A sophisticated literary thriller that grips you from the first moment and on many levels. From the point of view of the writing, it is exquisite. The author has an unusual gift for using the cadence and flow of ordinary language, endowing it with an almost musical subtlety and nuance, then using it to communicate extraordinary ideas. She paints word images that transport you to places to which you might never have been but which suddenly feel familiar; and she makes you tap into feelings, tensions, fears, and emotions you didn't know you carried inside. It is incredible to me that this is her first novel. The story is engaging, fast-paced, and original. The characters are intriguing, believable, and of increasing complexity as the story develops. The settings and time periods range from Paris in the 1940's, to the mountains of Bulgaria, to modern-day New York. Whether in a convent or a cave; whether seeing events through the eyes of a bewildered little girl or a prideful centuries-old Nephilim--you feel you are there and it feels real. The conversations and interactions feel real; the human (and part-human) frailties seem real; the events and sequence seem real; the circumstances--strange as they are--seem, at least, plausible. The story starts gently, but with a foreshadowing that this warmth and peace won't last, and it builds exquisitely in crescendo and intricacy until you feel the fascinating tension of total involvement.