Percy St. John and the Chronicle of Secrets

by E.A. Allen

Overview

An unbreakable cipher, a dead priest with expensive shoes, a hermit who has conversations with saints, an angry French girl, a guardian angel with attitude, a murderous master criminal, and a gaggle of angry demons might stop an ordinary fifteen-year-old safe-cracking genius, but not Percy St.-John. He's out to prove he did not steal a mysterious ancient book that may hold the key to mankind's greatest hope and greatest danger. E.A. Allen is a History Professor, cattle farmer, and retired C.I.A. intelligence officer. When he's not out chasing straying cows that have no respect for fences, or tracking-down undergraduates who have no respect for assignment deadlines, he's at his desk, writing mysteries in the great tradition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592110841
Publisher:	Histria Books
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

E.A. Allen is a History Professor, cattle farmer, and retired C.I.A. intelligence officer. When he’s not out chasing straying cows that have no respect for fences, or tracking-down undergraduates who have no respect for assignment deadlines, he’s at his desk, writing mysteries in the great tradition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Editorial Reviews

"Allen marries the character relationship of a young Holmes and Watson with a setting reminiscent of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, resulting in a delicious change of pace for YA readers. Especially effective is the rich atmosphere evoking the early 1900s as a time when superstition was giving way to a more rational age. Literary thrillers are rare in the YA space, and this charming page-turner is a welcome addition to the scene.” —Reinhardt Suarez, Booklist

"Percy St.-John and the Chronicle of Secrets: Thieves and Monks, Angels and Demons, makes for a Fun YA Novel." —Dustin Bass, The Epoch Times

"A fun, mystical thriller, Percy St.-John and the Chronicle of Secrets By E.A. Allen Fate brings Percy to an old monastery in Switzerland. His gifts as a thief, however, result in an unforeseen adventure against a great source of power found in an ancient book. Joined by a young monk and a French girl, Percy leads the way to uncover a mystery." —Epoch Times

From the Publisher

Literary thrillers are rare in the YA space, and this charming page-turner is a welcome addition to the scene.”

Booklist

2021-01-26
A historical mystery set in a remote monastery and featuring supernatural elements, a cheeky thief, and an earnest monk.

In 1911, Gabriel is a monk at the Benedictine Monastery of St. Ambrose in Switzerland who knows very little of the outside world, having been left in their care a decade earlier when he was about 4. His closest friend is fellow teen Percy St.-John, a lay-brother and temporary addition to their monastery, sent there as an attempt to reform his wicked, thieving ways. When a precious, ancient, and mysterious book goes missing, suspicion falls on Percy, who must use his skills to uncover the mystery and uses all the help he can get, including that of Gabriel and Elizabeth, a French pilgrim recently arrived at the monastery with her parents, who hope for a cure for her disability. But who is the real culprit: a monk or one of the many pilgrims currently visiting? Perhaps the answer lies in the occult, since Gabriel knows full well that guardian angels and demons do exist. Told in Gabriel’s first-person narration, this short novel is reminiscent of literary classics, with a healthy dose of supernatural elements, endearing characters, and an intriguing, well-devised mystery at its core. All characters are assumed White. The depiction of Elizabeth’s changing feelings about her disability is positive, but repeated use of the descriptor lame strikes an unfortunate note for contemporary audiences.

A fast-paced and engaging historical mystery. (glossary) (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

"Highly entertaining YA fiction, short, and a breezy read. Imagine Harry Potter at a monastery rather than Hogwarts and it's kind of like that."

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