Novelist James Houston Turner
ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA -- Esteemed internationally as a man of peace, Jerusalem’s Rabbi David Rosen recently praised Adelaide novelist James Houston Turner for the way he balanced religious and political sensitivities with unrelenting suspense in his latest thriller, The Identity Factor (Aria Publishers, Adelaide). Chairman of IJCIC - the International Jewish Committee that represents world Jewry in its relations with other world religions - Rabbi Rosen is also an International President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. In a personal letter to the author, he said, “Dear James. I enjoy a good thriller when I get the opportunity. Your entertaining book has a hopeful, reconciliatory subtext and I applaud your spirit. I am sure you have considered it, but I think it would make a very good movie.”
“I knew I was walking a tightrope when I wrote The Identity Factor,” says Turner of his novel, which not only addresses current Arab/Israeli tensions in the Middle East, but challenges the traditional view about the origin of Genesis. “Normally credited to Moses, Genesis is actually a collection of more ancient documents,” he goes on to explain. “By comparing Genesis to other ancient Near Eastern documents such as ‘The Code of Hammurabi’ and ‘Epic of Gilgamesh,’ Genesis divides itself naturally into separate historical documents, with the author of each document identified in its colophon, which is a specific type of internal literary phrase.”
And this is where Turner's research provides the basis for an explosive thriller that is already being hailed as “Jason Bourne meets The DaVinci Code meets Tom Clancy” (Blogcritics Magazine, Sunpiper Book Reviews, Apex Reviews, LA’s the Place magazine).
“My book is not a political commentary, but a political thriller,” explains Turner, “yet it is not without statement. Still, I worked hard not to be contentious. Rabbi Rosen’s endorsement is confirmation that I’ve succeeded, at least to a degree.”
The Identity Factor opens with the discovery of the tablet by British archaeologist Sir Edmund Clayton in the Sinai Peninsula in 1919. Clayton is then murdered and the tablet disappears, only to resurface in modern-day Cairo, where the CIA learns the phantom terrorist, Abu Nazer, plans to steal it. Because the tablet could detonate war between the Arabs and Jews over the ownership of Palestine, the CIA is understandably keen to identify and stop Abu Nazer. A headstrong rookie profiler is hot on Abu Nazer’s trail, but soon discovers her worst enemy may actually be herself.
The Identity Factor
ISBN: 9780958666411
Available in bookstores and online at Amazon.com and http://www.theidentityfactor.com
Geopolitical thriller; 370 pages
An EPK is available at http://www.jameshoustonturner.com
If you wish to review the book, or arrange an interview, e-mail admin@ariapublishers.com
Publicity: Ms Penelope Herbert
Hot Pepper Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 08.8343.8450
Fax: 08.8260.8100
E-mail: penelope@hotpepper.net.au
Web: http://www.hotpepper.net.au
