From Booklist
*Starred Review* Two novels have been published this year in the odd genre of Christ cloning: James BeauSeigneur's In His Image, and Lankford's Jesus Thief. Lankford's narrative is as eccentric as BeauSeigneur's, but she's more interested in characterization than technical background. Her Dr. Frankenstein is a rich physician named Felix Rossi, who, with elaborate subterfuge, manages to steal some threads from the shroud of Turin. Rossi believes himself an agent of the Second Coming. He prevails upon his long-suffering girlfriend to be his Mary, but she retreats in horror. Maggie Johnson, the maid, volunteers. As it happens, she's black. And a virgin. This is great stuff, and while Lankford's thriller plot occasionally intrudes, the delightful Maggie keeps everything on track. John Mort
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Review
"A gripping and original novel ... raging controversy ... sharply written, thoroughly entertaining, thoughtful and thought-provoking" -- Midwest Book Review
"It's all tremendous, page-turning fun." -- John Grant, Co-Editor Encyclopedia of Fantasy
"The Jesus Thief is a fascinating thriller [with] excellent symbolism ... Its pace rockets along to a touching conclusion. -- Heartland Reviews
2003 Book of the Year Award Finalist -- ForeWord Magazine
2004 Best First Fiction Finalist -- PMA Benjamin Franklin Awards
A marvelous novel...lucid and accomplished with an utterly riveting plot that twists and turns to a thrilling conclusion." -- BookBrowse
A taut thriller that tackles religion with as much aplomb as it does the science behind cloning -- Relevant Magazine
Not since Michael Chrichton has a novelist offered such a believable glimpse into [cloning]... Keep your eye on this author. -- Books Monthly
The science is impeccable, the writing superb, the plot exciting, the climax breathtaking. -- ThisChristianLife.com
Product Description
Hours before his dream of examining the Shroud of Turin is about to come true, renowned New York scientist Felix Rossi, a devout Catholic, learns from his sister, Frances, that their parents were Jews who escaped Nazi Italy. In religious turmoil, Felix steals bloody threads from the Shroud, which many believe to be the burial cloth of Christ. Meanwhile, back at his palatial Fifth Avenue home, his maid, Maggie, finds journals in which Felix has poured out a hidden obsession -- to master and perform human cloning. Will Felix successfully smuggle the threads out of Italy and into New York and what will he do with them, if so? How will Maggie's discovery complicate his plans? Will they come to the attention of the powerful man who lives in the penthouse above Felix, a mysterious Theomund Brown? Maggie's friend, Sam the doorman, secretly knows Brown. How far will Sam's allegiance to him go?
The Jesus Thief is a story of lost family ties and a lost identity, of a devout man’s search for God, a powerful man’s fear of a Jesus clone, and a poor woman’s yearning to be special.
