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IPFS News Link • Religion: Believers

The Testament of James and an interview with author Vin Suprynowicz, part I

• http://www.backwoodshome.com-Claire Wolfe

The Testament of James begins, as good mysteries often do, with a death. Actually, TToJ begins with an imposing figure in a black cape sweeping in through the door of a rare book dealer, which may be even better.

The death? Well, that may have been from natural causes, though in unnatural circumstances. The caped, cultured Mediterranean man enters the scene to inquire about a book. A book that may have had something to do with the death. A book that may or may not even exist.

The is-it-or-isn't-it book is an ancient manuscript copy of a document written by James, the brother of Jesus. If it exists, if it is ever uncovered, it will blow the orthodox, authoritarian Pauline version of Christianity right off the map. It may have arrived at the bookstore, leading to the death of the manager. But if so, where is it now?

The elegant stranger isn't the only person seeking James' testament. Others — powerful, wealthy, connected, ruthless — also want it.

This puts bookstore owner Matthew Hunter in a quandry. He and his friends (particularly his once-and-future love, Chantal Stevens) must find the book if it exists, authenticate it, figure out who's who among those who crave the tome, and decide what's best to do with the volume — all the while keeping themselves alive and safe (which isn't always easy).

If The DaVinci Code comes to mind (and I'm sure it will, to Vin's eternal despair), forget it. Although a biblical mystery, TToJ is a simpler, shorter, less frenetic, and all its action takes place within a few days and a few miles of Books on Benefit (in Providence, Rhode Island, which is both H.P. Lovecraft territory and Edgar Allan Poe territory, you might notice). Its conclusion is also a heck of a lot more relevant than the one in the famous Dan Brown book (but I'll let Vin have his say about that, in the following multi-part interview).


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