Heh. I was gonna say it sounds like "The DaVinci Code," Good for you, Anna--kudos!

I loved reading the book (note: this is different from saying I loved the book); I like to read books where things happen, and they certainly did in this one.

As to your complaint, Alex (I don't know if there's a name for the technique; I presume the author thought he would enhance the reader's suspense)--I couldn't help but think what a difference there is between Dan Brown and Dick Francis, whose books I've been re-reading lately. ('Nother note: God bless the internet. I decided that once and for all, I'd like to find out which of his I still don't have, and I found a place on-line that lists them all. Then, I was tickled to death to find the missing ones, used, on a large bookselling site--one cost 59¢, and the other three: one penny each!) Anyway--Dick Francis does the same thing, but SO much less "in your face" than The Davinci Code: he usually has the main character just "do some thinking", along with describing what else he's doing.

cwc, you said the religious scandal as flat, weak and way over hyped. Can it ever be about anything other than sex? . (Aside--sorry about the color; I don't like orange; but with your name, I just kind of had to...) I agree; except that for me it wasn't really a "scandal". I'm still wondering what exactly has made this book capture the public's attention so widely. I suppose anything that even hints of contradicting a long-held belief could do it. But...I mean, come on, people--this was a novel, not a scientific report!