Has Maureen Pascal found love at last? The beautiful heroine of the bestselling The Expected One (2006) and The Book of Love (2009) is in love with Berenger Sinclair, the current Poet Prince of the ancient bloodline prophecy. While promoting her newest bestseller about the discovery of a gospel written by Jesus, Maureen is shocked to hear that Sinclair has fathered a child out of wedlock. Is this the end of their love story?

Maureen and her fellow disciples of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher (Sinclair, Tammy, Roland and Peter) travel to Florence to study the teachings of the Libro Rosso with the mysterious spiritual master Destino. Is he really Longinus Gaius, the Roman Centurion who pierced the crucified Jesus with his sword? Is his sword, called the Spear of Destiny, the key to Sinclair’s salvation? As the group studies ancient prophecies and artistic masterpieces of the Renaissance, they learn more and more about the life and times of Lorenzo de Medici, the Poet Prince of the Renaissance, and his true love, Lucrezia Donati. Lorenzo and Lucrezia were doomed to be apart. Does this mean that the Poet Prince and the Expected One will always be separated? Can Sinclair and Maureen break this cycle of doomed love? Will the Golden Age be restored, or will another religious group try to destroy the Magdalene disciples and their heresy?

Readers will be fascinated by Kathleen McGowan’s impressive knowledge of Renaissance art, architecture, culture and history. The pages of the novel are full of stories about actual historical figures including: Lorenzo de Medici, Botticelli, Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Interwoven into the intricate storyline are insightful interpretations of artistic masterpieces hanging in Europe’s greatest public museums. The mixture of factual information and fictional accounts of secret societies, ancient prophecies and heretical Christianity will captivate even the most skeptical reader. All in all, McGowan’s unique perspective on the beginning of the Renaissance era is fascinating.

Kathleen McGowan’s first two novels in the Magdalene Line series have been bestsellers. The Expected One (2006) began the story of journalist Maureen Pascal as she searched for secret scrolls written by Mary Magdalene describing her life with her husband, Jesus. In The Book of Love (2010), Maureen explored the world of the mysterious countess Matilda of Tuscany as she hunted for a secret gospel written by Jesus. The Poet Prince continues Maureen’s story with a Renaissance background. Fans of McGowan’s successful Magdalene Line books will be happy to hear that the series will continue. Will Shakespearean England be the next stop on Maureen Pascal’s spiritual journey?