The Vatican has hired American geneticist Charlotte Hennessey to examine the bones in the ossuary. Helping her is Italian anthropologist Dr Giovanni Bersie. In the forensic study, they determine the bones to be those of a 30-year-old man who had been stabbed and crucified. There are many questions arising from this ossuary. How did it come to be buried in this secret crypt? What role did the Knights Templar play in this? What was the role of Joseph of Arimathea in the Resurrection and the removal of the bones from Italy back to Jerusalem? And are these actually the bones of Jesus?

Killers and religious zealots all struggle to obtain the ossuary and the bones it contains. The ruthless Cardinal Santelli orders Father Donovan to destroy the ossuary and the bones it contains to prevent any questions that might arise from its discovery. Father Donovan fails to follow the Cardinal's orders and conceals the bones in St Peter's tomb in the Vatican. Thus we set the plot for a sequel to The Sacred Bones.

This is another religious thriller to be shelved alongside The DaVinci Code, The Secret Supper, and the many others that have proliferated. The details of the Temple Mount are exact. The descriptions of the Vatican and Jerusalem read like a guide book. The science of archaeology and forensics is very informative. The description of the crucifixion is comprehensive and all too graphic. That said, I believe that these add little to the story. In fact, I found much of it detracted from the story.

The characters, from Charlotte struggling with bone cancer to the nefarious Conte and the ruthless Cardinal are well presented. This is a well-written premise, based on the stories of Jesus and Joseph Arimathea. There is a fine blend of historical fact and fiction from present-day Middle East politics back to the days of the Templar Knights.

The book is thought-provoking as it is meant to be. If the facts were true, they would challenge many of modern religions’ deepest held beliefs about Judaism, Jesus Christ and early Christianity.