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Nicolina Fabiani #1
The Magdalene Conspiracy
In the early history of the church, there is no more mysterious or controversial figure than Mary Magdalene.
What was her real place in the life of Jesus Christ? After his death and resurrection, where did Mary Magdalene go? Was it to the South of France as some have claimed? And if so, what was she doing there?
Two thousand years later, the answers are finally about to be revealed - with explosive consequences.
In Rome, someone has crucified an innocent woman and hung a sign around her neck reading 'The Magdalene Whore'.
Soon afterwards a second murder is discovered and a child is abducted - and the crime is linked back to the secretive Knights of Malta.
Nicolina, an ambitious journalist in Rome, is determined to find out what is behind these bizarre killings - and win herself a Pulitzer Prize.
She is reluctantly helped in her quest by Edoardo, a Vatican Priest from one of the Ancients of Venice families.
But does he have a connection with Mary Magdalene himself? Who is the Cardinal? And what is his connection to the Knights of Malta and the Monastery of St Gerard?
If the truth is ever revealed, it will rock the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church.
As Nicolina and Eduardo race against time to prevent another murder, they discover the true legacy of Mary Magdalene. And the ultimate truth about Mary and Jesus, his real mission on earth, and his death.
What was her real place in the life of Jesus Christ? After his death and resurrection, where did Mary Magdalene go? Was it to the South of France as some have claimed? And if so, what was she doing there?
Two thousand years later, the answers are finally about to be revealed - with explosive consequences.
In Rome, someone has crucified an innocent woman and hung a sign around her neck reading 'The Magdalene Whore'.
Soon afterwards a second murder is discovered and a child is abducted - and the crime is linked back to the secretive Knights of Malta.
Nicolina, an ambitious journalist in Rome, is determined to find out what is behind these bizarre killings - and win herself a Pulitzer Prize.
She is reluctantly helped in her quest by Edoardo, a Vatican Priest from one of the Ancients of Venice families.
But does he have a connection with Mary Magdalene himself? Who is the Cardinal? And what is his connection to the Knights of Malta and the Monastery of St Gerard?
If the truth is ever revealed, it will rock the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church.
As Nicolina and Eduardo race against time to prevent another murder, they discover the true legacy of Mary Magdalene. And the ultimate truth about Mary and Jesus, his real mission on earth, and his death.
- GenresMystery
408 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2012
30 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Yvonne Crowe
38 books30 followersI am the author of 16 published novels.
The Nicolina Fabiani Series includes THE MAGDALENE CONSPIRACY a religious mystery/thriller in the style of Dan Brown and made #8 on the Movers & shakers List and held the #1 and #2 positions in Religious Fiction for 3 months. This has been followed by five more books in the Nicolina Fabiani series. ST PETER'S KEYS, dark doings in the Vatican.
ST MARY'S SECRET. What happened to the Virgin Mary after her son's death? The New Testament remains silent St Mary's Secret explores her origins and life after the death of Christ BEYOND JERUSALEM, From Israel to Tunisia, Iraq and Syria. David is not safe.
And now Lina is caught up in the murder of an Italian Popstar. DEATH OF A SONGBIRD.
Also co-authored with Mathias Bergfalk, FOLLOW THE MONEY
Check out the boxed set of 2 Nicolina Fabiani Series, The Magdalene Conspiracy and St Peter's Keys
I have also written 4 other novels in various genres. From Serbia with Love, dark humour about Eastenr European gangs in London; Her Life in Peril, a Fantasy novel about past lives, Diamonds that Kill, a Political Thriller about blood diamonds; and An Obsessive Love, a Contemporary Romance novel.
I currently live in my hometown in Auckland, New Zealand, and love to travel to other countries where I have gleaned many ideas and settings for my stories and made many friends.
I teach English to Muslim immigrants from Iraq whose ancestors were driven out of Palestine and count them amongst my good friends.
The Nicolina Fabiani Series includes THE MAGDALENE CONSPIRACY a religious mystery/thriller in the style of Dan Brown and made #8 on the Movers & shakers List and held the #1 and #2 positions in Religious Fiction for 3 months. This has been followed by five more books in the Nicolina Fabiani series. ST PETER'S KEYS, dark doings in the Vatican.
ST MARY'S SECRET. What happened to the Virgin Mary after her son's death? The New Testament remains silent St Mary's Secret explores her origins and life after the death of Christ BEYOND JERUSALEM, From Israel to Tunisia, Iraq and Syria. David is not safe.
And now Lina is caught up in the murder of an Italian Popstar. DEATH OF A SONGBIRD.
