Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Thirteenth Apostle | 2006 | Michel Benoit | Buy |
| 2 | The Silence of Gethsemane | 2012 | Michel Benoit | Buy |
Michel Benoit’s two novels are thrillers rooted in religious history and Vatican intrigue. The Thirteenth Apostle, published in 2006, follows a monk working in the Vatican who stumbles on a manuscript that challenges accepted beliefs about the origins of Christianity. His investigation puts him on a collision course with people inside the Church who will do anything to protect the institution’s version of history.
The Silence of Gethsemane, published in 2012, returns to similar territory with a story about an ancient secret connected to the Garden of Gethsemane and the final hours of Jesus’s life. Both novels draw on Benoit’s deep knowledge of biblical scholarship and Church history, reading as thrillers that take their theological content seriously.