A fourteen hundred year old cover-up.  All who threaten this secret die.  A race through the Middle East to uncover evidence buried in plain sight.  Cultures clash and emotions soar as Arab researcher Mohammed Atareek and American Professor Angela Hall race away from death towards discovery.  Will they succeed in their journey to expose the truth, or will the opposition terminate them first?

Predicted to be an international bestseller, The Topkapi Secret is a captivating tale of international intrigue, mystery, and betrayal.

In what RT Book Reviews calls “meticulously researched” and “fantastic” the story takes you from San Francisco across America and Europe into exotic settings of the Middle East and North Africa.  The thrilling plot comes wrapped in details ranging from the harems of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Baths, to the English countryside and literature, art and architecture, women explorers, the 2006 war in Lebanon, and insights on Arab life in Dearborn, Middle Eastern cooking, and Islamic extremism.

But The Topkapi Secret doesn’t stop with high stakes action and suspense.  “What They Learn About The Koran Could Change The World Or Cost Them Their Lives” is the book’s tag line, and as it suggests The Topkapi Secret shines a light on long-standing myths about Islam and the Koran.

All except a few percent of Muslims around the world sincerely believe the Koran has never been changed – that it is the same now as it was at the time of Mohammed, and as it is in heaven.  Islamic and Western academic sources plainly show otherwise.  As the focus of a novel this truth easily glides from the ivory shelf to the kitchen table.

A few are comparing The Topkapi Secret to The Da Vinci Code; but Kelhawk is quick to point out that while The Da Vinci Code is mostly fictitious, what The Topkapi Secret says about the Koran is backed by authoritative references.  (See “References” page on website or in the book’s appendix.)

So, if you want to taste the cultures of the Middle East, thrill at cliff-hanging experiences, and come face to face with one of the greatest cover-ups of all time, read The Topkapi Secret.  (See “An Inside Look at The Topkapi Secret” book trailer on this website or Youtube.com.)

On display within the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul lies the Topkapi Codex – an ancient Koranic manuscript, and part of a murder that split Shiite from Sunni.  What’s the truth about the Topkapi Codex?  No one knows because the Topkapi Codex is off limits.

Mohammed Atareek is obsessed with getting to the codex.  His research has convinced him the Koran has been changed many times, and this famous manuscript could help prove it.  But the risks of getting a hold of it increase as other scholars start turning up dead.

After traumatic life circumstances Angela, a UC Berkeley English professor, makes a career move which puts her in the Middle East and across Mohammed’s path.  His unique personality – overconfident, witty, and impulsive – is both puzzling and refreshing to Angela.  But when Mohammed tries to engage her in his quest, he finds she has an agenda of her own.  Between their cat and mouse games, heated discussions, and sparks of romance, the historical origin of the Koran unfolds.