Recent reads:

A Skeleton in God's Closet, by Paul L. Maier.
Maier's name seemed vaguely familiar to me when I picked this 1994 book out of the library book sale, and the title, along with the bookjacket teaser copy ("A skeleton almost 2,000 years old -- will it shed new light on the life of Jesus or plunge the world into darkness and chaos?") seemed to suggest a religious thriller that I might be able to recommend to people who are still on the waiting list for the Da Vinci Code.

It turns out that Maier's name is probably familiar to me because he edited a collection of the "essential writings" of Josephus Flavius that I recently ordered for the libraries at which I work. He's a professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, and he's also written novels about Biblical characters such as Pontius Pilate, but I haven't read them.

The plot of the novel in hand involves an archaeological dig near Jerusalem, in which the protagonist, a globetrotting history professor and archaeologist, unearths a grave that may hold secrets that will rock the Christian world. Complications ensue, as the Vatican and various governments around the world seek to spin the story or alter it to suit their purposes.

The historical and archeological tale that Maier spins here is intriguing because of his knowledge of archaeological technique and early Christian history. As Nancy Pearl might say, it's a plot-driven novel, in which the reader keeps forging onward to find out what new twist is going to be revealed, not because of the clunky writing or the stereotypical characters. Most readers in the western world are familiar with the fundamentals of the story of the early Christian church and the thought-system that has developed from it, and thus will find some interest in a story about how that history and thought-system would be affected if an archaeological discovery were to cast doubt on its most sacred elements.

It would be interesting to trace the threads of influence linking various books in this mini-genre of religio-historical thrillers. As mentioned above, Maier's protagonist could almost be the prototype for the hero of The Da Vinci Code. There's even a reference or two to Opus Dei, with a suggestion that it might have ill will toward anyone who presents evidence contradicting established Christian doctrine. Maier may have done a bit of borrowing of his own, too, since one plot twist involving an ancient document is very similar to the critical plot twist of James Hall Robert's 1964 religious thriller, The Q Document.

Still, it might be worth recommending to people who enjoyed DVC and are aching for another fix of Biblically-flavored historical mystery. As with DVC, I enjoyed the ride, even as I sometimes winced at clumsy prose or characters who were just too goody-goody to be true.