Matt McAvoy Book Review

Exquisitely written and highly entertaining, The Magdalene Deception is an investigative mystery in a very similar vein to The DaVinci Code, as a young, ambitious priest from New York starts a dream job as a Vatican digital archivist.  In the course of his work he finds an ancient artefact which threatens the entire Catholic Church and sends him on an ominous quest, along with a feisty journalist investigating the Vatican’s corrupt complicity in the possession of Nazi gold, cruelly looted and laundered in the Holocaust.  It is a complex book, requiring concentration, with a multi-stranded, woven story and, with a long cast of characters, from a range of countries, the reader needs to pay attention; and you should probably lock yourself away without distraction to read this one.

It is worth it, though.  McAvoy (great name!) is a superb author, with an admirably detailed and profound knowledge of history and Christian theology.  Whilst not especially high drama, particularly for one such as myself – an atheist – it was gripping nonetheless.  I have to say that in my particular case, I did wonder why the idealistic young archivist was so obsessive about pursuing this case, when he really would be advised to leave well alone, and in fact I personally found the Nazi gold sub-plot a good deal more enthralling than the primary plotline – though, of course I can appreciate the huge appeal of the latter.  All in all, it is a fine story, and its threads, when finally brought together, converge tremendously well.  I would certainly recommend this book to most discerning readers, whether fans of religious history or not.  There are some intriguing characters, and what action/drama scenes there are are infused with menace, rather than threat; no real deadly antagonist seems to be developed, until the final act.  This is not really an out and out thriller, but perhaps more of a cosy mystery – at least until the climax.

The real quality to this book is the author himself – the writing is superb.  There is an outstanding attention to detail in McAvoy, and the setpieces he weaves are vivid, colourful and authentic; this author treats his audience as intelligent and attentive, and this is always hugely beneficial to any writer.  As well as being an evidently well-educated historian, McAvoy also knows his stuff in terms of modern-day information networking and the technology in present day use alongside ancient practices and customs – as one of the many who have been fortunate enough to visit the Vatican, I can vouch that the contrast between the two is visible all around the bordered state. 

This is a good book, overall; I enjoyed reading it very much, and I am sure you will too.