Review: I had high hopes...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 28, 2012
This is the second Kathryn Le Veque book I've read.  The first,Lespada, I absolutely adored.  Had I taken the time to write a review it would have been of the 5-star variety.  That book seemed to have it all - great atmosphere, well-drawn characters, lyrical prose and a solid storyline providing the backbone.  I loved the book so much that I snatched up as much of her backlist as I could and immediately dove in to reading.  Since "Lespada" was a Medieval I opted for something different and chose "Resurrection" since it was a romantic adventure.  Not every author can make a successful jump from historical to contemporary.The plotline of Resurrection is intriguing.  A terrorist group is obsessed with possessing the Lucius Robe, a garment believed to have been worn by Jesus during his trial before Pontius Pilate.  They believe that by owning the robe, they can use it to crown their own Holy Roman Emperor and begin the Fourth Reich of the Enlightenment.  The robe is currently on loan to a small museum in California that is woefully under equipped to protect this precious relic.  The FBI has been monitoring the chatter from this terrorist group and believe a credible threat exists for the terrorists to steal the robe from the museum.  Our heroine, Cydney Hetherington is the Director of Operations for the museum and our hero, Ethan Serreaux is an FBI agent assigned to investigate the threat.  The discovery (with the naked eye through the protective clear container) of what appears to be a human tooth caught in the folds of the robe is the first (and not the last) plot point that stretches the bounds of credibility.The terrorists that are described as well-funded and highly organized act more like Keystone Cops at times.  Their methods and plans change often as they react to information and events.  At times I would describe them as bumbling...deadly...but bumbling.  The group amends their initial plan to outright steal the robe when they discover (quite by accident) that Cydney has a teenage daughter, Olivia.  They decide that kidnapping Olivia and using her as leverage against Cydney to hand over the robe is the better option.  You would think this highly organized group would have researched the building, the staff and their families in an effort to locate a weak link in the chain BEFORE cooking up their scheme.Olivia is a very intelligent and resourceful fifteen year old.  During the course of the book Olivia goes from being leverage to an important pawn in the group's plans.  What they intend for her was not part of the original plan, was cooked up on the fly and involves the tooth (assumed to be Jesus') found in the robe.  I couldn't help but think there would be hundreds of willing women within the sect that would jump at the chance to fill the role they assigned to Olivia.  The sole purpose of this plot point was to keep Olivia in danger.As for the romance, there is almost no conflict between Cydney and Ethan as they acknowledge and act on their mutual attraction fairly quickly.  Ethan's colleagues are surprised at his behavior regarding Cydney as they pretty much describe him as a complete jerk towards women.  Miraculously, Ethan becomes an absolute sweetheart when he meets Cydney.  They act on their attraction and plan their future during moments that would boggle the minds of most women.This book made me "wriggle" my eyebrows in frustration at about the midway point.  Get used to the wriggling because every character wriggles their eyebrows during the book.  I remember that turn of phrase being used in "Lespada" and when it reared it's head over and over again in this book I was beyond irritated.  Here's a suggestion - "raise" the eyebrows or "furrow" the brow.  Something besides all this wriggling!  At some point every character became Groucho Marx when they wriggled and wriggled and wriggled.I found the conclusion unsatisfying and Ethan's interaction with a key witness/conspirator downright creepy.  I haven't given up on Kathryn Le Veque, but my enthusiasm for her books has definitely waned.