AGNUS DEI: A Mystery Thriller

Ex Libris #2

by T.S. Falk

Revised edition (04-24-2025)

From the Author of The Ancient Code comes a new thriller for all fans of Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, and mystery adventures.

A stand-alone novel that also serves as a sequel to Apocrypha.

In a small town, a boy appears to have performed a miracle. The Vatican has asked Dr. Patrick Bauer to investigate rumors that the boy could be the reborn Messiah.

When he recruits his ex-lover and former partner Sarah Wilderman to look into the boy, they soon find themselves in a web of conspiracies and influences.

But more and more some people begin to doubt if that boy is a force of good at all ...

DaVinci Code meets The Omen.

The book obviously has religious themes. Those are purely used for the purpose of entertainment and aren't meant to present arguments in any kind of theological discussion.

Genres: Mystery

409 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2025

About the author

T.S. Falk is a lifelong adventure enthusiast and when a certain pandemic hit, he started writing the books he would like to read.

THE AUTHOR HAS NO SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES AND ALL PROFILES OUT THERE ARE FAKE AND NOT CONNECTED TO THE AUTHOR AT ALL! HE DOES NOT HAVE A WEBSITE!

If you want to reach him, you find an e-mail address to do so at the end of each book!

Reviews

[Janet WenShu]

Wow really great sci-fi suspense

The authors did a great job with the storyline, the pace of the story and it’s intense in some pages to read. I truly loved it. Worth reading.

[Jeanette]

second book in the series

Okay, the first book introduced the main characters and the inner workings of the Vatican. Great adventure book. Read my first review for more info.

This second book takes it to a new level. I just finished it and I’m still processing it. I’m kind of at a loss in how best to describe it. Definitely lots of technology that I left out of my first review. Good tech not evil. The two main characters joined forces again to find the truth about a young boy who seems to have brought a school friend back from the dead. Or did he? So many very good and very bad people just like we face today. Those who want to destroy something they don’t understand even within the church. Those whose faith leads them to worship and pressure a scared young boy. Good and evil. Trickery of those who believe he is evil. Saved by one of the main characters until he chose to save her. The ending is still percolating in my mind. I am looking forward to the third book. It takes a different track I think. Maybe away from the Vatican towards something else. I’ll find out today.

[Ramon Cavazos]

I was surprised that I liked this one better than the last. It's not like you get any more backstory on any of the characters as the primary ones we got to know in the last book. I think I preferred Sarah's ability to be independent and not waffling in the relationship subplot (although the status her dating life still comes up and should that always be the case with a female protagonist?).

The premise, the ambiguity, and the reflection on human nature when facing a world-changing question (crisis?), was all very intriguing. I can see how this one may not appeal to some people given the nature of faith and religion, but if it all sounds interesting, I recommend you give it a read.

[Ben]

I really enjoyed APOCRYPHA and, not surprisingly, found AGNUS DEI to be a great addition to the Ex Libris series.

Sarah and Patrick are both very likeable characters, each very different and unique from one another, which makes them work so well. Moreover, I couldn't help but feel a lot of empathy for Paul's plight and will be interested to see just what side of good and evil he is truly on considering his birth origin.

T.S. Falk has grown to become a very dependable author with his copious amounts of book series'. You can pretty much count on all the stories therein to be of excellent quality and worth the read.

Conclusively, I am eager to read the next installment of the Ex Libris series.

[Melissa Wilcox]

It's a good story; the plot moves along nicely and kept my interest despite the major editing failures. Throughout the book, the author used "hearsay" when clearly "heresy" is meant. There are several other typos and word ommissions throughout the book. I read the Kindle version, so possibly a print version has the corrections. If not, please revist and correct the errors. The editing failures did not prevent my enjoyment of the book -- I just corrected them in my head.

[Vincent Veritas]

Another good one from T.S. Falk. I got tired of the Ashra books, I feel they've become stale. This book is in a completely different universe: religion and the Vatican. The story feels fresh and daring. Very daring. And that's what I particularly liked. Without spoiling anything, let me just say that I was a bit sad at the end. Obviously it was a tricky task to come up with an ending for such a book. Still, what a good story that was.

[Robert]

Agnus Dei is a story about Paul Harper, a 12-year-old boy, who revives another boy who is presumed to be dead. Some see this as a possible second coming of Christ, others, not so sure. So, the Vatican asks Dr. Patrick Bauer, a former priest, to evaluate this phenomenon by sending Sarah Wilderman to gather information surrounding this event. What ensues is a carnival atmosphere in Paul Harper’s hometown with competing religious interests -- some welcoming, some not.

[Nancy M Davis]

Interesting Story. Sloppy Editing

I’m not a professional editor, just a former English teacher, but I could fill pages with the unprofessional errors… “ her” instead of “here”; “ if” instead of “ of”; s blaring horn from a car with a disconnected battery, etc. I could go on enough to fill an entire page, but it’r not wort the time. Very disappointing.

