Book Review: Book of Judas

Book of Judas

by: Linda Stasi

Publication Date: September 19, 2017
Finished on: September 17, 2017
Publisher: Forge

I received a free finished copy of Book of Judas from Get Red PR and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed below are my own.

Synopsis:
Hi all - I tried HARD to write up a synopsis of this book in my own words, but failed miserably.  There is a LOT that happens in this book and I am NOT a writer, so I don't feel like my description does it justice.  Just know that the main character, Alessandra, is a badass journalist in New York.  A friend's father dies, throwing her into the center of an investigation about a religious relic.  I will copy the Goodreads synopsis below:

"From hard-hitting New York Daily News columnist Linda Stasi comes Book of Judas, a riveting religious thriller featuring beloved protagonist Alessandra Russo.

When her infant son is placed in mortal danger, New York City reporter Alessandra Russo is forced to save him by tracking down the missing pages of the Gospel of Judas, a heretical manuscript that was unearthed in Al-Minya, Egypt in the 1970's. The manuscript declares that Judas was not the betrayer, but the beloved, of Jesus. The Gospel disappeared, only to turn up decades later, rotted beyond repair in a Long Island bank deposit box. Rumors ran rampant that the most important pages had been stolen.

Do the lost pages reveal a secret that will challenge Christianity's very belief about the creation of life, or even the power to unleash Armageddon? What if such explosive documents fell into the hands of modern-day terrorists, dictators, or religious fanatics?

During her investigation, Alessandra is plunged into a dark world of murder, conspiracy, sexual depravity, and most importantly, a race against the clock to save her own child." (From Goodreads)

My review:
I have to admit, I wasn't crazy excited to read this book.  Any time I see "religious" anything in a title, I assume it isn't a good fit for me as I'm not a religious person.  I actually think that made my reading of this book much better.  If you are an extremely religious person and do not feel comfortable questioning the history of religion in an obviously fictional text (or if you had a hard time reading the DaVinci Code for religious reasons), then this probably isn't a good fit for you.  If you can keep an open mind and are open to a "what if" type scenario in regards to religion, then you should definitely pick this one up!

It has been ages since I read anything similar to the DaVinci Code, but I still remember devouring that book when it was released.  That was during a time that I wasn't an avid reader.  I was in college at the time and didn't have a lot of time (well, didn't make a lot of time) for pleasure reading.  I still read the DaVinci Code and then EVERY other book that Dan Brown had published at that time.  Why am I waxing on about a book that isn't the one I'm currently reviewing?  I can't help but make comparisons between the DaVinci Code and Book of Judas.  The specific plot of Book of Judas isn't the same (from what I remember) as the DaVinci Code, but they had a similar feel for me.

Parts of the beginning of Book of Judas appeared to be a recap of book one in the series (The Sixth Station).  I didn't read that book, but rather started with Book of Judas.  I was fine not knowing the details and actually wish less had been reviewed from that book.  At first, I found the casual style of dialogue and the slang use to be a bit distracting for me.  Once I got into the meat of the plot, this was a quick read for me.  I read most of the book on one (weekend) day.

Linda Stasi does an amazing job of giving you little twists and tidbits of information at the end of the chapter that make the reader want to read just ONE MORE CHAPTER before taking a break.  To me, that meant finishing the book and ignoring chores and my significant other.

While you have to suspend belief at what the characters inherently know and their connections within the book, they aren't so outlandish that you can't believe that it COULD happen.

This was my first book by Linda Stasi, but I would love to read more!  If you are a fan of religious thrillers like The DaVinci Code, then you should definitely pick this one up.  Book of Judas has a strong female lead, transports you into different words, and will have you pondering all sorts of conspiracy theories.