The Unveiling by Stefan Alford

When 13 year old Jake Lawton accidentally stumbles across a gang of boys beating up a younger negro boy he intervenes and to his own surprise not only defends him, sending the whole gang running but consequently saves the boy.  Even more surprisingly, he then murders the negro boy that he has just saved by strangling him.  Claiming to be prompted by a German soldier called Matthias who was actually Jake in a previous life he is incarcerated in a lunatic asylum where he comes to understand more about his situation.

This is a story about reincarnation and is original and interesting.  The premise of the book is that reincarnation formed the original teachings of Christianity but has been suppressed by the church during subsequent centuries. Therefore, we see Jake progress through previous and future reincarnations and the connectivity between them.

The preface itself contained quite a shocking and macabre opening scene and certainly grabbed my attention.  I found it was worth rereading the preface once I had finished the book as I struggled to connect the opening which is set in the year 533 with the remainder of the book.  However, once I’d finished the book it became clear and the preface made a lot more sense within the context of the rest of the story.

I was particularly impressed with how Stefan Alford was able to cleverly speak simultaneously through the voice of a child, a teenager and a man.  No easy feat when we remember that often the voice is a man in a child’s body and Alford skilfully handled this literary juggling act.

The last couple of books that I’ve read have been rather sombre reads.  Therefore, this book was just the ticket to lighten my reading a little.  It has the  flavour of The Da Vinci Code and would appeal to any reader who likes their novels to contain mystery, religious conspiracies and secret societies.  This book has the lot and is a fast and exciting read whilst being both thought provoking and entertaining at the same time.

I acquired this book as a free kindle download and it was great for a freebie.  There is a paperback version of this book available but the kindle version now costs £2 on Amazon and I would suggest that anyone who pays that for this book will not be disappointed.

ISBN:  978-1105575693

Published by:  Lulu.com

Kindle Price:  £2 (as of today's date)
This was a free kindle download from Amazon on 13th July 2012.

Total saving so far:  £26.97