Also co-authored with Mathias Bergfalk, FOLLOW THE MONEY
Check out the boxed set of 2 Nicolina Fabiani Series, The Magdalene Conspiracy and St Peter's Keys
I have also written 4 other novels in various genres. From Serbia with Love, dark humour about Eastenr European gangs in London; Her Life in Peril, a Fantasy novel about past lives, Diamonds that Kill, a Political Thriller about blood diamonds; and An Obsessive Love, a Contemporary Romance novel.
I currently live in my hometown in Auckland, New Zealand, and love to travel to other countries where I have gleaned many ideas and settings for my stories and made many friends.
I teach English to Muslim immigrants from Iraq whose ancestors were driven out of Palestine and count them amongst my good friends.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 29, 2014
Review also on www.jolasbookshelf.wordpress.com
It was a good read. I like all the stories revolved around the theories about Mary Magdalene. It wasn't anything unique, but I enjoyed every twist and turn along the way. The main characters were entertaining and it's worth sticking to the end for them alone.
Thanks to Yvonne Crowe for sending me an ebook.
It was a good read. I like all the stories revolved around the theories about Mary Magdalene. It wasn't anything unique, but I enjoyed every twist and turn along the way. The main characters were entertaining and it's worth sticking to the end for them alone.
Thanks to Yvonne Crowe for sending me an ebook.
August 29, 2014
As I realised from her previous works Yvonne Crowe is someone of considerable learning who enjoys sharing her knowledge with the reader. This time the author turns her attention to the Catholic Church and its two millennia history. As the Gnostic gospels suggest there is possibly a lot more to the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene than the Catholic cannon (something created in the Council of Nicaea in 325) states.
As someone who enjoys thrillers and is fascinated by conspiracies and secret power cabals I’m pleased to say I enjoyed this book as much as The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol. Rather than a professor of symbology and iconology we have an untested yet dogged and resourceful journalist Nicolina teaming up with a Vatican priest Eduardo (an individual of very old and very mysterious lineage). The author weaves a great deal of fascinating material around an intricate and well constructed plot. The protagonists' evolving relationship as the narrative develops is interesting to follow as is the hint of possible romance. It would create too many spoilers to mention much of the actual storyline, but suffice to say there is enough intrigue, secrets and suppressed history in this novel to keep the reader turning the pages.
As someone who enjoys thrillers and is fascinated by conspiracies and secret power cabals I’m pleased to say I enjoyed this book as much as The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol. Rather than a professor of symbology and iconology we have an untested yet dogged and resourceful journalist Nicolina teaming up with a Vatican priest Eduardo (an individual of very old and very mysterious lineage). The author weaves a great deal of fascinating material around an intricate and well constructed plot. The protagonists' evolving relationship as the narrative develops is interesting to follow as is the hint of possible romance. It would create too many spoilers to mention much of the actual storyline, but suffice to say there is enough intrigue, secrets and suppressed history in this novel to keep the reader turning the pages.
September 4, 2016
A poor knock-off of Dan Brown's ideas.
Seemed un-edited, and I don't think it was proofread either.
A hot mess. Could not finish.
Sorry, cannot recommend... except for new ideas, and an editing and proofing job.
Being honest, not mean. Sorry.
Seemed un-edited, and I don't think it was proofread either.
A hot mess. Could not finish.
Sorry, cannot recommend... except for new ideas, and an editing and proofing job.
Being honest, not mean. Sorry.
September 18, 2020
A bit long winded, not very believable scenarios at times. But the worst part is the appalling lack of proof reading on the kindle edition!
Poor punctuation, spelling mistakes galore, and repetition of sentences. If you're going to sell a book, at least pay a proof reader to check it for you first.
Poor punctuation, spelling mistakes galore, and repetition of sentences. If you're going to sell a book, at least pay a proof reader to check it for you first.
May 12, 2021
A ludicrous plot. It's badly written, abusing the english language with some excruciating similes.
June 10, 2013
I enjoy reading thrillers, especially ones related to a long-kept conspiracy being unearthed. Due to the prominence and long life of the Catholic Church, many of those stories are understandably related to some event or “facts” that the Church wishes to keep quiet. This is one of those types of adventures, but it unfolds in a slightly different manner than others I’ve read.
An unusual friendship between a reporter and a well-connected Vatican priest results in the only team able to solve several abductions and murders that at first only appear to be women from wealthy Roman families. The connection uncovered not too far into the story is that they are all related to a quiet group of women who venerate Mary Magdalene. But even uncovering that much still leaves them at a brick wall for a long while. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot and the fleshing out of the characters. I had tears streaming down my face at the end – and I am not a mushy reading type of person.
If my review were based on the story line alone, I would give this story somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars. There are unfortunately other matters which must be taken into account and which decrease the rating significantly. From the beginning, there are a great number of grammatical and spelling issues: simple spellings errors (**outside** of the natural spelling differences between the various versions of English); similar-sounding words used in place of the correct word; one or two words missing in many places; many places with one or two additional words that don’t fit or repeat; commas thrown in to sentences seemingly at random (this was epidemic throughout the entire story and the biggest hurdle I had to understanding the intended meaning of the sentences); and I found some paragraphs that were repeated verbatim and even 2 entire chapters at one point that were repeated for some reason later in the story with no value added. There were points in the story where the detail of character actions had absolutely nothing to do with the story and seemed to be thrown in to increase word count. I find it hard to believe that the publisher did any proof-reading before publishing this story.
I am typically able to immerse myself in a story and surface only due to strong outside influences. I kept getting thrown out of this story because of the flagrant and frequent grammar and spelling issues and almost gave up on it. Every time I thought to give up, I was urged on by my subconscious that was able to grasp the potential of this story. I was super glad that I struggled through and stuck it out to the end. This was an incredible story and is not going to receive the attention or support that it should until the spelling and grammatical issues are cleared up. My hope is that this story receives editing and is updated so that it can receive the high rating that it truly deserves.
If you can ignore the spelling and grammatical issues, this is a story that is well worth the read.
An unusual friendship between a reporter and a well-connected Vatican priest results in the only team able to solve several abductions and murders that at first only appear to be women from wealthy Roman families. The connection uncovered not too far into the story is that they are all related to a quiet group of women who venerate Mary Magdalene. But even uncovering that much still leaves them at a brick wall for a long while. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot and the fleshing out of the characters. I had tears streaming down my face at the end – and I am not a mushy reading type of person.
If my review were based on the story line alone, I would give this story somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars. There are unfortunately other matters which must be taken into account and which decrease the rating significantly. From the beginning, there are a great number of grammatical and spelling issues: simple spellings errors (**outside** of the natural spelling differences between the various versions of English); similar-sounding words used in place of the correct word; one or two words missing in many places; many places with one or two additional words that don’t fit or repeat; commas thrown in to sentences seemingly at random (this was epidemic throughout the entire story and the biggest hurdle I had to understanding the intended meaning of the sentences); and I found some paragraphs that were repeated verbatim and even 2 entire chapters at one point that were repeated for some reason later in the story with no value added. There were points in the story where the detail of character actions had absolutely nothing to do with the story and seemed to be thrown in to increase word count. I find it hard to believe that the publisher did any proof-reading before publishing this story.
I am typically able to immerse myself in a story and surface only due to strong outside influences. I kept getting thrown out of this story because of the flagrant and frequent grammar and spelling issues and almost gave up on it. Every time I thought to give up, I was urged on by my subconscious that was able to grasp the potential of this story. I was super glad that I struggled through and stuck it out to the end. This was an incredible story and is not going to receive the attention or support that it should until the spelling and grammatical issues are cleared up. My hope is that this story receives editing and is updated so that it can receive the high rating that it truly deserves.
If you can ignore the spelling and grammatical issues, this is a story that is well worth the read.
June 17, 2013
The concept of the Magdalene Conspiracy is the making of a good story. I have read many of them. The premise of this book is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child, Tamar. Jesus was crucified but when Magdalene and Mary the Mother of God were preparing the body, they found that Jesus was alive.
Peter, in this story, turns traitor and betrays the the Davidic line continued in Tamar. He later repents and agrees to lead the church.
This is told in contrast to modern times when there is a deranged Cardinal in the Vatican that intends to kill the women who form the Le Donne Azzuro or The Women in Blue. The women are descendants of Tamar. There belief was that Jesus had planned that Magdalene was an equal in His ministry and had evidence that they planned to release.
The problem with this book, in my opinion, is that for the average reader it would be easy to be bogged down in the amount of material contained. The author brought in the belief of Mithra, the Cathars in the Langduedoc region in France who have a great devotion the the Magdalene. Most readers will have little knowledge of this information.
There seems to be a negative attitude directed towards the Roman Catholic Church. There was a lot of focus on the corruption within the Church, especially centered around the Bank scandal, the sexual abuse scandal and birth control.
All of the above are issues and concerns within the Church. My problems is that many of these issues brought into the book only confused the point of the story. It drew it out and was at times confusing. I taught religion for 30 years and still had to re-read a couple of sections and I knew what was being talked about. The book would have flowed much better is every objection and complaint against the Church wasn't brought into the storyline.
Peter, in this story, turns traitor and betrays the the Davidic line continued in Tamar. He later repents and agrees to lead the church.
This is told in contrast to modern times when there is a deranged Cardinal in the Vatican that intends to kill the women who form the Le Donne Azzuro or The Women in Blue. The women are descendants of Tamar. There belief was that Jesus had planned that Magdalene was an equal in His ministry and had evidence that they planned to release.
