The Codex of San Rocco

by John Ingalls

An Italian bookseller is gunned down and the assailant escapes with a rare book. Molly, who was hiding in the back of the book shop, rushes to the side of the wounded man. Clinging to life, he gives Molly an ancient Latin codex and whispers his final words, “He took the wrong book. You’ll know what to do.” Before the dying merchant can explain, he breathes his last.
While attempting to discover the origin and authenticity of the Latin prayer book and why the bookseller gave his life for it, Molly enlists the help of an old friend and advisor, ex-DEA agent, Dag Rasmussen. With an arrest warrant for illegal possession of artifacts, and a killer on her path, Molly struggles under threats of violence to her family and kidnapping of her grandfather. When her mother receives a severed finger in the mail, Molly is ready to give up the book but her search for answers reveals an apocalyptic twist. In a post-Covid pandemic world cowering in the shadows of new threats, the secrets of the Latin codex expose a thread of greed, hypocrisy and deceit in a tangled web of politics, religious fervor and revenge.
As others join the global search for answers, they are confronted with an impossible choice of sacrificing themselves or risk the suffering and death of millions. Put on your slippers and grab a cup of tea but The Codex of San Rocco won’t let you get comfortable.

Paperback

Published April 13, 2022

Reviews

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again John Ingalls regales us with his humor, his quirky characters and a plot that has us gallivanting from Italy to the Northwoods of Wisconsin to California, India, and a deserted island in the Pacific. A dying bookseller presses an antique book into Molly’s hands. “You will know what to do,” he says, and Molly spends the rest of the story trying to figure that out. These are some of the same characters as in Where There is a Will and There is a Way, and this story, too, is full of riddles and coded messages. So much fun!