Berry has written a handful of stand-alones along with 16 novels starring Cotton Malone, the former Justice Department operative. It's unclear at this point whether his latest is another stand-alone or the first in a new series. It introduces a new character, a UNESCO investigator named Nicholas Lee, who chances upon a clue to the location of a missing (and generally presumed lost) piece of fifteenth-century art--a panel from the famed Ghent Altarpiece. Soon he finds himself caught up in a two-millennia-old war between the Vatican and an ancient order determined to keep certain facts hidden from history. Although similar in theme and execution to the Malone novels, The Omega Factor feels different: the pace is a bit slower, the action is slightly less raucous, and Nick is younger and less experienced than Cotton. This ancient-mystery stuff is new to him, and that point of view makes the familiar theme seem fresh to the reader as well. Nick is a good character, with plenty of room to grow. Here's one vote for Berry making a series out of Nick's adventures.

This lively standalone from bestseller Berry (the Cotton Malone series) centers on a panel stolen in 1934 from the Ghent Altarpiece, "one of the world's great works of art, created in the early part of the fifteenth century, at the threshold of the Renaissance, by two brothers, Hubert and Jan van Eyck." Early chapters alternate between Jan van Eyck and Nick Lee, a field operative in the present day dealing with artistic and cultural issues for UNESCO. Nick is in Ghent, Belgium, visiting his former fiancée, art restorer Kelsey Deal, who's now a Catholic nun. Kelsey is restoring the altarpiece at the Cathedral of Saint Bavo when a fire breaks out. Nick arrives on the scene minutes later, and Kelsey orders him to chase after the vandal responsible for the blaze, who has also stolen her laptop containing images of the masterpiece. Nick and Kelsey are soon racing around France on the trail of a conspiracy linked to the Catholic church that originated 2,000 years ago. Berry once again smoothly blends action and history. Dan Brown fans will want to check this one out. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (June)