Book Review: The Rose Conspiracy by Craig Parshall

The Rose Conspiracy
By Craig Parshall

(With thanks to Stacy Harp of Active Christian Media and Harvest House Publishing for providing the book and giving me the opportunity to review it.)

The Rose Conspiracy is the story of a lovely but eccentric artist (anymore, what artist isn’t eccentric?) named Vinnie Archmont who is accused of murdering the president of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing pages of John Wilkes Booth’s diary. She is defended by a brilliant but flawed attorney (and what brilliant character isn’t flawed?) named JD Blackstone with the aid of his Christian uncle, an expert on occult religions. Yet in spite of the predictability and the stereotype of the beginning chapters, the story becomes riveting and the characters realistic.

For Blackstone, part of the difficulties in finding out the truth about the secret of the Freemasons lie on his own guilt-filled past over the death of his wife and daughter and his negative outlook on faith. Adding to the difficulties are his formidable and powerful foes across the aisle and a mysterious English lord. There are Christian undertones woven into the story, making it a matter of course rather than standing out like the preachy sore thumb. The story is an interesting historical suspense and one can’t wait what the next page holds. The book as a whole is also well-edited, which is a real plus for me; I’ve read books by better-known authors with dismal editing, making for a jarring reading experience.

This book is a pleasant read. I recommend it.