The Genesis Key

Barney's fast-paced debut novel demonstrates his knowledge of ancient history, the bible, and microbiol-ogy, as well as his fertile imagination. His protagonist, Kathleen Sainsbury, Ph.D., with the help of her col-leagues, is trying to uncover a gene that can cure age-related disease, particularly Alzheimer's. A curious voice message leads her to the home of Hakeen Abdul Sargon, a.k.a. Tariq Al-Fulani, who served as Direc-tor of Antiquities in Iraq until the 1979 Coup D'%C3%A9tat by Saddam Hussein forced him into exile. Sargon re-veals his connection to Kathleen's archaeologist parents and tells her the truth about their death at the Iraqi dig of Tell-Fara during Saddam's coup. He then gives Kathleen his most precious artifact, an ancient tooth that was the key to her parents' search for the long-lived ancients of the bible, the Nephilim. Curi-ously and coincidentally, this artifact also holds the solution to Kathleen's quest, for which many are will-ing to kill. Betrayal, treachery and run-ins with fundamentalists, the Israeli Mafia, the FBI, CIA, and a cabal of the world's wealthiest men leave Kathleen fearing for her life, with no one to trust. (July)