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The Bone Church: A Novel (The Cold War Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Victoria Dougherty (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 out of 5 stars 584 ratings
In a time of danger and distrust, two lovers seek redemption...and a way back to each other. "The Bone Church" is a hypnotic tale of war and passion!
In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels. But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions. Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.
If you're a fan of books by John le Carré, Daniel Silva, Graham Greene, Ken Follett, and Alan Furst, you won't be able to put down this masterfully written Cold War thriller!
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    The Cold War Chronicles
  2. Print length
    316 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    March 9, 2017
  6. File size
    834 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this case heavy is good, very good." Back Porchervations

"The Bone Church, by debut author Victoria Dougherty, is possibly one of the darkest and most sophisticated historical novels you'll be able to put your hands on." Mina DeCaro, Mina's Bookshelf

"This novel has it all...an addictive jaunt into a world of paranoia, deceit, distrust, and then the ultimate betrayal. I really, really, really loved this book!" Lit Bitch

From the Author

I come from what my husband calls "the ultimate Cold War family." We're Czech, and our story is a two-hanky drama: heroes and villains, cowards, redeemers and the redeemed, those who were beyond hope, and those who pulled victory from a hat just as it looked like it was all over for them. There were ghosts, there were priests, and there were spies. Beautiful women and dashing men. Achingly beautiful love stories and wretched marriages. Curses, communist snitches, political prisoners and big bowls of goulash. Drinking and smoking and storytelling - lots of storytelling.So many stories were told around my dinner table -and they were all true and had happened, by and large, to the people who were relating them. People very,very close to me. So the things I wrote about in The Bone Church seemed real to me and weren't a big stretch of imagination.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XJ9PBV9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pier's Court Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 834 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0997465754
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 2 ‏ : ‎ The Cold War Chronicles
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 out of 5 stars 584 ratings

About the author

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Victoria Dougherty

Victoria Dougherty

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Victoria Dougherty is the author of three acclaimed Cold War historical thrillers, THE BONE CHURCH, THE HUNGARIAN, and WELCOME TO THE HOTEL YALTA. Her epic historical fantasy series, including the novels BREATH, OF SAND AND BONE, and SAVAGE ISLAND are her newest works of fiction. Readers have called Ms. Dougherty's fiction breathtaking, mesmerizing, and genre-defying.

Ms. Dougherty's work has been published or profiled in the New York Times, USA Today, The International Herald Tribune, and elsewhere.

Her blog – COLD (www.victoriadougherty.wordpress.com) – features her short essays on faith, family, love, and writing.

WordPress, the blogging platform that hosts some 70 million blogs worldwide, has singled out COLD as one of the Top 50 Recommended Blogs by writers or about writing.

For all inquiries, please contact Cold Press at victoria@victoriadoughertybooks.com

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
584 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this novel to be an excellent story of intrigue, with well-researched content and interesting characters. Moreover, the book offers a satisfying tale of survival against the Nazis, and customers enjoy reading about different places. However, the writing quality receives mixed feedback - while some find it beautifully written, others say it's tough to follow the storyline. Additionally, the pacing is also mixed, with some praising it while others find it slow-moving, and several customers mention the story can be confusing.

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Story qualityReadabilityCharacter developmentSurvivalResearch qualityPacingConfusion
98 customers mention "Story quality"87 positive11 negative

Customers find the book's story engaging and suspenseful, with one customer noting how it immerses readers in a world of thievery.

"The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty, laced with suspenseful moments and supernatural whispers, places it in a unique category of historical..." Read more

"...the 40s and 50s, and the plot is twisty and byzantine – choked with hints and suspicions, scattered clues, double-crosses, tails, moles, and..." Read more

"...It is set in Prague, a city so quintessentially European that’s it’s frequently used to represent Europe in films such as Amadeus, Mission..." Read more

"I should start out by saying The Bone Church deals with a part of history I know very little about...." Read more

62 customers mention "Readability"56 positive6 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable to read, particularly appreciating the descriptions of various locations.