The problem with this book, in my opinion, is that for the average reader it would be easy to be bogged down in the amount of material contained. The author brought in the belief of Mithra, the Cathars in the Langduedoc region in France who have a great devotion the the Magdalene. Most readers will have little knowledge of this information.
There seems to be a negative attitude directed towards the Roman Catholic Church. There was a lot of focus on the corruption within the Church, especially centered around the Bank scandal, the sexual abuse scandal and birth control.
All of the above are issues and concerns within the Church. My problems is that many of these issues brought into the book only confused the point of the story. It drew it out and was at times confusing. I taught religion for 30 years and still had to re-read a couple of sections and I knew what was being talked about. The book would have flowed much better is every objection and complaint against the Church wasn't brought into the storyline.
October 5, 2014
Captivating & disturbing, but worthy of 5 Stars!
Combine historical fiction with a modern-day mystery and throw in a conspiracy with a religious twist and what do you get? A book you can’t put down!
If the introduction of a crucified woman labeled ‘The Magdalene Whore’ doesn’t get your attention, revelations of “the ultimate truth about Mary and Jesus” surely will. This is a read that both captivates and disturbs….A disturbing read, I’d suggest, for die-hard Christians.
As the author rightly points out, “In the early history of the church, there is no more mysterious or controversial figure than Mary Magdalene.” That sets the scene for what follows – (in this reviewer’s opinion) a book that can favorably be compared to The Da Vinci Code!
December 13, 2012
The "conspiracy" part of the book is set in modern Rome and could stand alone. I found the digressions-- the history of Venice, the post-crucifixion story of Yeshua (Jesus) and his life with Miryai (Mary Magdalene), the history of the Guilianini family, Constantine--distracting and I'm a history buff. The ending is unbelievable.
Someone needed to edit the Kindle edition more carefully. An early chapter about Yeshua/Miryai was repeated
verbatim later in the book.
No sex
Non graphic violence
Someone needed to edit the Kindle edition more carefully. An early chapter about Yeshua/Miryai was repeated
verbatim later in the book.
No sex
Non graphic violence
September 6, 2016
Do not spend a single penny or second on this ridiculous excuse for a book. It reads as if written by junior high school girl with minimal English skills and a head full of cliches. There is nothing subtle about this "book". There is no character development because there are no original characters. The plot is a mishmash of conspiracies centered on The Knights of Malta, the Catholic Church, and the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Normally, this is the kind of plot I love, but the shortcomings of the book made it impossible to read.
Save money and time. Don't bother.
Save money and time. Don't bother.
July 21, 2015
Another great thriller!
I have read Yvonne Crowe books before so I am not a stranger to her work. Although not as good as the others I still found myself glued to the book till the end. Like her other books, there are lots of twists and turns and the characters are engaging. At times there are too much information and the conversations, a little too long but underneath a seemingly ordinary story lies an intense thriller fills with seeded conspiracies.
I have read Yvonne Crowe books before so I am not a stranger to her work. Although not as good as the others I still found myself glued to the book till the end. Like her other books, there are lots of twists and turns and the characters are engaging. At times there are too much information and the conversations, a little too long but underneath a seemingly ordinary story lies an intense thriller fills with seeded conspiracies.
December 25, 2012
The true heir to Dan Brown's throne - the plot rattles along, nearly rattling itself apart in the process, with the reader frantically skim-reading in order not to get dragged under by the excruciatingly grating prose. Clumsy, teeth-grindingly-bad writing kept semi-afloat by a marginally distracting story; Dan Brown had better watch his back...
March 18, 2013
Interesting concept, shame it was spoiled by probably the most atrocious prose I've ever had the misfortune to read. Characterisation is truly awful, dialogue is painful. My recommendation is don't bother unless you are marooned on a desert island with only this book for company and even then I'd think twice before starting it. You will be disappointed
March 29, 2016
The Author Never Met a Comma She Didn't Like
Dreadful. Wooden dialogue that puts one to sleep. But the worst part about trying to read this book is the indiscriminate and wholly inappropriate use of the comma. Over and over again. In virtually every sentence. These two points rendered the book unreadable.
Dreadful. Wooden dialogue that puts one to sleep. But the worst part about trying to read this book is the indiscriminate and wholly inappropriate use of the comma. Over and over again. In virtually every sentence. These two points rendered the book unreadable.
November 17, 2013
Very disjointed writing. Interesting plot.
November 16, 2013
not the best plot and not very well written
January 1, 2015
I really wanted to enjoy this book because it sounded interesting, but it was poorly written and in need of an editor. I finally gave up on this one.
November 7, 2014
Had to give up after 80 or so pages - very boring. Too much detail on the hierarchy of the Vatican and Catholic Church. Just didn't get going.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews