Official Review: The Secret of the Cathars

[Jennifer Aldo]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Secret of the Cathars" by Michael Hillier.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Secret of the Cathars by Michael Hillier is an adventure novel with its spotlight on Phillip Sinclair, a descendant of Phillipe de Saint Claire, a perfectus of the Cathar faith. Upon his grandmother's death, Maria Sinclair, he was tasked to recover his legitimate inheritance for the Sinclair family.

Philip Sinclair is still dealing with the aftermath of his divorce to his college sweetheart, Madeline, when he learns about his grandmother's death from her lawyer, James Baker, who names him the heir to her estate. Still reeling from the shock of her death, Phillip was confronted by an unusual letter. Albeit surprised by the letter's content, Philip sees it as his duty to fulfill his grandmother's dying request. He then sets out to France on a short vacation, hoping to accomplish the uphill task his grandmother had laid out for him.

The Secrets of the Cathars is an adventure fiction novel that depicts a scenario of the archeological world set in France. The author expertly narrated a tale about the ruins of the Cathar's castle at Le Bezu and the much-coveted secret treasures that lay within its walls. The book portrayed the ugly side of an organization set out to discover the truth hidden within the earth, revealing their true identity of being an organization filled with secrets relatable to a chosen few. It is a combination of duty, love for the unknown, greed, and sheer brutality.

The author skillfully crafted the history of the Cathars into a book filled with adventures and mysteries. The characters added gloss and brought more suspense to the book as a whole. My favorite character would be Jacqueline Blontard, a strikingly beautiful archaeologist whose display of courage and determination made her a standout character. I loved that the book was well detailed in its description of the Cathars and its connection to the Roman Catholic Church, making it very enjoyable and not a boring sequence of monotone historical facts.

My favorite part of the book was learning about the history of the medieval heretic sect in the region of southern France, called the Cathars; despite the official religion of the area being Roman Catholic Christianity, they waxed in strength until 1208, when Pope Innocent III declared a holy war against the Cathars. Learning about the Cathars' beautiful history and the devotion to their cause was what I liked most about the book.

The introduction of the council brought about a welcoming twist to the book, but the story behind the sect and its members were very shallow and left much to be desired. This was what I disliked most about the book.

The Secret of the Cathars was a fantastic book. I could tell it was professionally edited except for a few typographical errors, which I took cognizance of. The plot was beautiful, and its characters added gloss to the story as a whole. For this, I would rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to lovers of adventure and mystery.

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The Secret of the Cathars
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[Alheotuci]

Great review!

[Smmwallace]

Wow, this book sounds fascinating! What an exciting time in history. I'm adding this book to my want-to-read shelf. Thank you for your informative and great review!

[Vkaur]

Sounds like a great book! I'm just as enchanted by such times in history, so I'll add this to my list. Thank you for your great review!

[Marcel Cantu]

This sounds like a really interesting read! I enjoyed your review, great work.