Unholy Grail by D. L. Wilson reads like a novice author’s first novel because it is.  Wilson has put together a solid and fast paced plot that will appeal to fans of The Da Vinci Code, but will probably fall short of drawing a wider audience because the characters come across flat and the dialogue can be painful at times.

Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first.  The main characters, Father Romano and Brittany Hamar just didn’t come to life for me.  Maybe it was making her a knockout blond named Britt (I hate to perpetuate stereotype), but I never bought into her character.  Romano was better and more accessible, but every time he spoke to his grad students it read like the Hardy Boys or Scooby-Do.  The two young aids fight over computer usage and getting to work on time.  Too hokey. 

The dialogue also suffered at times.  Dialogue should help the writer and reader develop the character together and allow us inside.  Wilson’s dialogue needs work.  For example, early in the novel, Britt Hamar, a professor at Hunter College, is shot.  A few hours later she meets Romano while she is still in the hospital bed.  She recognizes him from their professional connections and the following dialogue ensues:

     Brittany Hamar’s expression wilted to a look of confusion.  “I do remember you.  You held my hand before the medics arrived.  But I know you from somewhere else.  Without the collar.”  Her eyes widened.  “You’re a professor at Fordham.  Professor Romano.  I’ve read some of your books.”

     “Guilty on both counts.  But, please, call me Joseph.”

     “Only if you call me Britt.”

     “Britt it is.  I hope you didn’t find my writing too cumbersome.”

It sounds like a cocktail party.  It’s vapid and distracting from the flow of the plot because the reader never fully trusts the characters to act or talk in proportion to the situations in which they are placed.  The dialogue is especially difficult to believe later in the book, when the internal dialogue seems to conflict it.  Britt worries about kissing the priest after he saves her life, but ends up drinking wine on a balcony with him just pages later.

As I said earlier, the book was a real page-turner at times.  The plot is very strong and probably why this book got published, in spite of some other pretty major flaws.  The plot grabbed me right away.  The set up of Britt and Father Romano in the subway station was excellent and very plausible red herrings were everywhere.  It would be a disservice to potential readers to reveal too much, but I will say that while comparisons to The Da Vinci Code are inevitable given the nature and timing of the book, the plot stands on its own.

So fans of the genre will enjoy this book.  It moves fast due to a plot with multiple storylines being juggled in short chapters (a’ la The Da Vinci Code) and deals with popular subject matter.  It will miss with a wider audience, because there are times when the reader must grit his teeth to get through some tough parts.  For a first novel this isn’t a train wreck, but there is much room for improvement.

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