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Average Customer Rating:

Oh dear!

Customer Rating:

Mr Freedland praises his editor, Jane Johnson, for being eagle-eyed. Perhaps they could both re-read Chapter Forty of THE LAST TESTAMENT and see if either of them can spot the mistakes? I thought THE RIGHTEOUS MEN was amateurish and awful and was advised to read THE LAST TESTAMENT as it "was better". Wrong, it wasn't. Wanting to give up several times, I strggled on to the end just in case things improved. The Mirror calls Jonathan Freedland "the biggest challenger to Dan Brown's crown" - what a back-handed compliment. With the exception of The DaVinci Code, his books are even worse!!

Intriguing premise

Customer Rating:

Israel and Palestine are close to accord, settling the age old dispute that has wracked the region for generations. Top negotiator Maggie Costello (an Irish woman if you will!) is asked to assist in the talks but other peoples machinations and an age-old document (nothing less than the testament of Abraham himself) threaten to derail the process. I won't reveal much more than that but what you have here is a fast-paced, action-packed book that entertains while delivering some historical and political information. I didn't think that the characters were hugely developed (and I'll always question a male writer choosing a female lead character). Like other Bourne books, I found this one to be well-researched and the author manages the mix history, politics and drama quite well.

Did I read the same book as everyone else?

Customer Rating:

The Last Testament was a highly enjoyable read and I could not put the book down until finished. The political and historical threads running through the book were accurate and informative,the central story addictive and the major characters believable. In my opinion, this is Sam Bourne's strongest book, with Righteous Men, although good, being a little too far fetched. I do not think that Sam Bourne and Dan Brown's works are comparable and if you are seeking replicas of Brown's work look eleswhere; trying to compare does an injustice to both.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Customer Rating:

Sam Bourne is the pseudonym of the Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland who in 2002 chaired the meetings between some prominent Israelis and Palestinians who eventually produced the 2003 Geneva Accord, which was repudiated by the Israeli government and by militant Palestinians. He therefore knows something about the skills needed by mediators and is thoroughly familiar with the complexities of the region. That experience has stood him in good stead. The central character is an American-appointed mediator Maggie Costello; and although the author rightly claims that his book is `entirely a work of fiction', the historical background of the events until shortly before his story starts is wholly accurate, (and I beg to doubt his other disclaimer, that any resemblance to `localities' is entirely coincidental. A small example among many: he has two characters meeting at the Restobar Café, which was known as the Moment Café before it was bombed in 2002. He shows that he knows his Israeli `localities'.) The book begins with a superb account of the looting of Baghdad's National Museum of Antiquities (2003), into which the author has introduced one of his fictional characters; and antiquities are the theme that forms the backbone of the novel. In the context of the Arab-Israeli dispute, arguments between Arabs and Israelis about who were the earliest inhabitants of the land play an important part, and every archaeological discovery is therefore loaded with politics. Against this credible background Bourne invents a fast-paced and intricately plotted story, of people who want the peace process to succeed and others who want it to fail, of double-dealings, of computer wizardry, and of murders, with the action spilling beyond the borders of Israel-Palestine - to the United States, Britain, Switzerland, Iraq, Jordan - all in the best tradition of thrillers: short chapters, almost all ending with something dramatic. One of these ancient artefacts in particular acts like a fatal curse on practically everyone - Arab or Israeli - who has, however remotely, had anything to do with it. Each murder brings the peace process closer to total break-down; so Maggie, charged with preventing this from happening, thinks she has to discover what has linked all these murders together. Needless to say, her role as detective puts her, more than once, in terrible danger, too. The ending has hope triumphing over experience, alas - at least so far!

A bit disappointing, to be honest.

Customer Rating:

I read Sam Bourne's 'The Righteous Men' and then 'The Final Reckoning' and was captivated by both and had high expectations for 'The Last Testament' but sadly, these expectations were not met. The plot was a little too predictable and was filled with some useless points to the plot - I won't give anything away. Let's say I wasn't as hooked as I have been with previous books of Bourne's. I'd rate this as the worst of his books... But if you need something to read on a plane/train or on a long car journey, I wouldn't disregard it completely.