Crucified — Michael Slade

“As far as historical, Vatican-connected occult thrillers go, this is a fun one, with the various timelines balanced to play off each other with verve.” -- Kirkus Reviews
 
When a World War II bomber is excavated fifty years after disappearing during a secret mission, the pilot's granddaughter, Liz Hannah, hires Wyatt Rook to investigate. A lawyer, historian, and detective, Rook is well-suited to follow a trail of clues that will take him from Germany, where he confronts the Third Reich's dark history, to another site just outside of Jerusalem shrouded in sinister shadows: the crucifixion of Christ. 
 
What Rook uncovers is a web of religious mystery surrounding a cryptic secret that, if deciphered, could destroy the very foundation of Christianity: the question of how Jesus escaped from his tomb. Using paintings and maps as clues, Rook steps deeper into a world where his enemy is none other than a modern Crusader, the Legionary of Christ, who will stop at nothing to keep the Judas puzzle -- one of the most vulnerable mysteries of the Bible -- from being solved.
 
A Fangoria Book of the Month
 
“If you want a series of mysteries better than the puzzles in The Da Vinci Code, Crucified is your book. Slade has all the hot buttons punched.” -- The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
 
“There are twists aplenty, scenes of gruesome torture and murder (with Inquisition tools, of course), and a series of small mysteries leading up to the larger mystery at the center of the book. It leaves one wanting more.” -- Quill & Quire
 
“A walloping murder mystery that cuts throats and shows no quarter. Ambitiously dark, sophisticated, and complex. Enjoy.” -- Fangoria