Clara Tannenberg has announced the finding of the clay tablets that she insists will change the course of history; with her husband Ahmed, she prepares to mount an exhibit which will ultimately travel the world. A group of impatient thieves prepare to steal the tablets for resale and a group of friends, whose families perished in Nazi concentration camps, have vowed revenge on Clara’s grandfather and all his descendents, who only include Clara. 

 Carlo Cipriani and three friends have been carrying hate and anger with them all of their lives and have tried to locate Alfred Tannenberg, who has eluded them for sixty years; now think they can get to him through his granddaughter Clara.  While it is impossible to imagine the breadth and depth of Carlo’s loss, and those of his compadres, the characters are not very well developed and it is hard to feel anything toward them other than occasional impatience. 

Add in Carlo’s son, the priest who hears Carlo’s confessions, and the plot tends to shift toward melodrama rather than thriller.  The plot takes a predictable path and it is easy to figure out the who, what, where and why of the impending theft, and when it all comes together on the opening night, it becomes a bit too convenient to be believable. 

The Bible of Clay starts out with great promise, but ends up repetitive and tiresome, even as readers continue to hold out hope for something more exciting.  The religious implications of this find are never fully explored, nor are the political implications, and reactions to the political climate don’t seem genuine, but ones created from a retrospective point of view. 

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry