Synopses & Reviews
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth...
A teenage computer prodigy is mortally strangled in Mumbai. A far-right extremist is killed in a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. A wealthy businessman is murdered in Thailand. A pimp in Brooklyn is found stabbed to death and mysteriously covered by a brown shroud. What connects the victims is an ancient prophecy that leads to the end of the world, and it's up to Will Monroe, a fledgling reporter at the New York Times, to stop it.
But Monroe's investigation quickly makes him some shadowy enemies, who kidnap his wife and hold her hostage in Crown Heights. Desperate to find the link between the killings and to save his wife, he enlists his college sweetheart, TC, an eccentric artist and Kabbalah expert. As the death toll rises, they follow a trail of clues that seems to lead inexorably to a set of ancient texts containing a prophecy that promises to save the world or to destroy it.
What will happen when the one secret that has kept the world safe for thousands of years is revealed to all? In The Righteous Men, a blistering thriller filled with mystery, romance, and suspense, Sam Bourne takes readers deep into the hidden worlds of fundamentalist religion, mysticism, and biblical prophecies. This is a visionary tale that is as frightening as it is entertaining. Readers won't stop turning the pages until the very end.
Review
"Always twisting and turning, Bourne's novel takes readers on a dramatic, full-throttle adventure..." Booklist
Review
"Bourne's swiftly moving plot is hampered by awkward characterization, but the multiple action scenes and shocking twist at the end are sure to please readers." Library Journal
Review
""A kitchen sink of arcane elements...makes this one messy whodunit. But it's a riveting mess....Murder mystery meets conspiracy theory meets theological commentary." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Legend says that in every generation, there are 36 righteous men on whom the fate of humanity depends. One by one, these men are being murdered, and journalist Will Monroe smells a big story. As Will's wife is kidnapped and another innocent life is in danger, he begins to realize he must stop the killings or the future of the world may be at stake.
About the Author
Sam Bourne is the literary pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland, an award-winning British journalist and broadcaster. He is a weekly columnist for the
Guardian (UK), having served as that papers Washington correspondent. His work has appeared in the
New York Times, the
New York Review of Books, the
Los Angeles Times, the
Washington Post,
Newsweek, and the
New Republic. He is a regular contributor to the
Jewish Chronicle (UK) and presents BBC Radio 4s contemporary history series
The Long View.
Bourne is the author of the New York Times and number one UK bestseller The Righteous Men, which has been translated into twenty-eight languages, and The Last Testament. He has also written two nonfiction works, Jacobs Gift and Bring Home the Revolution. He lives in London with his wife and two children.