Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Friday, February 18, 2011

Characters, THE VASE - The Ghost Hunter

I think a great story, no matter how serious or dramatic, should have an element of comedy. Enter Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses and host to the Reality TV show, Harvey's Haunted Hunts. There's only one problem. The show's ratings. They're in the cellar. And as the story unfolds, we learn that the director of Harvey's Haunted Hunts, Melvyn Bloomberg, makes the tough decision. The show is cancelled. Well, this leaves Harvey in a lurch. He's no longer a hot commodity, and despite the recent popularity of Ghost Hunting shows, he finds himself unemployed.

But he gets a lucky break. A particular restaurant in Nazareth's Old City Market experienced an unsettling incident of unexplained apparitions. So what can the restaurant owner, Achmed Arabis, do when his establishment is cursed by the local holy men? Seek out the ghost hunter most likely to bring about a resurgence of his business, that's what. Harvey's show, like so many today, was broadcast across the world via satellite feeds, and Achmed just happened to be a viewer. So off to Hollywood he goes, and since Harvey is now available, the ghost hunter agrees to exorcise the ghosts at the restaurant. It makes for an interesting subplot, and an integral element to the main plot as the different plotlines converge in the story's climax.

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