The Manger, the Mikdash and the Mosque

1975 Former detective and spy-catcher Dan Delaney and his West Auckland family are on a visit to the Holy Land which goes horribly wrong from the moment they land at Ben-Gurion Airport. A plot is underway to desecrate the most sacred sites and incite conflict between the three great religions whose worship centres on a small area of inner Jerusalem. The Jewish authorities are determined at any cost to prevent another terrorist outrage such as that at Ben-Gurion Airport concourse a few years before, or worse, the recent surprise Yom Kippur attack that threatened the nation's survival. Old enemies have put Delaney's family in the crosshairs of their planned outrages when one of Dan's daughters is kidnapped. Dan works with the local authorities to rescue his daughter and locate the bombs primed to cause apocalyptic damage to Jerusalem.   

Roger Hall: 'Cracking yarn.'

Fiona Kidman: 'A vivid inside view of Israel as well as rattling along with a fast-paced crime story.'

Graeme Lay: 'The tautly structured plot of this thriller grips the reader from the first to the final page. Set in the so-called Holy Land, the novel's characters and themes are as meaningful today as they were during the 1970s setting. Jerusalem – spiritual home to Jews, Moslems and Christians – is vividly evoked and forms a vibrant backdrop to the conflicts and tribulations of the Delaney family.'