The Judas Cross by Charles Sheffield and David Bischoff

Review by Cym Lowell

The Judas Cross by Charles Sheffield and David Bischoff (1994 Warner Books)

Sometimes, it is amazing to pick up a backlist book and read it in the current environment. This is my experience with The Judas Cross, published in 1994 and written, no doubt, several years before. It is a thriller with all of the action and plot twists that we expect from bestsellers in that genre, written by bestselling authors. The Judas Cross was written before the Da Vinci Code created a new genre of thrillers, which has been followed by many other writers in its wake.

The Judas Cross is set during World War I at a place that is just behind the dug-in positions of the French and the Germans. A courageous young American woman is curious about what has happened to her father in the war. The message is that he is recovering at the Chateau Cirelle, in the care of the Marquis. Against the advice of all, Jenny Marshall travels to the Chateau, finds her father and adventures that rival the travails of any thriller ever written in terms of excitement, romance, sensuality, and surprise.

The Marquis is the current possessor of the Judas Cross which he believes to have magical powers to end the war for the greater glory of France, a personal use that is forbidden for the Cross.

As opposed to common approach of some current thriller writers, which is to paint thriller backgrounds upon canvasses of the Church or Church-related organizations, not surprising given the success of the Da Vinci Code, The Judas Cross creates its own history.

I was galvanized, reading the story straight through over the Atlantic on my way to Paris, which, of course, was appropriate given the setting of the story.

The themes in this book are perfect for readers or reading groups to explore. Father – daughter (in two varieties), need for fulfillment, stalled and new romance, history of the trench warfare of World War I, bravery, treachery, and simple good fun.

I only hope that there enough copies of this wonderful book to provide the joyful experience that I had in reading it.

Thanks to fine writers for an excellent story, only recently brought to my attention. I hope this review brings to the attention of many others, and for its republication for a new generation of international thriller readers!

Cym Lowell is the author of the thriller Riddle of Berlin. Learn more about him at his blog.


Don't forget our giveaways of Brad Thor's The Apostle and David Bischoff's The Judas Cross.