Codex 632: The Secret Identity of Christopher Columbus
Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
William Morrow: A HarperCollins Imprint
ISBN: 978-0-06-117318-9
Fiction, Mystery
Reviewed by Shannon Frost 

When Professor Toscano, historian and scholar, dies mysteriously in his hotel room on the verge of announcing a great discovery, it’s up to fellow history professor and cryptanalyst, Thomas Noronha, to pick up where Toscano left off for the American foundation who had hired him.  The problem is, all of Toscano’s notes are left in code, and Thomas must somehow break the code if he’s to uncover the mystery of Toscano’s discovery regarding who Christopher Columbus actually was and to earn the money the foundation has promised him if he’s to be able to afford a lifesaving operation for his daughter.

The idea behind Codex 632 is a compelling one, that Christopher Columbus had an identity unknown today, a dark past that he desperately wanted to keep hidden during his lifetime, and that he never went by the name Columbus.  With the book being backed up by historical documentation, it makes these theories all the more interesting.  The novel does tend to be a bit “talky”, going off on long lecture like discussions that can take pages to get to the point, if it does at all as most times it ends with Thomas not having the full information of his discovery and he must go off to do more research.  Other than Thomas traveling to different countries attempting to unravel the mystery, the side story of his terminally ill daughter and failing marriage, and an affair with one of his students that had a predictable outcome, there’s not much in the way of action or suspense.  Though, it being more of a scholarly work isn’t necessarily bad as it’s overflowing with interesting tidbits and facts.  For those looking for a work of historical mystery on a topic that has been little explored, Codex 632 may be the book for you.