"...Was this an easy read? Absolutely not! It shouldn't be...." Read more

"...Her writing is masterful, superb and rich with details of the time period showing she knows her history...." Read more

"...The Bone Church is a wonderful book about a horrible time in the world’s history. But at its heart is survival and loyalty...." Read more

"...This novel was truly a treat for me to review. There was a lot to keep me guessing and actively engaged...." Read more

39 customers mention "Character development"29 positive10 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them interesting and noting their survival throughout the story, with one customer highlighting their vivid portrayal.

"...The secondary characters were just as mesmerizing and what I loved the most was the way each of these characters kept surprising me!..." Read more

"...He is a wonderful character and should be appreciated. The Bone Church is a character in of itself...." Read more

"...in Czechoslovakia between the years of 1943 to 1956, the characters are in constant danger, and one-step away from death throughout the entire book...." Read more

"...While the characters were solid and the pace gripping, the historic references and details were second to none!..." Read more

9 customers mention "Survival"9 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of survival against the Nazis, with one customer highlighting its interesting depiction of the Nazi occupation of Czeckoslovakia in 1942.

"...and 1956 it takes place mainly in Czechoslovakia and sets as its backdrop the Nazi occupation (in the 1944 timeline) and later the heavy Soviet..." Read more

"...Treacherous secrecy, double deals, double agents, Nazi sympathizers, Catholic revolutionaries, thieves, gypsies, and survival by subterfuge...." Read more

"This is a gritty, non-stop, fast paced, action filled historic thriller...." Read more

"...the story envelops the reader into a world of thievery, recklessness, courage, and survival...." Read more

7 customers mention "Research quality"7 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book's thorough research, with one customer noting how it provides valuable insights about Prague.

"...And she’s come up with an erudite, neoclassic, Cold War thriller. “..." Read more

"...He receives at help from so many sources; real and mystic. He never gives up and his ability to survive does him credit in so many ways...." Read more

"...The book is clearly based on a great deal of research...." Read more

"...this book is not for you. But this book has an incredibly rich and historical heritage that precludes any of that...." Read more

26 customers mention "Pacing"15 positive11 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it great while others describe it as slow-moving and note that the narrative jumps back and forth between time periods.

"...no time to figure out the year or setting because the action never lets up in either time...." Read more

"This was an okay book. I thought it was a bit slow moving, and sometimes the timeline changes were hard to follow...." Read more

"...Not all is dark and none of it is dull...." Read more

"I enjoyed this, but got frustrated as it seemed to wander a bit and got confusing. My goal in reading novels like this is entertainment...." Read more

15 customers mention "Confusion"3 positive12 negative

Customers find the book confusing and hard to follow.

"...Poetically written and too many nuances to do justice to the first time around." Read more

"...But the seemingly disjointed sequencing was hard to follow; granted, that that particular structure was representative of how life happened in that..." Read more

"I enjoyed this, but got frustrated as it seemed to wander a bit and got confusing. My goal in reading novels like this is entertainment...." Read more

"...Of course, now I am. This novel put everything into such perspective, that it becomes an emotional story...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Book Addict
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Thrilling Read
    Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty, laced with suspenseful moments and supernatural whispers, places it in a unique category of historical fiction.

    Set in Czechoslovakia between the years of 1943 to 1956, the characters are in constant danger, and one-step away from death throughout the entire book. Even when World War II ends, and Nazi Germany no longer controls the destiny of the Czech people, another world power brings another set of troubles to the Eastern European country. It’s not certain if the occupation by the Soviet Union is an improvement upon the lives of the already downtrodden. If they managed to escape the war, it was only to end up in another type of nightmare where anyone—lovers, relatives, nuns—might end up as a spy and an enemy.

    In the world portrayed by Ms. Dougherty, the characters of Felix and Magdalena are at first innocents caught in an evil and dangerous world. But with each betrayal and with every death, they lose their innocence as they scratch their way to survival.
    The plight of Jews and gypsies provide the reader no surprises here; but the addition of priests, sculptors, and bankers into the complicated plot woven by the author, lend an air of constant tension to the book.

    The plot moves back and forth from 1943-44 to 1956 to give just enough of a hint of what is to come and how they got where they are. Ms. Dougherty is careful to provide the chapter headings with dates and locations so the reader can easily move from one setting to the other. There’s no time to figure out the year or setting because the action never lets up in either time.
    When the violence and trickery become overwhelming, the plot shifts to the paranormal where the spirits of those gone before come again to help give hope and advice to Felix and Magdalena. The reference of the Bone Church comes from a real church where human bones decorate the inside of the church. Ms. Dougherty describes in horrifying detail the interior from Felix’s point of view when he first sees it: “Nearly every part of the interior gleamed like the new teeth of an infant. Bones from some 30,000 dead Christians lay configured into pyramids, light fixtures, chandeliers, pinnacles, coats of arms, an altar, and a monstrous hydra of ribs and skulls that sat atop an intact spinal column.”

    The terrifying place for Felix soon turns into his savior. The book comes full circle when the bones of one of the characters find its way to the Bone Church finally to find peace.

    Ms. Dougherty’s imagery stands out from the heaviness of the plot’s action. I was captivated from the beginning with a description of Palestine, where Magdalena had visited as a child.

    “The desert there had seemed to her a beautiful sleeping woman. If the mountains were her body, the desert was the palm of her hand, cracked with the lines of her destiny. The hot air was her breath.”

    If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this book provides yet another experience of a dark time in Eastern European history. If you love suspenseful thrillers with spies lurking around every corner, then The Bone Church will surely keep you turning the page. And if you love a tale with paranormal assistance, you find it here. I hit the jackpot because I love all three of those elements within fiction.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Michael Schmicker
    4.0 out of 5 stars James Bond Meets Salvador Dali
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    “The name’s Dougherty – Victoria Dougherty.”

    And she’s come up with an erudite, neoclassic, Cold War thriller.

    “The Bone Church” is set primarily in Nazi-occupied – and subsequently Soviet-occupied – Eastern Europe. The plot revolves around the Infant of Prague, a famous Catholic religious icon pursued for different reasons by the Czech Resistance and Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels. The atmosphere is sour and gritty – ration coupons, coal smoke, greasy goulash. The story repeatedly time-shifts between the 40s and 50s, and the plot is twisty and byzantine – choked with hints and suspicions, scattered clues, double-crosses, tails, moles, and blackmailers. Everybody carries faked documents. Nothing is what it seems.

    Multiple writers, particularly British, have chosen this Kafkaesque era and communist Eastern Europe as a setting for a novel. John le Carre set the bar with “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,” named “the best spy novel of all time” by Publishers Weekly in 2006. Graham Greene’s most famous Cold War works take place in Cuba and Vietnam, but he set “The Third Man” in Allied-occupied Vienna. British novelist Ian Fleming dispatched his suave hero James Bond – “The name’s Bond, James Bond” – on missions into Moscow-controlled Austria, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and Dougherty’s Czechoslovakia. If Fleming were still alive, I’m confident he’d invite her over to Dukes Bar to swap notes over a shaken, not stirred, martini. The 007 creator delighted in oddly named characters like Goldfinger and Blofeld; Dougherty created the gypsy Srut, an odd jobber for the Prague Underground. Bond sported a Walther PPK; Dougherty’s hero Felix packs a Walther P38. Bond escapes baddies by using gyroplanes and strap-on jetpacks; Felix and Srut hijack a fire truck, and careen through Prague. Dougherty even delivers a fiery explosion scene rivaling “For Your Eyes Only.”

    But “The Bone Church” is closer to John le Carre and Graham Greene than Bond parody.

    Like le Carre, Doherty explores the moral grays of the Cold War era, and how the challenged respond. Like Greene, a fellow Catholic (he a convert, she born to the faith), Dougherty serves up a flawed, all-too-human Church of Rome. Protagonist Felix is an honorable Jesuit, his father Marek noble and self-sacrificing. But her secondary cast includes a corporate-ladder-climbing bishop; a nasty nun; a worldly Cardinal chauffeured around in a Mercedes limousine carrying a leather briefcase stuffed with hundred-dollar bills; a fetishized Infant of Prague doll; and a Vatican hierarchy castigated by Srut in the novel – and by a number of authors in real life – for failing to more forcefully confront Hitler and the Holocaust horror during World War II. The debate over Pope Pius XII’s response still rages today, adding a moral gravity to Dougherty’s novel wholly absent in Fleming’s cartoon Bond.

