Shattered Icon

Description: As an antique map dealer in a small English town, Harry Blake appreciates the quiet life. But when a local landowner asks him to value a 400 year old journal and twelve hours later he is brutally murdered, Harry's peace of mind is shattered. What does the dusty journal contain that is a matter of life or death? Why is someone prepared to pay Harry a fortune to steal it? He turns to marine historian Zola Khan to uncover the mysteries. The trail of the journal leads him into a world of deadly Elizabethan conspiracies, and the thread of history takes him through a thousand years of religious intrigue back to the blood-soaked Crusades. And he finally learns that at stake are millions of dollars and a plan to trigger nothing less than war...

Review: "'The most exciting book I have ever read' Arthur C. Clarke 'Outrageously exciting. A cunningly devised tale' Literary Review 'Written by a leading astronomer, THE LURE combines electrifying thrills with issues of real concern to the scientific community and all of us...An intelligent, thought provoking and satisfying 'what if adventure' Irish Independent 'It's excellent fiction: a way to catch up on some physics and planetology while an entertaining and gripping story unfolds. The story has a gritty authenticity' New Scientist"

Author Biography: Bill Napier is an astronomer at Armagh Observatory and an honorary professor at Cardiff University. His three previous thrillers, NEMESIS, REVELATION and THE LURE, have all been published by Headline. He lives in Ireland with his wife.