Sanctus trilogy by Simon Toyne

I got the first book in this trilogy last summer off of the Barnes and Noble Nook offer of the day.
Described as a conspiracy thriller and the reviews said it is similar to a Dan Brown novel. It looked like it had a bit of a mystical component to it and I decided to purchase it for my Nook. Well, I purchased the other two novels before I finished the first one.

Book one: Sanctus

The story begins in the ficticious city of Ruin in Turkey (I looked it up to see if it were a real place). An ancient citadel is here inhabited by an order of monks. Within the group, is a secret order called the Sancti that guard a timeless secret. The Sancti are guarded by the other monks but do not interact with each other. No one but the Sancti know what the secret is.  If the secret were to be found out or something happen to it, would mean the end to the Church and more.

Samuel, a member of the Sancti, throws himself off the top of the cliffs surrounding the Citadel. It is so shocking it is televised and reported in newspapers around the world.  The monks of the Citadel need to get this swept under the carpet before the public gets too curious. They go to retrieve Samuel's body but he is gone.

Liv Admudsen is a reporter in New York. She reads the story and realizes this is her brother who left at some time. She immediately sets off to Ruin to find out what has happened.

Kathryn Mann, her father, Oscar de la Cruz and Kathryn's son, Gabriel live in South America. Oscar has been monitoring (and hiding from the Citadel).

Once word spreads of Samuel's death, Kathryn, Oscar and Gabriel fly to Ruin.

All four of the outsiders are in danger. All four are hunted down to be stopped.

What is the secret of the Citadel that is being so closely guarded?

It is a very fast paced, exciting story. And the ending has quite a cliff hanger.

I am half way through the second book " The Key". It is equally intriguing and hard to put down.

The Tower is the third book.

I recommend this trilogy if you liked The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.

http://www.simontoyne.net/