by Sheri Holman
First published 2016
Father Felix Fabri begins his pilgrimage to Alexandria with a sacred mission. The 15th-century monk travels to visit his spiritual wife, Saint Katherine, though she died centuries ago and her body parts lie scattered in reliquaries across the Mediterranean. Felix has dreamed of this journey since boyhood, when he first devoted himself to the martyred saint. His plan takes him through holy sites from Greece to Palestine, then finally to the Sinai where Katherine died. But at each stop, Felix discovers theft. Someone has stolen Katherine's hand from one shrine, her ear from another, then her tongue. Each missing relic deepens the mystery and Felix's desperation. Holman weaves the fictional Felix together with writings from the actual historical monk, including his treatises on subjects like shipboard communion and pilgrimage rules. The result creates a character whose devotion drives him forward even as the trail of stolen relics grows cold. This is a story about obsessive love that transcends death and the lengths one man will travel to feel close to the divine.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: devotion, obsession
Setting: Alexandria, Greece, Palestine, Sinai
Period: 15th-century
Paperback · Aykiri Yayinlari