When The Da Vinci Code first appeared in 2003 it caused worldwide sensation. People either loved or hated it for various reasons, not the least of which was the religious aspect of it. It brought to light many ideas that very few people had ever really considered. Its very existence has caused a clamor within the Catholic Church as they attempted to do damage control and recover from the scrutiny. It was very interesting to learn then that two years before The Da Vinci Code came out, a novel was released in Spain that I believe is far superior, and much more damning, than its younger associate.

The Last Cato centers on a celebrated and award-winning paleographer, Ottavia Salina, who also happens to be a nun in the Order of the Blessed Virgin. She spends her days deep within the Vatican archives, translating and researching material that will never see the light of day. She is privy to literary secrets that the Catholic Church has kept hidden for 2000 years. She is devout and steadfast in her love of the church so when a new project is brought to her, she has no idea that it will rock the very foundations of her life and sense of self.

Dr. Salina is being called upon to identify scarification marks that have been found on the body of a dead Ethiopian man who is suspected of stealing pieces of the True Cross from churches around the world. As Dr. Salina digs deeper, she becomes tangled in a mystery that has been carefully guarded for millennia with Dante Alighieri (The Divine Comedy) at the very center. The Captain of the Swiss Guard, Kaspar Glouser-Roist and an Egyptian anthropologist, Farag Boswell, will join her. Together these three will undergo a series of rigorous physical and mental trials in search of answers. It will lead them to the truth and the very things that their lives were missing most.

I have to say that this was, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read in a long time. I don't read much modern fiction but this was so good, and so suspenseful that I couldn't put it down. I finished it in about 24 hours. It was very well written, the characters had depth and were very compelling, and the story itself was unreal. The author took The Divine Comedy and wove an unbelievable tapestry into its story. I don't want to ruin anything but I actually found myself rooting for the nun and the anthropologist because they were so sweet together. I'm waiting with baited breath to see if she releases a sequel. Bookwhore says, "Read it!"

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Matilde Asensi was born in Alicante, Spain and studied journalism at the University of Barcelona. After beginning her career on local radio she began working for the Spanish national radio, responsible for reporting local news, while working simultaneously for a number of press agencies and magazines. She is also the author of international bestsellers Iacobus, The Amber Room, and more recently, The Lost Origin. She is one of the most successful authors of historical thriller of her generation. The Last Cato is her first book to be published in English.

Publisher: Rayo (April 1, 2006)

ISBN: 0060828579

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