The Magdalene Mandala

Bradley is back! Michael Bradley, author of the critically acclaimed ''Swords at Sunset'' and other non-fiction books on the Holy Grail (he was a researcher for The Da Vinci Code movie), has now written his first novel since the 1970s, when ''Imprint'' and ''The Mantouche Factor'' together sold more than half-a-million copies. Now the long fiction drought is over with the release of a new novel. ''The Magdalene Mandala'' draws on Bradley''s enviable reputation as a Holy Grail expert to lend authenticity to a plot that twists and turns at a rapid pace, bringing together murder and intrigue, political cover-ups, the Grail... and Mary Magdalene. Added to this intoxicating literary mix are detailed descriptions of ingenious low-tech survivalist devices.