Carnivia Trilogy

Set in two Venices, the modern physical world and its virtual counterpart, The Abomination by Jonathan Holt is a propulsive tale of murder, corruption, and international intrigue-the first book in an outstanding new trilogy in which Carabiniere Captain Kat Tapo must unravel a dark conspiracy linking the CIA and the Catholic Church. By the stunning white dome of one of Venice's grandest landmarks a body with two slugs in the back of the head has been pulled from the icy waters. The victim is a woman, dressed in the sacred robes of a Catholic priest-a desecration that becomes known as the Abomination. Working her first murder case, Captain Kat Tapo embarks on a trail that proves as elusive and complicated as the city's labyrinthine backstreets. What Kat discovers will test her loyalties and remind her of a simple truth: Unless old crimes are punished, corrupt forces will continue to repeat their mortal sins. The Abomination is book one of Jonathan Holt's Carnivia Trilogy.

In this mesmerizing finale to the revolutionary Carnivia Trilogy-following The Abomination and The Abduction-Venetian police captain Kat Tapo and U.S. Army intelligence analyst Holly Boland embark on their most dangerous and disturbing journey yet. On Venice's popular Lido beach, a man is found lying on the shore, his throat slit and his tongue viciously torn out, and his face covered by an unusual antique mask. Superiors inside the Venice Carabinieri have finally given Captain Kat Tapo permission to run her first murder case. But when she learns that the mask is a Masonic "hoodwink"-and that the circumstances of the man's death are eerily similar to the Masonic punishment for betrayal-she suspects that her appointment has darker implications. As a woman, she cannot penetrate the closed world of Italian freemasonry. The dead man is identified as a senior partner in a small Catholic bank currently engaged in negotiations with one of Italy's richest men. Yet Kat knows that, when it comes to Venice's most powerful and influential, money isn't the only motive for murder. While she focuses on her investigation, American intelligence analyst Holly Boland finds a document among her father's possessions that offers evidence of a shocking Cold War cover-up. The deeper the second lieutenant digs into what her father knew, the more she begins to wonder: Was her father silenced before he could expose the truth? Reclusive genius Daniele Barbo, creator of the anonymous virtual world Carnivia.com, makes a chilling discovery of his own: his website has been contaminated by a malevolent virus that will cripple Italy unless he can break his own encryption and prevent catastrophe. As the three cases merge, the trio of allies uncover a conspiracy involving the security services, the Church, and the CIA-a devastating plot stretching back decades that could destroy all three of them . . . but not without a fight.

The Abduction is the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fuelled follow up to Jonathan Holt's highly acclaimed international thriller The Abomination-a modern tale of mystery, treachery, and intrigue that moves between the physical and virtual worlds of Venice, Italy, blurring the boundary between dark fantasy and terrifying reality. An unlikely trio must form an alliance to save a kidnapped young girl and untangle a nefarious plot that reaches back decades. Second Lieutenant Holly Boland is an intelligence analyst trained to look for clues ordinary investigators miss. When a U.S. army officer's daughter is kidnapped from an American base in Venice, Holly is sure that the mysterious abductors want more than a ransom. Venetian police captain Kat Tapo has found a webcam feed embedded in the encrypted website Carnivia.com, a virtual Venice. It streams video of a terrified teenage girl, hooded and tied to a chair. A strand of text scrolls across the screen: "Sensory deprivation is not torture." Is the girl the missing daughter of the American military officer? Who is behind the cryptic message? Daniele Barbo, the genius webmaster and creator of Carnivia, has never let the government access his servers, and finding the missing girl is not his problem. But then secrets from Italy's dark wartime past begin to surface-revelations that could put them all in danger. To save his own skin, Daniel must decide how far he's willing to let them in. In a race against time, Holly, Kat, and Daniel must find the shocking truth . . . or watch as more than one innocent life is sacrificed.