Natalie Landau, a museum curator with an expertise in Mesopotamian protective amulets and magical beliefs, has received a puzzling gift from her sister Dana--a necklace with a blue evil eye pendant on it. The Evil Eye is a symbol of protection common throughout the world, with a history connecting it to many religions.
When Natalie learns Dana was murdered only hours after sending the gift, she begins to think her evil eye amulet had something to do with her sister’s death. As she races to discover the origin of the pendant, Natalie is sucked into an international battle between powerful religious factions, each battling for the eye, which turns out to be far more valuable—and far more powerful--than she could ever imagine.
When Natalie receives a small gift from her sister, from Iraq where Dana is a reporter for a major news station, Natalie feels like there might be hope to salvage their shaky relationship. But when she finds out that Dana was killed, and her cameraman is missing, Natalie cannot rest until she finds the truth behind the antique necklace and pouch. And she's hoping that Joe D'Amato will be able to help her.
I'm a sucker when it comes to action/adventure/intrigue type of stories, and mix religion into it I'm a very happy reader. I absolutely love the genre, and truth be told, I don't think I'll tire of it anytime soon. So it isn't surprising that I was hooked right from the beginning. I couldn't put the book down...good thing it was a P.A. day and the kids kept busy with video and board games...because I needed the time to read.
Compared to the authors' previous book,
The Book of Names, is was more violent. Which within the context of the story I found that it wasn't out of place, but in my opinion there was a little too much of it. I think it may have helped my need to finish the book, I wanted the good guys to win. I enjoyed the explanation of the Light, the way it was created and the reason behind the various groups wanting it. I liked both Natalie and Joe, they made a good partnership, but it would have been nice to have more background on other characters.
The Illumination by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori (4/5) Suspense; Published: St. Martin's Press (2009); 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (27); 2009 Support Your Local Library (22); 2009 Pub Challenge (5);
28th February, 1983: The final episode of M*A*S*H, a series about the staff of an Army hospital during the Korean War entitled, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" became the most-watched television episode in U.S. history, with viewer estimates at 106 million Americans.
25th February, 2004: The opening day of The Passion of the Christ, a film directed by Mel Gibson. It was highly acclaimed by those who wanted to view the exact nature of what happened to Jesus on the cross. The movie was Rated R, and was not recommended for children. There was some criticism made of the film, suggesting that it was intended to indicate that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. Also, some people thought it was a bit too graphic.
20th February, 1986: It was announced that a tunnel channel would be built by France and Britain. This underground travel path is referred to as the “Chunnel”. Since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has been used for the passing of trains, cars, and buses, which cross under the English Channel in less than a half hour. 
