Here is my review of this enjoyable novel:
First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Terry Kelhawk and her publisher for sending me a copy of "The Topkapi Secret" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me.
“The Topkapi Secret: A Novel” by Terry Kelhawk is an intriguing read. At the time of the writing of this review, I haven’t yet finished the book, but the short chapters and the intense suspense have made for rapid page turning. Angela Hall, an American professor on a research trip in the middle east, crosses paths with Mohammed Atareek, a Koran researcher who wants to get his hands on the Topkapi Codex, a document that will presumably reveal long-hidden truths about the Koran.
The exotic landscape sets the mood for this equally exotic romance. According to the public relations firm sponsoring this blog tour, there is an intimate love scene in the book that is integral to the plot, but I haven’t reached that point of the novel, yet. And, to be honest, I’m not looking forward to reaching that point as I developed an almost instant dislike for Mohammed’s character in the first few chapters of the book. Still, I am semi-invested in Angela and her research project that I will keep reading.
Apparently Ms. Kelhawk has done an incredible amount of research to bring this novel to life. “The Topkapi Secret” is so well written, it is difficult to discern where the fiction ends and the fact begins. Several lines from the book prompted me to do some online research on the Topkapi Palace and the artifacts housed there. It makes the reader wonder whether there is some form of cover up surrounding Islam. But, as a Christian, I ask myself, “Why wonder about this at all?” The Bible is God-breathed! That is all that matters.
Comments