Other similar books I have read:

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This book kept my interest from the first sentence until the last. Along with being a very entertaining mystery/adventure, it has so many layers to it and so many thought-provoking questions that go back to our basic beliefs. I went to Google as reference a number of items.

The characters were so well defined and believable. I really cared about what happened to Luciano and the chef.

I would definitely read another book by Elle Newmark