One of my favorite things about the year-end holiday break is the opportunity to relax and read for extended periods of time. I love to grab a page-turner and ignore the outside world. It's harder these days, with a two-year-old in the house and all, but given the right book, it's still possible.

Angels & Demons is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code. It follows the same formula as the current bestseller: a centuries old secret turns into a modern-day thriller. In this case, it centers on the Illuminati, who have hatched a plan to destroy the core of the Catholic Church — the Vatican itself. There's a time bomb ticking somewhere in Vatican City, and Cardinals are being murdered in a giant publicity stunt by an organization thought to be long defunct. Robert Langdon, Brown's dashing "symbologist", is caught in the middle, and he races to unravel the mystery that will lead him to the heart of the Illuminati in time to save the day.

Brown does a great job of creating page-turning suspense, and much of the chase is fascinating. The details of Roman architecture are interesting, and the pace is breathtaking. In the last 100 pages, however, my suspended disbelief came crashing down, as things became too implausible too quickly. The ending is an incredible stretch, but it's enjoyable even in its insanity.