Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: 7/31/2012
Have you ever seen those old black and white television clips where the guy is spinning plates on sticks? It sounds crazy, but these guys would spin like 5 or 6 different plates on sticks. Just when one would be spinning at a decent clip, one of the other plates would start to slow down. So the guy would have to get that one spinning again. And then another plate would slow down. If the guy wasn’t careful, the other plates would come crashing down because they didn’t get enough attention.
With a story that takes international conspiracies, fire and brimstone televangelists, and the mob, mixed together with a catholic priest who’s suffering from a crisis of faith, and a could-be-honest-to-God-miracle, you may start to worry about those plates crashing down. (Oh, and there’s a voodoo priestess, too.)
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE PLATES. What author Sean Chercover has created (probably in more than 6 days, even with a day of rest) is a fantastic balancing act. With The Trinity Game, Chercover has stepped out of the private eye mystery genre that he established himself in with his first two novels starring PI Ray Dudgeon. This book is thriller.
Daniel Byrne is a priest with a special niche. He works for the Vatican’s Office Of The Devil’s Advocate. While you would think most folks are out trying to find proof of God’s miracles here on Earth; Daniel’s job is to prove them false.
It’s a job he has taken to with gusto. Daniel struggles with his faith daily. Every day, he wakes up and prays to God for a stronger faith. Maybe it’s because he’s seen first hand how faith can be turned on people. Growing up, Daniel was raised by a traveling preacher named Tim Trinity. Daniel spent his childhood on the road, watching as his uncle set up the tent revivals, and made the blind see or the crippled walk. He watched as the people were rewarded for their faith by having their wallets emptied, all in the name of faith.
Needless to say, Daniel and Tim don’t talk much anymore.
That is until Daniel gets his next assignment. The Vatican has learned of a preacher operating in the South who has begun speaking in tongues, and buried in the “tongues” are messages that have been proven to foretell future events. That preacher is Tim Trinity. Lottery numbers, car crashes, stock crashes and sports scores; Trinity has foretold them all.
Soon, the entire world is aware of the miracle. And as the Vatican, the mob, and Daniel’s estranged love Julia all converge on post-Katrina New Orleans, it’s all Daniel can do to keep Trinity alive. Chercover takes all of these plates and keeps them spinning perfectly. THE TRINITY GAME is a fantastic thriller by an author that has never failed to impress.
Dan
