The Thousand - Kevin Guilfoile

Kevin Guilfoile's riveting follow-up to Cast of Shadows ("spellbinding"--Chicago Tribune, "a masterpiece of intelligent plotting"--Salon) centers on an extraordinary young woman's race to find her father's killer and to free herself from the cross fire of a centuries-old civil war in which she has unknowingly become ensnared. 

In 530 B.C., a mysterious ship appeared off the rainy shores of Croton, in what is now Italy. After three days the skies finally cleared and a man disembarked to address the curious and frightened crowd that had gathered along the wet sands. He called himself Pythagoras. Exactly what he said that day is unknown, but a thousand men and women abandoned their lives and families to follow him. They became a community. A school. A cult dedicated to the search for a mathematical theory of everything. Although Pythagoras would die years later, following a bloody purge, his disciples would influence Western philosophy, science, and mathematics for all time. 

Chicago, the present day. Canada Gold, a girl both gifted and burdened by uncanny mental abilities, is putting her skills to questionable use in the casinos and courthouses of Las Vegas when she finds herself drawn back to the city in which her father, the renowned composer Solomon Gold, was killed while composing his magnum opus. Beautiful, brilliant, troubled, Canada has never heard of the Thousand, a clandestine group of powerful individuals safeguarding and exploiting the secret teachings of Pythagoras. But as she struggles to understand her father's unsolved murder, she finds herself caught in the violence erupting between members of the fractured ancient cult while she is relentlessly pursued by those who want to use her, those who want to kill her, and the one person who wants to save her. 

In an irresistibly ambitious novel that fuses historical fact with contemporary suspense, Kevin Guilfoile delivers an erudite, propulsively entertaining thriller that seamlessly traverses the realms of math, science, music, and philosophy. The Thousand is ringing confirmation of Guilfoile's enormous talent.

Title: The Thousand

Author: Kevin Guilfoile

Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Publication Date: August 24, 2010

Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Dana from Kaye Publicity for sending me this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. 

My Rating: 4/5

Canada Gold has spent the last several years working in the casinos and the courthouses of Las Vegas. She returns to the city where her father had been murdered and she is swept up in the violence and scheming of a secretive organization. She is nothing but a puppet for the organization and is in a race against time to find her father's killer, and to save her own life. With everything at stake, she must decide who to trust, who is out to kill her, and who is willing to use her capabilities for their own gain. 

Canada has had a tough life. Her father was murdered, and her mother left her, leaving her all alone. She is a character that I felt empathy for. She has no one, except for a few close friends. She is definitely a character that I can relate to. 

The Thousand, is an organization that has been around for centuries. They are a secretive group  searching for mathematical theory in everything--philosophy, music, art, and science. They are an elitist group divided, at war with themselves with Canada sitting unwittingly in the line of fire. 

This book had an excellent blend of history, philosophy, science, music, and art without detracting from the suspense and mystery. The characters were memorable, and the tension was palpable throughout the novel. The plot was intricate in detail, and fast paced in execution. I was drawn in almost immediately and enjoyed the many dimensions of the book. It was a thoroughly engaging read which captured, and maintained my attention. 

All in all, a phenomenal book which marries history, math, science, music, art, and suspense together for a thought provoking, detailed, and well executed read. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Dan Brown's work, as well as James Rollins. Guilfoile is an author to watch.