Book Review and Giveaway: The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer

** this giveaway is closed ***


Early this year I was introduced to the books of Brad Meltzer, via The Inner Circle. I liked the book and Brad's writing, so when I saw this book on the bargain bin (sorry Brad!), I immediately picked it up to read, and am glad I did!


book of lies cover
Synopsis: In Chapter Four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world's most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.


In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest. While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world's greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain's murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found.Until now.


Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family's greatest secret: his long-lost father, who's been shot with a gun that traces back to Mitchell Siegel's 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the anicent markings of Cain. 


And so begins the chase for the world's first murder weapon.What does Cain, history's greatest villain, have to do with Superman, the world's greatest hero? And what do two murders, committed thousands of years apart, have in common? This is the mystery at the heart of this Brad Meltzer's thriller.


Read the first chapter!


About the Author:  Brad Meltzer is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. He is also one of the co-creators of the TV show, Jack & Bobby-and is the number one selling author of the critically acclaimed comic books, Identity Crisis and Justice League of America
Raised in Brooklyn and Miami, Brad is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. Brad has played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's Celebrity and earned credit from Columbia Law School for writing his first book, which became The Tenth Justice. Before all of that, he got 24 rejection letters for his true first novel, which still sits on his shelf, published by Kinko's. His books have spent over nine months on the bestseller lists, and have been translated into over 25 languages, from Hebrew to Bulgarian. Brad currently lives in Florida with his wife and children. See http://www.bradmeltzer.com.for more info!
Review: Anybody that really know me, knows that all that Catholic school training from the Dominicans and Jesuits makes a theoretical biblical scholar. Which means is a new theory comes my way and I don't know much about the background behind it, I will research it til I can make my own agreement/non agreement with it. Call it a personality quirk, or just the need to be able to debate both sides if an issue. What is comes down to is that even when I read fictional novels such as this, if there is a theory behind it, I'll go on the hunt.
Hence, when I read the synopsis for this book, I KNEW I had to read it. And then research it of course! Items to research included:
  • The Canaan dog is very real of course- it is a well known ancient breed! 
  • The Thules Secret Society is known as the Ahnenerbe, which was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History, whcih later became the Schutzstaffel (SS) of Hitler Germany.
  • The creation of the Superman comic is real, and accurate. Kudos to Brad to helping to save the birthplace of Superman, after this book came out!
  • The Geniza fragments from Cairo are real and were first made public knowledge in about 1752, and weren't deemed important until 1892. Early fragments date from about 870 AD and are written in early Aramaic, and the differences in translation, can lead to different understandings of parts of our modern bible, and documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls. (in fact, if you read any of the available translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, you might begin to question the translations that have made up the bibles we are used to, and wonder and what might have been left out of them, and WHY?
  • The 'mark of Cain' has been hotly debated and again it depends on which source you go back to and yet it was never accurately described. Was it a tattoo? A mark of blood? No one truly knows.
  • As to the weapon Cain used, again even reading ancient texts it is not explained. 
The book is a quick read- I finished it in 2 sittings and the pace keeps you hopping along. Course by the middle of the book I was grabbing my translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which made the sitting last longer! But Metzler gives you enough background info on the topics at hand, that you are comfortable with going along for the ride. The ending IS a surprise in more ways than one, always a great hallmark of a cunning writer! 
My only complaint was that the book seemed short, as if it had been edited down. Which might explain how some people felt, in previous reviews,that it didn't have the same creditibility as some of his other books. But, then I don't mind long books....

Also, I think it's pretty cool that Brad provides you with music that was in his head as he wrote this book, on his website. It's a wonderful to set the mood and get to know your characters some more! So if you're looking for a end of Summer/can fall get here SOON enough? book, this is it!
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8-12-11


Well OOPS- the Rafflecopter link didn't work, so just comment below and we'll run this one as a SIMPLE giveaway! One entry per person! Thanks to everybody who entered already!


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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I bought this book, for my personal reading and then donated it for this giveaway, on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.

Comments

  1. Never read him before, but this one sounds great! Enter me pleae.

    old gfc follower

    mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for this fascinating giveaway. Ellie. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would love to read it, sounds very interesting! I also like that it can teach you things that you didn't know before.
    elena.cacahuete(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would love to win a copy of this book.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow thanks for the review. You have got me hooked. I would love to win and read this book.
    goldiez at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd love to win this book!
    svberges@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoy reading Brad Meltzer's books - I've read several. Thanks for the chance to win this one!
    megalon22 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've never read any on his books but this one sounds like something right down my ally, so to speak.
    cjwallace43 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete

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