    The thread of surrealism woven into “The Bone Church” is proprietary Dougherty. Scenes worthy of Salvador Dali pop up throughout the story. Felix sees visions of Simon the Zealot and St, Bartholomew; confers with his dead mother-in-law; laces on his hockey skates and escapes down a frozen river dodging a hail of gunfire while dragging Srut behind him on a rope. The Goddess of Soliloquy flies off the façade of the National Theater and pokes her head through the fire truck window to give Felix advice while Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” thumps through his head; St. Michael the Archangel, appearing to him in street clothes, counsels him in extremis; the dead Srut steadies his shooting hand; during an extended gunfight inside the Bone Church (which lends the novel its title), a life-size human skeleton of Jesus Christ crashes down on the hero’s head; a tribe of “Indians” sporting bows and arrows and living in teepees on the Czech-West German border help him across no man’s land; a sculptor signs his work on the back of an eyeball – sly homage to Bunuel and Dali’s “Un Chien Andalou”? Probably not, but who knows? Nothing is what it seems.

    All I know is that Dougherty has managed to slip into the room with Fleming, Greene and le Carre and deliver a clever, original take on Cold War noir.

    Got that? Good.

    Meet her at the bookstore at midnight, comrade. She’s got a package for you.
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  • Onion Eaters
    3.0 out of 5 stars 2nd commandment ?
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Not being religious at all, I'm probably wrong, but isn't there some "idol" thing somewhere? So that would be the first question about this book. Second would be the church in the title. !? It's mentioned twice and the settings in both cases could have been anywhere. A true historical history of this place would be far more interesting. A few reviews describe the difficulty in following the settings and timelines. Add to this, Felix's trips to the twilight zone that he seems to take a few times. Seeing people that are not there or are dead. A for effort. It wasn't a bad book. But only a C for execution. Might have been 4 stars if it had been explained how a hockey player became James Bond. Not only assassination attempts on a Nazi official, but shooting down 2 helicopters while helping his ex-girlfriend and their child escape the commies. Set your expectations low, then you might enjoy it. And who blew up the house in Santorini?
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Faith
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good solid historical novel
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The first part of Victoria Dougherty's The Bone Church is not an easy read. It begins with a harrowing scene and never lets up. Add in some decidedly heavy material and WW2 themes, with a narrative that is oft more than a little challenging, and your head will be spinning.

    BUT, don’t give up! One third of the way through and I discovered I was hooked. The WW2 references are wonderful, and the author’s knowledge of history inserted with her own brand of fiction will capture your attention. Indeed, sometimes I found myself wondering which was fact and which was fiction.
    Main characters Magdalena and Felix stood out. They are trapped and haunted in their untenable position, but I felt an admiration for their plight more than mere woe.

