THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (Cal Donovan 1)

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS is the first in a new series of thrillers. Rights to this and Glenn's next four books have already been sold in Italian in a seven-figure deal with Casa Editrice Nord.

Cal Donovan is a professor of religion and archaeology at Harvard University. The book opens as Cal is summoned by the Vatican to investigate a young priest who has developed the stigmata of the crucifixion. Skeptical but intrigued, Cal flies to Italy to interview the priest—Giovanni Berardino—as well as his colleagues and family members. Giovanni agrees to a meeting but Cal can't shake the feeling that the priest isn't telling him everything. And he's certain that Irene, Giovanni's older sister, is lying in order to protect him. But with the help of a doctor and the Vatican library some answers begin to coalesce.

Cal is stunned when his investigation reveals that Giovanni's wounds are not self-inflicted and that his condition may be genuine. The Vatican, fearing a cult of personality, decides to cover up his findings. But when Giovanni is kidnapped from his church in the middle of the night, Cal realizes that the priest still holds the key to an earth-shattering secret that another, more sinister group is desperate to control—a shadowy neo-Nazi organization that believes they can use Giovanni to carry out their plans. Cal and Irene must unravel the mystery and find Giovanni in a perilous race against the clock—before an apocalyptic catastrophe is unleashed.

Glenn Cooper's thrillers have sold six million copies in thirty languages. His books, including the LIBRARY OF THE DEAD trilogy, which is under development as a film series, have consistently been bestsellers throughout Europe. His most recent series, DOWN, was sold in Bulgarian to Bard, in French to Le Cherche Midi, in Italian to Casa Editrice Nord, and in Spanish to Penguin Random House.