Vatican’s corrupt complicity in the possession of Nazi gold, cruelly looted and lau...

Received this book thru the Goodreads.com Giveaways for an honest review.The story revolves around a young priest, Michael Dominic, who is working at the Vatican as a digital archivist and he discovers an old document that could shake the church to his foundations. This is in the same genre as the DaVinci Code and I really enjoyed it. Father Dominic was brought up in the Catholic church as his single mother was the housekeeper for a priest who became his mentor. His mentor is now a high ranking