    That said I had to work in some parts to understand what was happening…the reader has to pay attention to the date at the beginning of each chapter; the time changes back and forth.
    Nevertheless, this novel is an interestingly addictive foray into a world of paranoia, deceit mistrust, and ultimate betrayal.
    Awarded four stars and recommended for history lovers.
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  • Rod Baxter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gypsies, Nazis and Thieves
    Reviewed in Australia on June 14, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    What a mix. A missing religious relic, A chance to con the Nazis and the Vatican, A love affair between two people separated by the misfortunes of war, a plot to kill Goebbels provide us with lots of running, jumping, shooting, exploding, hiding, skating a car chase, more than a little intrigue, and some suspenseful tense moments all the time wondering where the relic's true hiding place is.
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  • Espionage Lover
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surviving an Emotional and Physical Maelstrom-War
    Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The Bone Church transcends the normal historical war story by delving into what can only be called “The Good Luck Lottery.” Why does one person survive in war while thousands of others perish?
    Throughout my life I have been impressed by books interweaving any kind of unexplainable mysticism, often in the form of an other worldly figures such as Indians or gypsies. These figures act as guiding lights at significant turning points in the lives of important people in a book. Victoria Dougherty’s “The Bone Church” intriguingly paints one such character, a gypsy called Strut. Ironically, her portrayal reminds me of Bulgagov’s intense book, “The Master and the Margarita”, but also resembles, in its rite of hard-earned passage theme, a more recent great thriller written by Rags Daniels called “Lallapaloosa”.
    Dougherty’s diligently researched tale abounds with detail and twists and turns enough to satisfy the most demanding reader. Minutiae decorate many passages and help to make the story credible. As I said earlier, the unique element of this story is how it transcends the normal with a hopeful message about survival. Believe and it could be you. Pick up this book to traipse through the chaos of a World War and marvel at how ‘lady luck’ blesses some. A wonderful read.
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  • Richard Latham
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great book with a real message
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    To everyone who reads this book and wants to give up, I get it. I quickly read the first 7% only to be confused and I set it aside to return as I respect this author and the story behind how this book came to be written.
    I returned to the book again at the beginning of the month and read it again from the start. Once I read the first fifth of the book I was in to it, and wanted to read it quickly to the end.
    Why is this; I read reviews where readers are switched off and lose the plot literally. But the book may be read at a different time and bowl a reader like me away, as seen by the many 4 and 5 star reviews.
    For me the answer is simple, having read Victoria Dougherty's blogs as recorded in the book Cold which shares much of the author's background, family history and passionate personality.
    When you have met an author or get their thing through their eyes or existing work you just seem to have an in and thereafter delight in their writing style or what they are trying to express in their work.
    So does that mean if they write a shopping list it would get 5 stars? No but it means I am confident returning to familiar authors who consistently deliver. However, reading is about taking risks and finding new authors and styles in my opinion and that is what makes my connection with this author so special to me. I found her without expectation and have now a new rewarding reading stream that makes my reading fresh and stimulating.
    So 5 stars but now the why. The plot is explained elsewhere. All I wish to say that the book shows the strength of the human spirit in times of real adversity.
    That this story resonates is because it reflects the author's personal knowledge and family history. It must have been written at great cost but can leave the author very proud of her heritage and her descendants. In this story their are heroes and villains. When you are going against a political system and under pressure your own people cave and betray their own citizens or re-evaluate life in terms of ethnicity, racial links and religion you are at the lowest you can be. Devoid of friends, safety, opportunity and criminalised. That this occurs twice in this novel is a story in itself and re-enforces the blackness in some systems and states. Here we have both Nazism and Stalinism and a common enemy among normal human beings.
    This is a story that needs to be told and the lessons of history are slow to be learned in my lifetime as those who flee oppression are stigmatised, face persecution and terror to the point of death. In closed societies today people are held captive in their own country in fear of arrest or exposure.
    Those who can't run or hide often face the injustice through underground or resistance groups.
    This book brought all that to my attention through a fiction story that is rich in locations and history. I loved the various characters especially Felix and Srut. It is worth investing your time and persevering with this book.
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  • col2910
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting espionage-ish thriller
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I think I would have enjoyed this more if the manner in which I read it hadn’t have been so stop-start-stop-start. However that’s the way things turned out for whatever reason.

    Fantastic setting with Prague both in the war and the mid-50’s. Decent main characters that you hope escape the city intact to enjoy a brighter future. Great tension created by the author, with this reader never really sure who Felix and Magdalena could trust, or whether they were being manipulated.

    I did get slightly confused in places, as the narrative switched between the two time frames, but overall a decent read. I blame myself for the reader confusion, as there were outside events running parallel that made me take my eye off the ball at times.

    I was subsequently driven to look up the Bone Church and the Infant Jesus of Prague to see if they were figments of the author’s imagination or actually existed. She makes great use of these in the narrative, though as a lapsed Catholic myself, I am somewhat bemused at the importance the church attaches to these religious relics, seeming to place a higher value on them than the well-being of some of their congregation. Apparently the infant figure was recently granted a Canonical Coronation by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 – perhaps it was a quiet year and there weren’t too many abuse scandals or third world issues that merited his attention.

    Definitely going to read more from this author in the future. This is her debut novel.

    Acquired on Kindle from Amazon.
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