The new age promised by the original prophecy is taking a sinister shape. Around the world, entire continents are ravaged by famine and battered by biblical weather...
A sudden plague sweeps through the Citadel, killing many of the brotherhood within its ancient walls. Some say it is because the Sacrament was stolen, or worse, destroyed. Others say it is simply a test from God. When the lone surviving Sancti returns to the mountain, he tells them all: the Sacrament must be regained.
Released from prison, Gabriel Mann goes to the hospital to check his mother Kathryn and Liv Adamsen have survived the explosion which rocked the mountain. Kathryn asks her son what he saw in those upper reaches of the Citadel. Gabriel cannot be sure of what he witnessed - only Liv knows for certain. But she is already gone.
Liv waits to board a plane back to the USA, filled with an unbearable urge to go home. In the terminal, she listens to the babble of voices in many languages. She can understand every word of them all. A murderous rage consumes her if any man so much as raises his voice. When she reaches the burnt-out shell of her destroyed apartment, she knows this is not the home she was seeking.
Followed by the Church's 'Watchers', Liv cannot stay safe for long. She suffers from blackouts - always announced by a word whispered in a language long dead. She knows Gabriel is the only one who can protect her and might understand what is happening. But back in Brazil, Gabriel has no idea how to find her.
Both their journeys will span the globe to find the same answer. What awaits them is another terrible truth - one which will shatter their bond and change the world forever...
About the Author
In 2007 Simon Toyne quit his job and moved to France to fulfil a long-held desire to write a thriller. After a sleepless night crossing the channel, he and his family abandoned a planned eight-hour drive to their new home and limped instead to the city of Rouen. It was the sight of the sharp spire of Rouen Cathedral piercing the pre-dawn sky that gave birth to the fiction Citadel of Sanctus. Sanctus, his first novel, became an immediate bestseller. To date it has been translated into 23 languages and published in 40 countries.
Industry Reviews
'Among the best current thrillers.' - Sunday Express
'If you like your secrets deeply hidden and your action breakneck, then Toyne’s sophomore thriller is just the ticket. . . . As in his debut, Toyne delivers a gripping, intricate story of religious and political intrigue that’s sweeping yet somehow intimate and very personal. Wow.' - Booklist (starred review)
'Well-written, fast-paced and delivered with an admirable economy of words . . . an edge-of-the-seat story filled with action and adventure, as well as a puzzle that the main characters must somehow put together before the world simply disappears. . . . [A] taut thriller.' - Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Sanctus:
'A cool, confident debut ... with pace, grace and a keen eye for cinematic effect.' - Daily Telegraph
'Intriguing and engaging ... Relentless pace. An exciting and interesting read. I look forward to returning to Ruin, where there are plenty of stories waiting to be told.' - The Sun
'High concept, debut conspiracy thrillers don't come with higher expectations than this. Hard to think of it as a debut, better to think of it as the beginning of a massive new adventure, and a so-long to Dan Brown.' - Mirror
'A fast moving, thoroughly enjoyable, adventure - plenty of action, plenty of intrigue and a wonderfully imaginative reinterpretation of a slice of religious history. The sort of novel to devour in one sitting' - Kate Mosse
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