[Lana Jefts]

2025 April 2nd. This, this is the 22nd book.I've read this year.

This is the best book I've read in a very long time. It is not only well written and well-thought-out, and the characters are strong and believable.

I will always recommend this book for anyone to read.

I hope T.S. Falk is writing a sequel to this right now? And I can't possibly wait much longer


David Jefts

[Chuck Woodbury]

Sarah nails it.

Fall gets better and better. And I think we will be seeing a lot more of Sarah Wildeman. It’s a religious mystery. Who is the strange boy that seemingly resurrected a dead classmate? Is he the second coming or something much worse. Either way, the Church is afraid. Sarah and Paul have a lot on their hands here.

[María Mónica Beltrami]

Very good plot for a Sci-fi novel by one of my favourite writers.

I'm Catholic. Maybe not a good one, but by my means I try to follow the Good Word.
This novel kept me in the border of my chair from the start.
I wouldn't try to follow the discussion about the boy and his possible powers, but it's a novel plot, isn't it?
Good to read with open mind.
Thank you Mr. Falk.

[Karen Brklich]

I love this series, especially this particular book. The character development is fantastic. The storyline is amazing and the flow of the story is spot on. I did not feel like this was a 400 page book, the story moved along and took a turn I actually didn't see coming, which if you knew me you'd be surprised. Well done T.S. Falk, well done!

[Krikor Mnatzaganian]

Entertaining without substance - Hollywood fodder

Two stars for the entertainment. Substance? Depth? Truth? You won't find any of it here. Forgettable fiction that grossly misrepresents the Christian faith in lieu of a pretence of education. A much more fitting title for this book would have been: Lupus Diaboli.

[Linda Walls Beauregard]

DIDNT THINK IT POSSIBLE

But it was better than the first book. I love to be so engrossed in a book that I lose track of time. Sarah doesn’t fail to be herself as well as Patrick. People of faith will feel all kinds of feelings and those who don’t believe will role their eyes. Either way it’s a journey, fast and furious.

[James W. Stewart]

Surreal, thought-provoking, and educating. Fast pace reading

Very thought provoking so that you can actually imagine the storyline being play out in real life
A real page turner as I finished the book in a day and a half.

[Paul Hoekema]

What a great book!

Theo does it again this book will take you on an epic ride. Enjoy the work of a great author. You feel as if you are there with the characters. A job well done! Thank you T.S.Falk

[Cherryann]

Exciting

Very well written that stirs the emotions. This is the second book I have read by T.S Falk and very much enjoyed. Lots of action and suspense with a sprinkle of romance. Now ready to read the next adventure of Patrick and Sarah!

[Shelly Geier]

Science can be fascinating

I could not put this book down I read it in a couple of hours it was fascinating. Especially Being of The catholic faith Brought up some interesting views.

[Malcolm Johnson]

My thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this book. The storyline was very different than any other book I have read. I especially enjoyed Sarah's part as the protector of Paul. I found it very hard to put it down when I stopped reading.

[Peter A.]

Great Story

This is a page turner. The story picks up steam the entire way through. Great sub-characters are developed to complement the stars. The story is believable and doesn’t get ridiculous or lost. Good book!

[Annette Mordec]

Another great story

What religious fanatics won't do. Either to confirm or deny the faith. Most wars started over religion and unfortunately still do.
Is it really worth it? Can't we just live our lives in peace?

[Richard Enns]

unrealistic fantasy

This book was difficult to read as the characters, plot and theme were so far fetched. Violence was unnecessarily thrown in. I cannot recommend anyone wasting their time reading this book.

[Terri Pettigrew]

Great book! Have read this author before

I like this author stories. I've read other books by him and Sarah was a side character in a couple of them. I like that he picked her and wrote more adventures with her as the main character! Enjoy!

[JOHN TINKHAM]

Best Yet

All the TS folk books I have read have been great, but I believe this might be the best one yet. The story stayed exciting and had a lot of emotion with a unique ending.

[Larry McCarty]

very good read and thought provoking

Thought provoking read. The story challenges the mind of the possibility of the Trinity and the weakness of human thinking toward the Devine.

[Jim]

Very good & enjoyable

This book was great. Held my interest from beginning to end. Very enjoyable. I greatly appreciate your writing. Master wordsmith!

[John Reimschisel]

This is book 1 of 2, I had read the 2nd book, unaware it was a second in the series. So Now I've read this one and I thouroughly enjoyed it.

[Constance T. Carroll]

Great read

Taunt action!
thought provoking story with wonderful dialogue.
I recommend this book and other stories by same author.
Be blessed as you read the books

[Joy Kelly]

Who would have guessed?

Quite the read. Never thought of what the actual future looked like through the eyes of a writer. A good read.

[hd72]

slow to start but definitely picks up!

The first 1/3 slow, but boy did it ever get going! Flak is a gifted writer and I am going to read the rest of this works.