June Trop's Blog

Miriam, Binyamin, and their father live in 1st-century Alexandria, a city that vacillates between stunning beauty and wealth and harsh cruelty mounting against its Jewish residents. Miriam is resisting the increasing pressure to marry Noah, the son of a wealthy business partner. Her secret passion and dream is to become a reputable alchemist, a dangerous occupation since all who work with the mercury-laden elements are dying from exposure to its poison. When the scrolls she borrowed from Joshua, the bastard she really loves, are stolen, Miriam sets out to recover the priceless documents. At the same time her brother pursues his hope of leaving Alexandria to become a renowned gladiator. Much danger follows as the characters wrestle between embracing traditional roles to please their father and following their dreams.

While the mystery of recovering the missing scrolls fuels the central plot of this mystery, the author provides beautiful descriptions of the architecture, jewelry, food, vegetation, commercial shops, and so much more that clearly defines Alexandria as a vibrant, energetic metropolis. Herein lie the mingling cultures of Greeks, Romans and Jews, and readers will feel like they are really there, walking, eating, and observing what are exotic yet also familiar experiences. Readers will be surprised not only by the shocking discovery of the thief but also by the rapidly appearing tragedies and scenes involving the healing of years of misunderstandings. June Trop is a skilled mystery author who has created memorable characters and a rich depiction of the city known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Finely crafted and fascinating historical fiction!

KIRKUS REVIEW
Trop (The Deadliest Sport, 2017, etc.) lends depth and familiarity to an ancient world and adds modern thriller sensibilities in this latest historical mystery novel, the fourth in the series.

Miriam bat Isaac, an aspiring alchemist in first-century C.E. Alexandria, has had a complex life. Having dealt with the dangers of alchemical techniques themselves and people competing with or acting against the Jewish alchemists working on such research, she finds herself in the rare position of being both an expert in alchemical science and in unraveling the conspiracies and threats that beset her and those around her. So it’s all the more surprising when she’s faced with her most puzzling challenge yet—an attack on Alexandria’s Great Synagogue that leaves its Torah mantle damaged. That alone would be a mystery worth tackling, but when her alchemist colleague (and the longtime object of her affections) Judah repairs the mantle, he finds that none of the gems embedded in the sacred object were stolen, leaving the culprit’s motives all the more uncertain. When a missive warning of a veiled need for additional guards at the synagogue appears, Miriam’s concerns only deepen. As she investigates, she finds more and more doubt and confusion about this particularly twisted piece of intrigue, and it’s dark and dangerous enough that it could very well be her last. As in previous books, Trop’s prose is strong, with clean, natural dialogue and a particular flair for the kinetic details of action scenes and the dramatics of disguise and investigation. The complex cultural dynamics of Jewish people in this society are well-researched, a welcome facet of the series. What’s more, even new readers will find themselves caught up in the setting via effective description and a liberal application of culture- and setting-specific terms. Fans of the series may be interested to note that, while this book brings with it the tension and quick pacing of previous entries, it does feature fewer scenes of violence and action-fueled drama. Certainly this is unsurprising, because the previous book focused on Miriam’s brother, Binyamin, and his fellow gladiators, but it’s worth noting this installment’s shift to more focus on investigation, questions, and uncertainty.

A historic page-turner that promises to bring fans new and old to the table.

Pub Date: April 28th, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62694-875-4
Page count: 248pp
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Program: Kirkus Indie
Review Posted Online: June 26th, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1st, 2018

I gasped when I entered the vaulted reading room, the largest and airiest hall of Alexandria's Great (Royal) Library. The beams of sunlight streaming through its arched clerestory windows were exploding into countless beads of light. Some splashed onto the fluted stone pillars and the bearded busts of the Library’s greatest scholars, who peered out from every niche. Others glinted off the marble walls and the rows of multicolored Alexandrine lamps. At the same time, secondary beams polished the long, narrow mahogany tables and warmed the finial-topped, leather-cushioned armchairs. The readers were scattered among the tables. Several sat back brooding over their scrolls while others hunched over their papyri furiously scratching notes. I lingered to watch them as if I could absorb their erudition by breathing in the hall’s scents of leather and tranquility.

Alas, the sight of the main reading room will not be the only spectacle to make Miriam bat Isaac gasp. Remember, she is searching for the set of high-stakes alchemical scrolls stolen from her home. Anyone found to be in possession of them would face certain death. Can she save the thief before it’s too late? A few clicks on THE DEADLIEST LIE by June Trop and you too will gasp when you, along with Miriam, confront the thief.

I gasped when I entered the vaulted reading room, the largest and airiest hall of Alexandria's Great (Royal) Library. The beams of sunlight streaming through its arched clerestory windows were exploding into countless beads of light. Some splashed onto the fluted stone pillars and the bearded busts of the Library’s greatest scholars, who peered out from every niche. Others glinted off the marble walls and the rows of multicolored Alexandrine lamps. At the same time, secondary beams polished the long, narrow mahogany tables and warmed the finial-topped, leather-cushioned armchairs. The readers were scattered among the tables. Several sat back brooding over their scrolls while others hunched over their papyri furiously scratching notes. I lingered to watch them as if I could absorb their erudition by breathing in the hall’s scents of leather and tranquility.

Alas, the sight of the main reading room will not be the only spectacle to make Miriam bat Isaac gasp. Remember, she is searching for the set of high-stakes alchemical scrolls stolen from her home. Anyone found to be in possession of them would face certain death. Can she save the thief before it’s too late? A few clicks on THE DEADLIEST LIE by June Trop and you too will gasp when you, along with Miriam, confront the thief.

An asclepion is a spa-like temple dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek god of health and medicine. These ancient precincts treated patients in the tradition of Hippocrates. An example would be the asclepion in Kos consisting of three terraces: the lowest with the Roman baths, the middle with the dormitories, and the highest with the great Temple of Asclepius.

