The fire gospel

Theo Griepenkerl is a modest academic with an Olympian ego.

When he visits a looted museum in Iraq, looking for treasures he can ship back to Canada, he finds nine papyrus scrolls that have lain hidden for two thousand years.

Once translated from Aramaic, these prove to be a fifth Gospel, written by an eye-witness of Jesus Christ's last days.

But, when Theo decides to share this sensational discovery with the world, he fails to imagine the impact the new Gospel will have on Christians, Arabs, homicidal maniacs and Amazon customers.

Like Prometheus' gift of fire, it has incendiary consequences. "The Fire Gospel" is an enthralling novel about the power of words to resonate across centuries, and inspire and disrupt in equal measure.

Wickedly provocative, hilarious and shocking by turns, it is a revelatory piece of storytelling.