The Thieves of Faith

商家名称	信用等级	购买信息	订购本书
		The Thieves of Faith
		The Thieves of Faith

基本信息·出版社：Dell
·页码：544 页
·出版日期：2007年12月
·ISBN：0440242894
·International Standard Book Number：0440242894
·条形码：9780440242895
·EAN：9780440242895
·装帧：简装
·正文语种：英语

内容简介 Beneath the Kremlin lies a shocking ancient truth.
And it’s about to be stolen.…


Since the times of Ivan the Terrible, generations of Russian leaders have turned the Kremlin into a fortress within a fortress, stocking its labyrinthine underground with secret vaults, elegant chambers, and priceless treasures. Now a master thief has the ultimate motivation to stage an assault on the Kremlin’s inner sanctum. Two lives depend on it. Thousands of years of religious faith hinge on it. And a man’s conscience, skill, and passion will not let him fail.

For Michael St. Pierre, history’s most daring heist is only one piece of an intricate puzzle reaching from an ancient monastery in Scotland to a hideaway in Corsica—where a madman has built an empire of terror. Haunted by his own family secrets, and surrounded by the precious few people he can trust, Michael will take on a mission that will make him the most hunted man in the world. But when an astounding truth, buried deep beneath the Kremlin, erupts with shattering force, he may unleash a relic too dangerous to possess.…
作者简介 Richard Doetsch is the president of a national commercial real estate and investment firm based in New York. He is at work on his third novel, The Thieves of Darkness, which will be published in 2008.
媒体推荐 “Well-written, fast paced, great characters, history, secrets, tantalizing plot, what more could a thriller reader ask for?  This well-choreographed, globe-trotting adventure will keep you totally engrossed.  I loved it.”—Steve Berry, author of The Venetian Betrayal

专业书评 From Publishers Weekly

Retired art thief Michael St. Pierre (star of Doetsch's debut The Thieves of Heaven) tests the limits of his skills and of reader credulity as he breaks into... the Kremlin. It's been a year since Michael's beloved wife, Mary, died and he's still grieving when a good friend makes a dying wish: Michael must steal a painting from a shady Parisian dealer, then destroy it before it falls into the hands of Julian Zivera, an evil and powerful lunatic. Just when Michael believes the task is completed, Zivera enters the picture and presents Michael with a choice: either Michael will break into the vaults of the Russian capitol and steal a gold box that is said to contain the secret to eternal life, or Zivera will kill Michael's long-lost biological father. Michael chooses door number one and enlists his widowed sister-in-law, Susan, and ex-cop buddy, Paul, to help. Over 400 pages the trio endures so many crosses (double, triple, you name it) and close calls that one wishes the plot's destruction were part of Michael's bargain, but Doetsch injects a welcome lightness throughout. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
文摘 Chapter One


Michael St. Pierre ran at a full tilt up rue de Mont-Blanc in Geneva, Switzerland, dodging cars and buses, streetlamps, and the homeless.

It was two in the morning, Thursday. The late winter snow unexpectedly blew in from the mountains and blanketed the already slick streets of Geneva in a fresh white covering. The storybook buildings, their colors muted by the fresh precipitation, raced by him in a blur as he ran harder than he had ever run before. It had only been forty-five seconds since he left the comfort of modern heat and the feeling had already drained from his ears. His deep blue eyes teared from the wind, each flake of snow like a razor digging into his face as his shock of brown hair whipped about in the chill nighttime air.

The heavy black bag on his back conspired to throw his balance off as he turned down the darkened street and cut through the vacant alleyways, working his way toward the historic district. He became lost in the shadows, his dark, tight coveralls blending with the night as his staccato bursts of breath echoed off the surrounding buildings.

He finally emerged at the back of 24, rue de Fleur. The nondescript five-story town house appeared vacant for the night. But Michael knew better than most that things of significance and value were often hidden behind the unexpected and mundane.

As the snow died off, Michael dug his fingers into the spaces between the granite blocks, testing his grip, thankful for his textured gloves that provided extra hold. He looked up toward the roof, the snow flurries making it seem as if the climb led into a ghostly white netherworld.

Michael focused his rambling mind, shutting out all distractions. He had less than a minute before the fireworks started; he had less than a minute to fulfill her dying wish.

Michael cinched the pack tight to his back and began his climb.

"Nascentes morimur-from the moment we are born, we die,"
……

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