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The Sterling Novels #1
The Hand of Christ
A document bearing the hand print of Christ is stolen. Another is discovered. Middle East peace talks at the Umayyad Mosque in Syria are attacked and CIA Officer Dr. Michael Sterling is caught in the middle. Along with the ambassadors of each nation in attendance, a Syrian agent is fatally wounded but, before dying, passes shocking intelligence to Michael - intelligence that outlines the planned assassinations of the Ayatollah of Iran and of the Pope and more: the intelligence outlines the history of an esoteric organization that traces their lineage to the truth of the Crucifixion – to Christ himself. Known only as the Order, their charter and goal throughout history has been to infiltrate governments with pawns of their own; to reclaim their right to rule.
To make matters worse, the Order has framed Michael for the Ayatollah's assassination and a Presidential backed, but botched CIA mission – codenamed Merlin – made Iran nuclear capable and they want revenge for the killing of their beloved leader. Iran has aimed its full nuclear arsenal at the United States and has issued an ultimatum: hand over Michael in forty-eight hours or it will be war – exactly as the Order had planned.
Attacked by his own agency, manipulated by the Order, and wanted by the Iranians, Dr. Michael Sterling carries the reader on a mesmerizing and fast-paced journey through Syria, the US, and Rome to stop the Pope's murder and to avert a manufactured war.
To make matters worse, the Order has framed Michael for the Ayatollah's assassination and a Presidential backed, but botched CIA mission – codenamed Merlin – made Iran nuclear capable and they want revenge for the killing of their beloved leader. Iran has aimed its full nuclear arsenal at the United States and has issued an ultimatum: hand over Michael in forty-eight hours or it will be war – exactly as the Order had planned.
Attacked by his own agency, manipulated by the Order, and wanted by the Iranians, Dr. Michael Sterling carries the reader on a mesmerizing and fast-paced journey through Syria, the US, and Rome to stop the Pope's murder and to avert a manufactured war.
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First published January 18, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 25, 2016
A mystery thriller along the line of a Dan Brown novel. I am giving it a three mainly because I feel annoyed by the sheer number of grammatical and spelling errors. This one would benefit from a really good proofreader.
February 28, 2021
This is another religious artifact thriller. The premise, that a document exists showing a valid claim to the throne of David, as presented in the book description, got me started.
The action was high octane and began immediately, with Dr. Michael Sterling Jr. being given the document by its dying guardian at peace conference in the Middle East that is attacked by extremists. Dr. Sterling is the lone survivor. Most of the action takes place in less than 72 hours. As an action story, involving the hunt for an assassin that is leaving a trail of bodies the Dr. Sterling could be blamed for, this was a really enjoyable read.
As someone not prone to seeing conspiracies everywhere, I found the story a little less entertaining. A shadowy organization that claims the document has spent centuries infiltrating governments around the world is the ultimate villain in the story, but may not be the only one involved in the outcome.
What potentially knocked my rating down was how denigrating the tone to basically all organized religion and their followers. If more pages had been spent knocking religion in general, I doubt I would have finished. It was enough to make me doubt I will read any others in the series.
The action was high octane and began immediately, with Dr. Michael Sterling Jr. being given the document by its dying guardian at peace conference in the Middle East that is attacked by extremists. Dr. Sterling is the lone survivor. Most of the action takes place in less than 72 hours. As an action story, involving the hunt for an assassin that is leaving a trail of bodies the Dr. Sterling could be blamed for, this was a really enjoyable read.
As someone not prone to seeing conspiracies everywhere, I found the story a little less entertaining. A shadowy organization that claims the document has spent centuries infiltrating governments around the world is the ultimate villain in the story, but may not be the only one involved in the outcome.
What potentially knocked my rating down was how denigrating the tone to basically all organized religion and their followers. If more pages had been spent knocking religion in general, I doubt I would have finished. It was enough to make me doubt I will read any others in the series.
October 30, 2013
What if everything that you thought you knew about Christianity was a lie? Such is the premise of "The Hand of Christ".
The newly elected Pope discovers a document that has been hidden for centuries. A CIA officer has possession of another significant document. The only problem, someone, or some secret organization knows about it all and is manipulating it all in order to bring about their desired outcome.
These are the main elements of the book that poses a plot suggesting that Jesus Christ actually did not die on the cross as recorded in the Bible. Instead, Jesus and his wife, Mary and their children fled to Egypt. And thus established a direct bloodline and "heirs" to the throne in Jerusalem. Mary and the children ultimately ended up in Europe where ultimately a secret "Order" was formed that claimed to be the legitimate and rightful heirs of Jesus. And all of this is laid out in some secret documents. And within on of the documents is an ancient "Hit List." John F. Kennedy was on it. And so is the newly elected Pope!
Now in modern day time, there is a terrorist attack on significant and substantive peace talks and CIA agent, Dr. Michael Sterling is the only person to survive the attack. At almost the same time, the Ayatollah is murdered along with his family and household. To make matters worse, someone has framed Dr. Sterling for the Ayatollah's assassination. And a Presidential backed, but botched CIA mission – codenamed Merlin – has made Iran nuclear capable and they want revenge for the killing of their beloved Ayatollah.
Framed by some within his own agency, manipulated by the Order, and wanted by the Iranians, Dr. Michael Sterling must stop the Pope's murder and avert a manufactured war.
In the end, is will not shake your faith in Jesus Christ if you are a Christian. But it weaves enough historical and heretical tidbits into the plot to make it well worth your time!
The newly elected Pope discovers a document that has been hidden for centuries. A CIA officer has possession of another significant document. The only problem, someone, or some secret organization knows about it all and is manipulating it all in order to bring about their desired outcome.
These are the main elements of the book that poses a plot suggesting that Jesus Christ actually did not die on the cross as recorded in the Bible. Instead, Jesus and his wife, Mary and their children fled to Egypt. And thus established a direct bloodline and "heirs" to the throne in Jerusalem. Mary and the children ultimately ended up in Europe where ultimately a secret "Order" was formed that claimed to be the legitimate and rightful heirs of Jesus. And all of this is laid out in some secret documents. And within on of the documents is an ancient "Hit List." John F. Kennedy was on it. And so is the newly elected Pope!
Now in modern day time, there is a terrorist attack on significant and substantive peace talks and CIA agent, Dr. Michael Sterling is the only person to survive the attack. At almost the same time, the Ayatollah is murdered along with his family and household. To make matters worse, someone has framed Dr. Sterling for the Ayatollah's assassination. And a Presidential backed, but botched CIA mission – codenamed Merlin – has made Iran nuclear capable and they want revenge for the killing of their beloved Ayatollah.
Framed by some within his own agency, manipulated by the Order, and wanted by the Iranians, Dr. Michael Sterling must stop the Pope's murder and avert a manufactured war.
In the end, is will not shake your faith in Jesus Christ if you are a Christian. But it weaves enough historical and heretical tidbits into the plot to make it well worth your time!
August 20, 2011
A Dr. Michael Sterling Spy Thriller. This hot intelligent spy is moving on. He is married to a very delicious M.D. who doesn't know he is a spy but thinks he is a financial auditor and is required to do a lot of out of town audits (ha ha). The actions starts right up and Michael's right on top or should I say in the center of it. He is a party to peace negotiations being held in the ancient Grand Mosque of Umayyad, Damascas, Syria. The peace negotiations are interrupted by a rogue company of Hezbollah soldiers. This story is full of players who have mixed alliances, sometimes acting in their principle role and other times acting as a party in a mysterious hidden group that has been the puppet masters behind the powers. It seems betrayal is present on every other page with the hidden power brokers influencing every level administration from the CIA to Syria's Intelligence and the Vatican security. Apparently this hidden power has been influencing the direction of the Roman Catholic Church and World governments to meet their secret ambitions. These shadow groups known over time as the Knights Templar, Priory of Sion, Rosacrucians, Free Masons and now, The New World Order have wielded influence over time to control the course of history to favor their objectives. Dr. Michael Sterling moves among the plotters following the clues that were left for him and using his education, friends and position to wage war against the plotters in an attempt to avoid world war. His insights into the world of intelligence, religion (both western and eastern) and native intelligence serve him well in his crusade. If you really enjoy edge of the chair, non stop action and exposure to war craft and technology, this is the book for you! A great read!
July 16, 2010
What a fantastic book! So much better than the Da Vinci Code and so well written. A must read if you like thrillers!
The book is about a CIA officer that used to be an Army Ranger and then went into special operations in the CIA. His career has progressed and he is now the CIA's expert in the middle east. He discovers that an esoteric group has assassinated the ayatollah of Iran and are planning to kill the pope next. They are trying to get the east and west into a war with each other and plan to replace the killed leaders with their pawns. Along the way, a vellum is discovered that has Christ's handprint on it and the group wants it; they believe that their right to rule comes from a connection they have with Christ. They believe that he wasn't crucified and that the vellum is proof, and the proof that they have the right to rule. (Hence their desire to create conflict so they can infiltrate the church and governments.). The book is fast paced and the author does a tremendous job bringing reality into the story. I am actually reading it again right now.
The book is about a CIA officer that used to be an Army Ranger and then went into special operations in the CIA. His career has progressed and he is now the CIA's expert in the middle east. He discovers that an esoteric group has assassinated the ayatollah of Iran and are planning to kill the pope next. They are trying to get the east and west into a war with each other and plan to replace the killed leaders with their pawns. Along the way, a vellum is discovered that has Christ's handprint on it and the group wants it; they believe that their right to rule comes from a connection they have with Christ. They believe that he wasn't crucified and that the vellum is proof, and the proof that they have the right to rule. (Hence their desire to create conflict so they can infiltrate the church and governments.). The book is fast paced and the author does a tremendous job bringing reality into the story. I am actually reading it again right now.
March 15, 2012
Dr. Michael Sterling is a CIA agent, except to his wife, who thinks he has a busy, but mundane job. Called to Damascus by a close Syrian friend, to a multi-national summit, things blow up, literally. His friend is killed, along with everyone else, except Michael. He's slipped an ancient book by Yousef, his friend, and from there, things really get wild. This is another book about The Order/Knights Templar, but with a twist. The story is very good, and grabs you right off the bat.
HOWEVER, as someone else pointed out, it needs a really heavy editor's hand. I have read a lot of Indie books, have even done some Beta reading for a few of the authors, and nothing I've read before comes close to the errors in this book. It's a shame that such a good story is damaged by the spelling, grammer, etc. errors.
HOWEVER, as someone else pointed out, it needs a really heavy editor's hand. I have read a lot of Indie books, have even done some Beta reading for a few of the authors, and nothing I've read before comes close to the errors in this book. It's a shame that such a good story is damaged by the spelling, grammer, etc. errors.
February 17, 2013
I really enjoyed the book. I thought the plot was entertaining, the locations fun to track with Google Earth, and the twists were nice. As a puzzle person, I liked the puzzle-plot-parts a lot. The pace picked up significantly in the second part of the book too. I honestly did have a hard time putting it down as it rolled to the finish.
I did get bogged down at times with the grammar and word choices - especially the seemingly random use of "peak" in lieu of "peek" throughout. Some of the conversations seem stilted too, since in real life conversations the two people involved rarely use each other's name throughout as was the case here.
Overall, I thought it was a very good read that could have been made even better with more careful editing and proofing. I will definitely be reading the other Sterling novels.
I did get bogged down at times with the grammar and word choices - especially the seemingly random use of "peak" in lieu of "peek" throughout. Some of the conversations seem stilted too, since in real life conversations the two people involved rarely use each other's name throughout as was the case here.