In THE DEADLIEST LIE, Judah tells Miriam that his mentor, Saul, sent his wife to an asclepion to have her treated for mania. There she was given a special diet, dream therapy, mineral baths, exercise, and massage along with various healing rituals. One in particular involved sleeping in a dormitory with non-venomous snakes crawling all over the floor. But, alas, nothing could restore the balance of her yellow bile.

I could have enjoyed all those treatments except for the snakes crawling on the floor. That alone would have driven me crazy. So, I ask, “Which is worse, the cure or the disease?”

I began my life of crime at the age of eight when I started reading the original version of the first Nancy Drew mystery, THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK. Along with most of the girls in my class, I identified with Nancy, an attractive, talented, and affluent sixteen-year-old girl taught by her father, Carson Drew, to be self-reliant and logical. I decided then that I too would dedicate my life to rectifying injustices even if that meant, like Nancy, committing an occasional crime. In THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK, Nancy steals an old clock to recover the lost will of Josiah Crowley.

In response to changing conceptions of American femininity, Nancy’s personality has undergone significant revisions since the 1930s. In the 1950s, this bold, capable, and gutsy gumshoe morphed into a demure debutante, less abrasive and more sympathetic. Fortunately, she regained her spunk in the 1980s. Still, throughout her evolution, she has maintained her popularity with more than 80 million copies of her books sold.

Eventually, I graduated to Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, Lew Archer and Matthew Scudder, Spenser and Kinsey Millhone only to continue my life of crime with the protagonist of my first-century CE mystery series, my very own Miriam bat Isaac.

The playful Pan, with the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, is the Ancient Greek god of Nature, goats, rustic music, shepherds, and flocks, and is often associated with fertility, sexuality, and eroticism. No wonder in THE DEADLIEST LIE, Miriam would stop at the Park of Pan on her way home from the agora after seeing Judah:

“As I’d climb to its summit along a walkway shadowed by dwarf pines, I’d spiral around its fir-cone shaped hill, passing the grotto dedicated to Pan, and marvel at the series of artificial terraces and waterfalls wreathed in rainbows. All the while, the turtledoves in its gardens and the blackbirds along its secluded, sylvan pathways would accompany me with their songs. When I’d reached the summit, I’d look out at the magnificent view encircling me, especially at the walls that once enclosed the city’s sprawl, and imagine my own future like the city’s, pressing to expand beyond today’s constraints.”

Like many young woman, Miriam is torn between duty and desire. She is constrained to obey her father, who has betrothed her to Noah, but she is intoxicated with Judah.

Are you wondering how she resolves this conflict?

I posted a blog about the Khamseen winds, the hot winds that choke the Eastern Mediterranean during the spring, but then summer brings the Etesian winds to the region.

In THE DEADLIEST LIE, Miriam mentions how the Etesian winds cool their home and the entire city:

“The cool breath of the Etesian winds billow and snap the purple, tied-back drapes that skirt the floor and separate Papa’s study from the peristyle. The arrangement of our cobblestone streets takes full advantage of these salubrious northwesterly winds. Originating in the Aegean, they whisper across the Mediterranean to temper our summer sun.”

In the summer, the air above the North African desert becomes hot. As the air heats, it expands, becomes lighter, and rises. The air above the Mediterranean Sea stays cooler than the air above the desert. Because the cooler air is heavier, it stays close to the ground. The cool air flows south to replace the hot air rising from the desert, and this flow of air toward the desert causes the Etesians.

By harnessing the power of these gentler winds, the Egyptians could carry on a two-way trade along the Nile. Whereas the river current carried boats northward (downstream) toward the Mediterranean, the Etesian winds pushed sailboats southward (upstream) toward the interior of Africa. Thus they could move goods against the current.

Miriam bat Isaac is the protagonist in my mystery series set in first-century CE Roman Egypt. Though fictive, she is modeled after what is known of Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy and the most famous woman of the Western world for 1500 years.

Alchemy was a legitimate early science based on the theories of Aristotle. The goals were to transmute base metals such as iron and copper into silver and gold and, more important, to discover the Philosopher’s Stone, a substance that when ingested would have the capacity to heal, rejuvenate, and extend human life.

Aside from being an alchemist, Miriam is an intrepid sleuth. In The Deadliest Lie, she recovers a set of high-stakes alchemical scrolls; in The Deadliest Hate, she uses her knowledge of alchemy to expose a deranged assassin; and in The Deadliest Sport (coming next), she penetrates a monstrous, multi-layered scheme and risks her life to expose the mastermind behind it.

Miriam bat Isaac is a worthy representation of Maria Hebrea. To learn more about them both, click here: http://www.junetrop.com/#!miriam-bat-...

Roman women wore a profusion of custom-made, hand-crafted jewelry including earrings, bracelets, amulets, necklaces, pendants, rings—and mind you, they wore all those items at once—plus one of various kinds of head pieces like a tiara, coronet, diadem, or gilded wreath.

In THE DEADLIEST HATE, Miriam was not above the trick women have been playing for millenia with their jewelry, and she tells us about it:

So, in a pretense of smoothing my hair, I covered my ear with my flattened palm. Then thumbing open the catch at the back of my earring, gripping the hoop between my first two fingers, concealing the rest of it as I pulled it free, I lowered my hand and slipped the earring inside the band around my tunic.
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“Good heavens,” I exclaimed. “I’ve lost my earring! That must have been the tinkle I heard in the atrium. Excuse me, but I must get it. The pair belonged to my mother.” So, feigning alarm, I got up from the couch, steadying myself against its edge so no one could see my legs trembling, and headed back to those oily, dark doors.

And what do you suppose Miriam found behind those oily, dark doors?