Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore, The Last Secret

The Last Secret

Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore

Midnight Ink, October 2006, $14.95, 369 pp.

ISBN 073870931X

The Fallen Ones, the angels who sided with Lucifer are called Nephilim, and they were ordered to walk the earth with men and never again know Paradise. One of the fallen repented of his sins and was made human. God gave him two daughters, one who takes his place in heaven, and one to do God's work on Earth. Her name is Cotten Stone, and until three years ago the reporter knew nothing about her heritage. The Nephilim have done much to discredit her, so it is hard for her to get a job.

In Peru, an out of the way ancient city is found by a team of archaeologists. A crystal tablet is found there warning of the cleansing of the earth by water and how to make the Ark. The second half of the tablet describes the second cleansing, the end of days and how it will be led by the daughter of an angel. A horde of demons take the tablet away because the Nephilim want the end of days to come and mankind destroyed. An earthquake in New Mexico leads the Nephilim to another tablet, beating out Cotten and her ally who want to decipher what her role is to be in the end times. The Nephilim know about Cotten, and that she is the one person who can threaten their plans. They do all in their power to stop her from finding the last tablet, short of killing her because the Nephilim are forbidden to do that.

Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore write some of the best apocalyptic thrillers on the market today. Cotten Stone is a heroine, who though she would rather be ordinary, accepts her role in the world. The forces of malevolence that surround her are evil with a capital E, Satan's followers who look and pass for human. There is a lot of action in this superb thriller, but it is the protagonist and the antagonist who make this a work to remember. This is a work that definitely is going on this reviewers keeper shelf.