Overall, I thought it was a very good read that could have been made even better with more careful editing and proofing. I will definitely be reading the other Sterling novels.
June 2, 2012
With some serious editing, this could be a 5 star book. Nagle does a great job of setting a fast pace and sucking you into a scene, but then he completely derails it with long-winded side notes and detours. Every time the plot takes off and you just don't think you can put the book down so you can finally go to sleep, he abruptly shifts into show-and-tell. There are pages and pages of detailed descriptions of technology that completely stop the pace and add nothing to the story - Nagle just wanted you to know that he knows about this stuff.
Another pet peeve of mine - characters would go on long dialogues summing up and rehashing developments in the plot up to this point. Again, it doesn't help the story and just interrupts the pace.
Another pet peeve of mine - characters would go on long dialogues summing up and rehashing developments in the plot up to this point. Again, it doesn't help the story and just interrupts the pace.
April 14, 2014
The Hand of Christ is religious espionage at its best. There are so many players in the book, The CIA, The Order, Vatican, the Pope. Twists and turns galore. Who can be trusted.
At the beginning of his Papacy, Pope Leo finds a parchment in the Vatican apartment, On this parchment is a red hand print. The hand print of Christ. The Pope has to decided what to do and who to trust. Placing his trust in the wrong person can have devastating results.
The premise of the books is the marriage of Christ and Mary Magdalene and their blood line. If this concept offends then this isn't the book for you.
The Hand of Christ is a well written fast paced religious espionage. Great read.
At the beginning of his Papacy, Pope Leo finds a parchment in the Vatican apartment, On this parchment is a red hand print. The hand print of Christ. The Pope has to decided what to do and who to trust. Placing his trust in the wrong person can have devastating results.
The premise of the books is the marriage of Christ and Mary Magdalene and their blood line. If this concept offends then this isn't the book for you.
The Hand of Christ is a well written fast paced religious espionage. Great read.
September 20, 2013
Majority of the book I really enjoyed and would have given four stars. In the middle of the book though there were conversations between Michael and his wife and dad that were long winded and not very well done. There was something else that I can't put my finger on that I didn't enjoy about the middle of the story also. it was enough that I almost gave up on the book so had to drop to three stars.
July 16, 2010
Fantastic book - a cross between Bourne and Langdon. Highly recommend if you like thriller, CIA, government and religious conspiracy, spy, and historical. The author includes tremendously detailed aspects of history into the book. I was hooked from the Prologue. I am reading it for a second time.
January 1, 2012
I did enjoy this story, the plot and the action with the twists and turns, but just felt the author put it too much detail of events, places, things that detracted from the story, I tended to skip over those pages to get back to the plot. It improved in the 2nd half of the book. A good read though and would still recommend.
September 23, 2012
I admit, I almost gave up on this book and I'm glad I didn't! I struggled at first with the introduction of so many different characters and the number of acronyms really got a little tiresome. All in all a fantastic debut of Dr Sterling, I loved it and was so glad I downloaded the sequel before I went on holiday, look forward to the next one.
July 12, 2013
While numerous grammatical and spelling errors detract from the story, the book is a highly enjoyable, fast paced thriller. Dr. Michael Sterling is a flawed but likable character with intelligence and humor. The evolution of the plot is interesting and provides detailed historical context. With a few tweaks, I think I may like this series of books better than Dan Brown's Robert Langdon.
August 2, 2011
I loved this book and never knew what twists and turns were going to happen. If you're a fan of Dan Brown or James Rollins you will love this book!
May 19, 2012
Good Book, Very exciting but could have had a better ending.
July 7, 2013
It was okay. There was some language and the premise of the story was far fetched in my opinion.
July 11, 2013
While I liked the storyline quiet a bit, I found it poorly written. Way too much extraneous stuff and worded poorly throughout the book. Also it was much longer than it should have been.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews