The Book of Lies

July 28, 2008
Bestseller Meltzer (The Book of Fate
) deserves credit for an audacious conceit—wedding the biblical fratricide of Abel by his brother Cain with the unsolved 1932 homicide of the father of Jerry Siegel, the creator of iconic comic book hero Superman—but the results are less than convincing. A highly tenuous link between the two murders revolves around the mysterious weapon Cain (“the world's greatest villain”) used to kill his brother. One of numerous theories is that the weapon was a divine book containing the secrets of immortality. After coming to the aid of a shooting victim, Calvin Harper, a homeless volunteer working in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., soon finds himself hopelessly caught up in a life-and-death quest for the ancient artifact that includes the obligatory secret societies, Nazi conspiracies, enigmatic villains and cryptographic riddles à la The Da Vinci Code
. A glut of two-dimensional characters and a plot riddled with coincidences don't help.

Starred review from August 15, 2008
What does Superman have to do with the biblical story of Cain and Abel? Combining his love of comic books with a heart-pounding plot, Meltzer's ("The Book of Fate") latest thriller ingeniously answers the question. When Calvin Harper was a child, his father murdered his mother and was sent to prison. Growing into adulthood, Calvin becomes a federal agent but loses his job in a scandal and now helps the homeless. One evening in a park he discovers his father with a gunshot wound. Turns out Calvin's father was shot with the same gun that in 1932 killed Mitchell Siegel, the father of the creator of the Superman comics. Helping the father he hasn't spoken to in years puts Calvin in harm's way, because a killer tattooed with the mark of Cain is after a certain book that might identify the murder weapon used in the Cain and Abel story and will stop at nothing to get it. The novel's overall theme of family resonates, and the relentless pace and twists of the narrative sizzle on the page. Meltzer is a genius. For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 5/15/08.]Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Adult/High School-Meltzer builds suspenseful fiction on a previously little-explored historical nugget: Jerry Siegel, the teenage creator of Superman, lost his father in an unsolved murder in 1932. The author offers a compelling theoretical solution by way of an adult protagonist who is dealing with his conflicted feelings about his own father. Cal works for a rescue mission, picking up vagrants in need of shelter, when he stumbles across a man who turns out to be the father who abandoned him in childhood. The two men join forces in pursuit of what they believe is the lost Book of Cain, the weapon used in the Bibles original murder scene. Meltzer invokes multiple viewpoints as Cal, his father, a mysterious young woman who seems to have befriended the father, a rogue ex-cop, and a hot Federal agent converge on Cleveland in search of the biblical treasure. Teens with a taste for international conspiracies, religion-spouting bad guys, and identity-switching will enjoy this fast ride that leaves some solid and intriguing questions in the wake of its driving plot. Suggest this one to kids who enjoy the likes of Dan Brown, as well as superhero comics."Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2008
Cal Harper often had envisioned what it would be like to encounter his long-lost father, Lloyd. As a child, he imagined a tender reunion; as an adult, he dreamed up ways to snub him. What Cal never expected was that his work as a helper to the homeless in Ft. Lauderdale would bring him and Lloyd together. Cal is called to the scene when Lloyd is found shot in the park. His clothes arent those of a vagrant, though, and there aremysterious papers in his pocket. But before Cal can begin to puzzle out the details of the assault, he and his father are attacked by an assassin named Ellis, who is tattooed with the marks of Cain. We learn eventually that the gun used to shoot Lloyd is the same weapon used, in 1932, to kill Mitchell Siegel, father of the man who created Superman. How are these two murders linked, and could they both be somehow connected to historys first murder, the killing of Abel by Cain, another crime with a missing weapon? Although the ties to the Bible and to pop culture lend sparkle to the story, Meltzer tries a bit too hard to combine his love of comics with a high-concept Da Vinci Codelike conspiracy plot. Meltzer made his name with financial thrillers but, since then, has published graphic novels (Identity Crisis, 2005) and another foray into Dan Brown territory (The Book of Fate, 2006). Heres one vote for a return to money and murder.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

October 27, 2008
When a homeless man with a gunshot wound is revealed to be Calvin Harper’s long-lost father, Cal must scramble his resources while dealing with a watershed of emotions. Father and son are drawn into a mystery involving the recovery of the supposed murder weapon Cain used in the Bible. Hints eventually lead them to seek out the remnants of Superman creator Jerry Siegel and solve the mystery behind the death of Siegel’s father. Meltzer executes another spellbinding tale that continually keeps readers guessing, along with a good mix of biblical and comic book lore. Scott Brick works the diverse range of character voices well and remains masterful at drawing out the text. His pauses, hesitations and voice breaks provide an added level of suspense. The musical interludes at stressful parts of the story or chapters endings are superfluous given Brick’s performance. Nearly a dozen illustrations relevant to the story line are provided as bonus material on the last CD. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, July 28).

March 16, 2009
Former South African Member of Parliament Feinstein delivers a damning portrait of the African National Congress in this lacerating political memoir. The author, who won a seat in the provincial legislature in South Africa's first democratic elections, affectionately recounts the tenure of Nelson Mandela as president, reserving his criticism for Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki, whom he excoriates repeatedly—and sometimes repetitiously—for his denial of the country's AIDS crisis and failure to exert political pressure on Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe. The book's central narrative hinges on an investigation into an arms deal that revealed the depth of corruption in the Mbeki-led ANC. The text follows the investigation and the changing fortunes of the ANC through Mbeki's resignation in September of 2008, concluding at a moment of uncertainty for the country and the party. The author occasionally digresses from his compelling history of South African politics to reflect on his own Jewish-African identity and his philosophical approach to government—influenced by the writings of Vaclav Havel. Charged with passionate conviction, this book is a deeply personal but far-reaching insider's account of a political party losing its way.