"Ark of Fire"

New from Berkley Prime Crime: Ark of Fire by C. M. Palov.

About the book, from the author's website:

Eight hundred years ago a Crusader in the Holy Land discovered a gold box. Under a veil of secrecy it was transported to England and hidden, the clues to its whereabouts embedded in sixteen cryptic lines of verse. For centuries it has been rumored that the treasure was none other than The Ark of the Covenant...

Photographer Edie Miller is eyewitness to a brutal murder and the theft of an ancient Hebrew relic known as the Stones of Fire - the breastplate worn by Moses to protect him from the Ark of the Covenant. Fearing the D.C. police are complicit, in desperation she turns to historian Caedmon Aisquith for help. If, as it seems, a sinister army of mercenaries has masterminded the theft, it's only a matter of time before they find the most formidable relic of all - the Ark of the Covenant.

Marked for execution, Edie and Caedmon are on the run. From Washington D.C. to Canterbury Cathedral to the island of Malta, they must follow the clues of the quatrains if they are to discover the truth, ward off a global conflagration, and stay alive.

Visit C.M. Palov's website.