EXCERPT
According to Luke
by Rosanne Dingli
Rosanne Dingli, author of According to Luke, stops by to share an excerpt from the book.
More books by this author: Death in Malta (read my blog post), Camera Obscura (read my blog post), and The Hidden Auditorium (read my blog post).
Description
An exciting art heist novel featuring Prof Bryn Awbrey.
Art conservator Jana Hayes has no idea, even when she is mugged, that murder and a frantic chase through Europe are about to confound her life. When curator Rob Anderson, who happens to be a priest, brings a mysterious icon into the lab, it shakes her tranquil humdrum days. The old wooden panel poses questions about the identity of a New Testament evangelist. It is a dangerous dilemma that changes everything, including how she regards her own safety; including the strained relationship with her own mother.
According to Luke is a thrilling romantic novel of secrecy, symbols, faith, and forbidden love. It takes the reader on a quest for an ancient truth so powerful it disturbs the Catholic Church: a truth so explosive it attracts violent separatists, and demands a ransom of millions. Follow a ill-fated couple on a chase that charges from Venice to Malta, and then to the Byzantine town of Ravenna: a chase that escalates to disaster in Damascus, until a solution is found in the Victorian countryside in Australia.
Excerpt
It was a good two hours before she could make any sense of the confusion as she was shifted back and forth, from one room to another, then into the boardroom, wondering whether she should ask for some water, or go to the bathroom.
‘The weapon was a narrow blunt instrument.’ The inspector droned on in a matter of fact way, possibly aware of the effect his words would have. But he hardly looked at her face. ‘Like a spanner or wheel brace. Two sharp strokes.’ His eyes never left his notebook and his expression never changed. ‘We have not found it.’ He wrote in his book. ‘Is there such an instrument in use in your laboratory? Something heavy...?’
She felt sick. ‘No ... heavy? No.’ She thought of scalpels, tweezers. Nothing heavy enough to kill Anita. Nausea rose again and she leaned against a wall. Anita was a co-worker who had become a friend. Now she was gone, killed with wheel brace – or a spanner. Something heavy. A crushing sensation made her hand fly from stomach to temple.
Manfrè spoke without looking at her. ‘You need some water. Dell’acqua ... prego ... sì’ He signalled to a policewoman.
The shock had hit her when she was already wound up. For hours she was numb, now it all flooded back.
Praise for the Book
"Church politics and forbidden romance merge together in this page-turner. A superb mystery from Rosanne Dingli." ~ Janet Woods, author of Salting the Wound
"The book is well written and the tension builds with each twist in the plot." ~ Rebecka Vigus
"This is one of my favourite genres: contemporary mystery thriller - with a romance thrown in for good measure." ~ Alana Woods
"This book will grab your attention from start to finish." ~ The Kindle Book Review
About the Author
Sought by an international audience for prize-winning short stories and intricate novels, Rosanne Dingli has published fiction successfully for over 25 years. Most of her body of work is available in paperback and ebook.
This author's fiction centres around the classical Arts, such as painting, music, and literature. She also uses locations and their allure to anchor her stories and give them substance.
Rosanne is the author of a number of books, including The Hidden Auditorium, Camera Obscura, and According to Luke. She is now writing full-time after retiring from teaching in 2009. Her out-of-print short fiction and poetry is once more available in handy easy-to-read volumes that do not cost the earth.
To sample Rosanne's writing, download a FREE copy of The Red Volkswagen and Other Stories by Rosanne Dingli from B&N, iTunes, Kobo, or Smashwords.
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