Having just finished the Da Vinci Code, I went to the library to see what else Dan Brown had written and came home with this. Upon reading it I realized that what had seemed like a shrewd plot in the other book seemed more formulaic in this one. Basically: someone’s Dad gets killed horribly in some ritualistic way, the symbologist is called in the middle of the night, the death, or elements of it, is hidden, Langdon goes to work trying to solve the time-sensitive puzzle with the professional, lovely intelligent daughter of the deceased. If they don’t solve the puzzle then life as we know it will irretrievably alter. Puzzles get solved along the way. Both books take place in a span of under 24 hours, and involve one, of not more last minute plot twistss. Langdon gets busy with the girl, or will soon, by the last five pages of the book. By the second book, Langdon had managed to ditch the girl from the first book, I don’t quite know how. And yet, the books work for me. Brown is clearly an author who enjoys the things he discusses and has researched his subjects intently. One of the most impressive things about his books is the prefatory remarks abotu just how much he is discussing is actually real architecture, real secret groups and real conjecture. If the Da Vinci Code floated your boat, likely this one will too.