Like many people who've read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code , I was curious to check out this book, which in 1982 put forward the main conspiracy theory in The Da Vinci Code , namely that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were husband and wife, and may have produced children.

I loved it. What a riveting read. Reading it on a plane to China , I just couldn't put it down. It reads like a well-constructed thriller-the authors embark upon a seemingly small investigation into a church in southern France . One clue leads to another, then another, until they find themselves proposing an explosive and faith-shaking theory.

Raised a Catholic, I have long pondered the mysteries of faith and the Catholic Church's role at the centre of the Christian faith. More than once I asked my parents, 'Why are there no women priests in the Church?'

I read a lot of 'New Age' books out of a specific interest-I like to read about alternative theories to accepted truths, no matter how crazy they are. For instance, I loved Secret Chamber by Robert Bauval (I have not read it, but in his book The Orion Mystery , Bauval figured out, before any Egyptologist did, that the pyramids at Giza are arranged to match the constellation Orion).

I also loved The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock. I even enjoyed The Stargate Conspiracy by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, which claimed that several New Age authors (including Bauval and Hancock) were part of a conspiracy to prepare the world for the arrival of aliens!

The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail , however, is the mother of all New Age books. It is the one that all the others want to emulate. It has a conspiracy theory to die for, lots of evidence (some of it solid, others pretty thin), and a clear narrative. It also shook the world when it first came out, and thanks to The Da Vinci Code , still does.

Some people won't want to go near this book. I understand that. But if you want to take an unorthodox look into the origins of the Church-from life in the year 30 A.D. to the reasons behind the Crusades in the Middle Ages, read this book. I found it to be a stunning read. (Reviewed July 2006)