Product Description

The new, brilliantly high-concept religious conspiracy-theory thriller from the author of 'The Righteous Men', set against the backdrop of the world's bitterest conflict. April 2003: as the Baghdad Museum of Antiquities is looted, a teenage Iraqi boy finds an ancient clay tablet in a long-forgotten vault. He takes it and runs off into the night ! Several years later, at a peace rally in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister is about to sign a historic deal with the Palestinians. A man approaches from the crowd and seems to reach for a gun -- bodyguards shoot him dead. But in his hand was a note, one he wanted to hand to the prime minister. The shooting sparks a series of tit-for-tat killings which could derail the peace accord. Washington sends for trouble-shooter and peace negotiator Maggie Costello, after she thought she had quit the job for good. She follows a trail that takes her from Jewish settlements on the West Bank to Palestinian refugee camps, where she discovers the latest deaths are not random but have a distinct pattern. All the dead men are archaeologists and historians -- those who know the buried secrets of the ancient past. Menaced by fanatics and violent extremists on all sides, Costello is soon plunged into high-stakes international politics, the worldwide underground trade in stolen antiquities and a last, unsolved riddle of the Bible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1438 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 567 pages

Review
Praise for 'The Righteous Men': 'The biggest challenger to Dan Brown's crown ! a highly charged, theologically accurate tale' Mirror 'Compulsive reading ! successfully blends ancient teachings with the highly charged ways of the 21st century ! bears all the hallmarks of a blockbuster' Daily Express 'The best thriller I've read in years.' Piers Morgan 'More readable than The Da Vinci Code -- the sense of menace is darker and the characters more believable' Esquire

Piers Morgan
`The best thriller I've read in years.'

Esquire

'More readable than The Da Vinci Code - the sense of menace is darker and the characters more believable'

Customer Reviews

Oh dear!
Mr Freedland praises his editor, Jane Johnson, for being eagle-eyed. Perhaps they could both re-read Chapter Forty of THE LAST TESTAMENT and see if either of them can spot the mistakes?

I thought THE RIGHTEOUS MEN was amateurish and awful and was advised to read THE LAST TESTAMENT as it "was better". Wrong, it wasn't. Wanting to give up several times, I strggled on to the end just in case things improved. The Mirror calls Jonathan Freedland "the biggest challenger to Dan Brown's crown" - what a back-handed compliment. With the exception of The DaVinci Code, his books are even worse!!

Intriguing premise
Israel and Palestine are close to accord, settling the age old dispute that has wracked the region for generations. Top negotiator Maggie Costello (an Irish woman if you will!) is asked to assist in the talks but other peoples machinations and an age-old document (nothing less than the testament of Abraham himself) threaten to derail the process.

I won't reveal much more than that but what you have here is a fast-paced, action-packed book that entertains while delivering some historical and political information. I didn't think that the characters were hugely developed (and I'll always question a male writer choosing a female lead character). Like other Bourne books, I found this one to be well-researched and the author manages the mix history, politics and drama quite well.

Did I read the same book as everyone else?
The Last Testament was a highly enjoyable read and I could not put the book down until finished. The political and historical threads running through the book were accurate and informative,the central story addictive and the major characters believable. In my opinion, this is Sam Bourne's strongest book, with Righteous Men, although good, being a little too far fetched. I do not think that Sam Bourne and Dan Brown's works are comparable and if you are seeking replicas of Brown's work look eleswhere; trying to compare does an injustice to both.