THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW

It begins with a murder: Norah finds her best friend, Chris, dead. The pair of students had been doing research translating sixteenth-century manuscripts when they uncovered the possible existence of the Lumen Dei, an alchemical instrument for communicating with God. Hidden codes, secret societies, a trip to Prague, and more murder ensue, giving narrator Emily Janice Card much to work with. She handles it all—including Czech conversations—well. She voices Norah as an intelligent student confident in her Latin but less so in her relationships, adding a touch of grief or a nuance of naïveté where needed. However, even the talented Card cannot quite keep the incredulity out of her voice when the far-fetched plot of this DA VINCI CODE for teens gets out of hand. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2012]