Books received in mail in March 2014

March 25, 2014

The Moses Virus by Jack Hyland

The Moses Virus is a thriller primarily set in modern day Rome. Two American archaeologists die suddenly in an underground passageway in the Roman Forum leading to the buried rooms of Emperor Nero s Golden Palace. The Italian authorities conclude that the deaths were caused by a devastating and highly contagious virus. Tom Stewart, an NYU forensic archaeologist who was present when the deaths occurred, becomes entangled in the race to find the supply of the virus a race involving many powerful players desperately seeking the deadly contagion. Stewart must find and destroy the virus before others harness its sinister power. The Vatican, foreign groups, the world s largest genetically-modified seed manufacturer all have their reasons, and none will stop until they succeed, no matter what the cost or risk to millions of people if the virus escapes and causes a pandemic.


March 18, 2014

White Ginger by Thatcher Robinson

Armed with Buddhist philosophy and wicked knife skills, Bai Jiang works at being a better person by following her conscience, while struggling with what she likes to think of as "aggressive assertiveness."

     When a girl goes missing in San Francisco's Chinatown, Bai is called upon as a souxun, a people finder, to track down the lost girl. The trail leads to wannabe gangsters, flesh peddlers, and eventually to those who have marked Bai for death.

     Enlisting the aid of her closest friend and partner, Lee--a sophisticated gay man who protects her, mostly from herself--and Jason--a triad assassin and the father of her daughter--they follow the girl across the Bay and across the country. Bai confronts paid assassins and triad hatchet men, only to find that being true to her beliefs as a Buddhist and staying alive are often at odds. At the same time, fighting a faceless enemy who seems committed to having her killed fills her with anger and fear that sometimes turns into a burning rage with deadly consequences. 

     Flavored with dark humor, White Ginger serves the perfect cocktail of wit, charm, sex, and violence.

March 08, 2014

The Avatari by Raghu Srinivasan

A mythical kingdom
Legend has it that only those chosen by destiny can gain entry into Shambhala, the mythical kingdom believed to hold the ancient wisdom that humanity will need to resurrect itself from the inevitable apocalypse. They are the Avatari.
An ancient artefact
When Henry Ashton, a retired British Army officer settled in the Yorkshire dales, receives a letter from a monk entreating him to prevent a ‘hidden treasure’ stolen from a Laotian monastery from being misused, he finds himself honour-bound to respond. Assisted by a retired Gurkha Sergeant, a high-strung mathematician from Oxford with a Shambhala fixation of her own, and an American mercenary on the CIA’s hit list, Ashton’s mission leads to an ancient map that dates back to the time of the great Mongol, Kublai Khan.
A secret that must not be revealed
The group follows the trail, risking the perils of the inhospitable deserts of Ladakh, turmoil in Pakistan and the rugged mountains of Northern Afghanistan, where the Afghan War is at its height. But they are up against a deadly adversary with seemingly unlimited resources, who will stop at nothing to get possession of the ancient secret – a secret that, if revealed, could threaten the very fabric of human civilization…'


March 01, 2014

 Prisoner, Jailor, Prime Minister by by Tabrik C.

 India has a new Prime Minister but is Siddhartha Tagore the product of his genius or of his dangerous mind?

 India is on edge, as a subversive internal revolt against the Constitution and the threat of Jehadi terror of an unthinkable level, are looming on the horizon. Ringing Shivas damaru in and out of Parliament, a sudden turn of karma catapults outsider Siddhartha Tagore - a conflicted genius, music maestro and prodigal son, with forceful views on China and Pakistan into national prominence as the head of the Opposition Alliance and finally as the newly elected Prime Minister of a disturbed nation.

 But buried secrets are being resurrected and threaten to expose the past. Twisted within the double helix of menacing politics and hidden lust, Prisoner, Jailor, Prime Minister is a scorching account of Siddhartha Tagore's fascinating journey from Harvard to 7 Race Course Road.