Richard Marek (1933–2020)

Received this book as a Good Reads First Read.

This was an interesting book which I enjoyed. Rick Bullock runs a homeless shelter in New Jersey. One of his clients, Zeus, happens to go to Orlando to follow his favorite evangelist. Zeus then is caught up in a murder, but no one can understand him and assume that he is guilty. Rick, with a small entourage of interesting folk, goes to Florida not sure whether Zeus is guilty or not.

A lot of humor is in the story, and shows both sides of pro-choice and pro-life and how there are crazies on both sides… (más)

When high-profile evangelist Benjamin Kuros is murdered, it is a child-like homeless man named Zeus who is charged and thrown into a Florida jail cell. All too quickly the public turns on Zeus and bays for blood in a familiar snapshot of society today, one that all too quickly condemns the mentally disabled as dangerous and violent.

And if Zeus is a thumbnail sketch of the forgotten homeless, then Rick Bullock (ex Madison Avenue advertising man turned homeless shelter Director) represents those who work silently to support these people. The extent of Rick’s support is limited by the nature of his work, minimum wages, lip-service support from philanthropists and his own internal battle following the death of his wife. None-the-less, Rick undertakes to go to Florida, confident of Zeus’s innocence and ready to prove it with the assistance of two of his centre’s residents in tow.

The trip is only made possible through the begrudging assistance of old friend and professional fund-raiser Doug Kool, born into money and privilege and doing all he can to make sure it stays that way. Doug fixes Rick up with plane tickets and accommodation to get him and his cohorts to Florida, but of course there is a catch. The means for the trip will only be provided if Rick also escorts local mobster Manny Maglio’s niece, Twyla Tharp – dancer and prostitute, to an interview at Universal Studios. It is this tight group of travellers who take us through the book, with Twyla providing most of the comic relief.
At the centre of this story, and the reason for the death of Benjamin Kuros, is a newly discovered Bible text, the titular Book of Nathan. Purporting to disclose the moment when a foetus obtains a soul it is set to escalate the debate over abortion; unfortunately the book went missing from Kuros’s murder site. Understandably the pro-life and pro-choice factions are equally keen to get their hands on it and there are people who believe that Rick is the key to finding the book.

The Book of Nathan is set up as a comedy/mystery and it stumbles slightly but doesn’t fail in this aim. The plot is well developed, the main characters likeable and certainly worth cheering for, some of the dialogue could have been tightened and in some cases shortened for sharper effect. But at the end of the day this was an enjoyable read with enough twists to keep any mystery fan interested.… (más)