The Jesus Clone

When reporter Lynn Fitzgerald runs a computer search to find the six greatest scientists of the twentieth century, an intriguing and unexpected name turns up. Joshua Benson was a rising star in the new science of genetics and cloning, until his sudden defection to Russia. With the help of ’Billy the Hack’, and the CIA archives, Benson is traced to Turin, prior to his defection. Lynn discovers that during his mysterious stay in the city, the cathedral was robbed of two items. The first was a gem-encrusted crucifix, while the second was a fragment of cloth from the Turin Shroud - believed by worshippers to be the burial shroud of Christ - a fragment bearing the blood of the man it once draped.And now in Moscow, nearly 30 years after the cathedral’s desecration, there are strange reports of a man with compelling powers of persuasion, leading the people to revolution.

Professor Leonard is author of over two hundred wide ranging scientific papers, which include a technique now used to safeguard the ozone layer. This helped his University secure the Queen’s Anniversary prize, presented at Buckingham Palace. Lifelong fascinations have been science, religion and the future. These interests were combined in a series of novels, now revised and enhanced whose titles included The Nostradamus Inheritance, and Omega. The novels were well received worldwide, and even found translation into Japanese and Hindi. When writing The Legacy of the Shroud (now The Jesus Clone) Professor Leonard became a member of the Turin Shroud Society, and lectured extensively on the history and remarkable scientific facts about the Holy Shroud. Professor Leonard has appeared frequently on radio and television to discuss the boundaries between science and religion, and gave the Cardinal Newman Lecture at Oxford University in 1986. More recently he has published a collection of poems, entitled Pearls Along The Path.