What an awesome tale! Don't be put off by the slow beginning, or the first few pages of French place names that leave you frustrated as you don't recognize them and can't pronounce them, this book winds up to a crescendo and the ending is fantastic. Well-written, with a richly descriptive vocabulary, BIBLE OF THE DEAD is a brilliantly woven tale of folklore and superstition, intermingled with horrific scientific experiments and secrets from the past.

Set simultaneously in a small French village and the Cambodian jungle, this tale of ancient and modern torture, and murder, brings together Chemda, a Khmer lawyer, Jake, a British photojournalist and Julia, a Canadian archaeologist, who are individually, then collectively, trying to solve the mystery of sets of skulls that have been found with holes neatly bored into their foreheads. What they unearth has consequences for the evolution of the human race and is spine chilling beyond belief. They soon find themselves running for their lives and end up, betrayed and terrified, in a clinic in a remote mountain village in China. The truth is finally set out before them, with terrifying consequences for everyone.

The twists and turns of this tale are as breathtaking as the scenery that it takes you through along the way. The plot gathers pace and momentum, dragging you along with it and rendering you as helpless as the trio risking everything as they try to solve the clues. If you like your crime fiction with a twist, then this one is definitely for you. Extremely highly recommended.

Amanda C M Gillies, Scotland
April 2011