The Sanctuary on Cayman Brac: KEY TO THE TRUTH: CHRISTOPH FISCHER
His hands roam over your entire body trying to find where you need to release the tension; the illnesses and anything that makes you feel weak, sick or unsure of your present condition. Sometimes he tries to just make you feel calm and raise your emotional spirits while other times he claims he can rid you of a terminal illness or disease. Healing powers does he really have them? Did he really cure someone who had an incurable illness like cancer? Arpan never saw Erica Whittaker as she approaches him with a gun pointed directly at him. According to his teachings, we learn that sensing the presence of other people was one of the very basic examples of invisible connections between every human on the planet. But, Arpan rich not fully enjoying his wealth lived a meager and frugal life. Trusting others to deal and handle his finances he would soon learn was a grave error and placing his trust in people that he felt close to him would eventually be his downfall.
Revenge is a powerful tool and a powerful word and throughout this novel you will meet those that want nothing more than to take down Arpan each for their own selfish and miserly reasons starting with Erica. Erica was told she had cancer only to be told it was a mistake or was it? Hilda is the catalyst in this story and she was the one who claimed Erica was ill and put her though torturous treatments and tests only for her to find out that she switched the test results and lied. Arpan when he finally sees her and she wants Hilda to face off with her says: When you were diagnosed it was Hilda who led you to me and I took great risks by curing you, breaking legally binding contracts with the drug company to do so? What was this magic elixir that was supposed to cure her?
Julia Krieger is a major player in this scheme to fleece not only Erica but Arpan and his minions too. Revenge is just part of her plan as she ran a pharmaceutical company that wanted to purchase Arpan’s healing secrets and she too had some grievances against him. Truce: Not so fast as Arpan signed a control with Julia not to practice healing ever again in exchange for funding a substantial charitable program in Africa by a firm she worked for. Healing: Not anymore signed, sealed and bound but was it? Hilda seems to be central and Erica was wondering if she cast some spell over Arpan and what her true motives were but not before she deals with her in person. Anju was his disciple and he valued his work and hoping to help him create his own school in the future. But, Arpan’s rules are rigid and even though he works well with the students you get the feeling that his ways are not new and his attitude stuck in the past whereas Anju seems to take control and he along with Arpan opened the school fro ten students and created a master class. Going off the island to deal with his finances he specifically states that he trusts Hilda whose fiancé has more money than he needs but stating that Hilda loves to make sure or he thinks at least that everything is right.
Enter Ben Andrews who wanted to become one of his new disciples and learn more about healing but it’s his accounting skills that win Arpan over yet he hesitates because he creates stipulations that he refuses to honor. Arpan does not compromise and his ideals are his own but will that in the long run do him in?
The conversation goes to Julia and lying to her. Yet, he claims he opened up when telling her the elixir would not work but both Hilda and Julia have their own agendas and this reader distrusts them both. Arpan was under the presumption that he would have enough money all the time and it will never run out but when you let someone deal with your funds and even though you spot check or really do a complete one you just never know.
Owl and Lotus were there for three months and appeared to be dedicated to healing and working with students. Erica at times became the one person that was chosen to allow the students to try and find where she needed to be healed, work on her and then report what they found. One woman working on her stated that Erica needed to unblock her heart that she’s in so much pain and won’t let anyone in. Is it that or is it that she has serious trust issues yet at times you wonder why she is so fast to believe what others tell her without really listening and hearing what they are really saying.
Once again author Christoph Fischer brings to light many valuable issues such as trust, betrayals, deceits, power, greed, revenge and a game between two people that might prove deadly to the others if not stopped. Owl seemed too straightforward and at Erica realize that she needed to beware of him and careful. Anju seemed to worry about the students and yet very critical of others not halting his words or worrying about feelings when expressing his opinion of the work of others.
Reviewing her conversation and confrontation with Hilda how would Erica deal with the fact that she never had cancer at all and only now after learning that did she feel her feelings for Hilda, “Hat she had completely blanked the big issue—she really escaped a certain death sentence. Arpan was a miracle worker and staying here, would give Erica better chances of survival.” She seemed totally taken with him and was starting to develop more feelings for him in different ways.
Documents that are all telling and written in another language namely Cyrillic but the end result was quite telling as information about accounts in many places and countries come to light. Arpan seems too complacent and when the harsh realities set in why does he take the inevitable in stride? Owl is really Mirco and he living most of his life in the U.K. and when Eric confronts him she learns about the numbered accounts, his relationship with Lisa or Lotus and a new player that Erica meets accidentally or was it Wendy? With no cell phones allowed and locked up in his save and certain freedoms curtailed and no talking at specific times, Erica at times feels the necessity to sneak around, finds a key and hopes to learn exactly what it unlocks. Hilda comes to light again and after Owl relates some unhappy truths Arpan realizes that he should have known that both Owl and Lisa had different agendas and how their phones would be his but what was the real threat to him? Why is he allowing Owl to look after his own finances and why is it fail to allow Ben the same? Was he beginning to bend the rules? People need interaction so why is Arpan dead against it in most cases?
Traitors come out of the woodwork, as Vincent seems to believe Erica when she takes him on a wild goose chase with a treasure map but learning more about Giorgio, Hilda’s fiancé is quite revealing and the games played are just beginning. Meeting Wendy and going with her to where she is staying she learns about her photography skills and when showing her pictures she seems some familiar faces and wonders why she did not know that Julia as on the island and that Hilda had a look alike but who was it? Hilda used to work out of her office in Georgetown as Owl reveals and learning more about her finances he and someone else played a dangerous game of Russian money roulette and no one was the wiser. Wendy and owl had their own alliance but someone else close to Arpan and Erica was part of this deception. Daring someone to try and stop her from gaining control of the money in question who was going to con who? Who paid someone handsomely to do something so underhanded no one saw it coming? Someone could barely miss the opportunity and Giorgio is someone’s nemesis. But whose?
Arpan puts money into another school for Anju to run but in reality someone else was behind the idea as once again author Christoph Fischer creates a plot filled with such deception, such deceit that no one sees it coming not even Arpan. Wendy and Vincent became a team but she is out for herself and could care less about anything else except getting the money but just where just everything wind up you wont believe! Anju is Arpan’s weakness and his mother threatened to release letters that contained information that no one wanted release and the subject matter would hurt many and Anju would not let this happen so lying, betraying and going to the other side was his only option but why doesn’t Arpan get angry and want to take back what was taken from him?
On pages 160- 163 the plot will be revealed and the end result will stun you. When you hear Arpan’s words you wonder whether he fully comprehends what was done to him and when the reader learns about the many lies, deceptions and betrayals the question is: Where did the money for his school finally wind up? What will be the fate of Arpan’s dreams and hopes? What happened to the money for the second school and will Anju remain there? Where did Anju go and what will be the final revelation as the author shares many great incites into human nature, greed, power and revenge: Owl’s words shoot out at Arpan as he tells him that he never realized that he was becoming a singular recluse and not enjoying life and what he has? Where did the money actually go and to whose account? An ending quite startling and a final accounting that will require the reader to get out his/her calculator, Arpan, Julia, Hilda, Erica, Owl, Wendy and Lisa: Who gets the money at the end? Whose rules will Arpan be playing from in the future as The Sanctuary on Cayman Brac has the magic power to finally real the Key to the Truth. From the author of the Healer the final revelation is revealed in this compelling and multi-complex novel.
Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ magazine
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