THE SARACEN'S GOLDEN ARMOR

The Saracen’s Golden Armor
by Hawthorne Vance
228 pages
ISBN: 1-931195-32-3
KiwE Publishing
March 2003
$ 17.95

The Saracen’s Golden Armor is exactly what a reviewer loves to find. It’s a wonderfully written tale by an unknown author who has a story to tell that he’s obviously been thinking about for years. Hawthorne Vance hooks the reader in the first paragraph and will not release until the last page.

Akard Phermstoole, who is a detective, is hired by a sweet and wealthy widow to return an object to Italy which her husband had taken during World War II. Now he is being paid to return this object to its rightful owner. Does this sound simple? Any person should be able to return an object to Italy with a minimum of problems.

Oh, there is one catch; this object is believed to be part of the armor that was worn by Prince Saladin, a Muslim leader who had recaptured Jerusalem during one of the crusades. Once the armor was thoroughly examined, it was determined that it could not have belonged to Prince Saladin, but it is still ancient and very valuable.

A particular Muslim terrorist is also hoping to possess this part of the armor at any cost. His hopes are to show this to his followers that the returning the armor of Prince Saladin is a sign for their cause to continue in their fight against Christianity. He doesn’t care whether it really belonged to Prince Saladin; he just wants to use the armor as a symbol to further his terrorist cause.

Akrad is an unusual character. He lives on his trust fund established by his grandfather. This allows him to survive as a private detective. Unfortunately, he can’t change his last name without losing his trust fund. If he decides to go back to law school and become a lawyer, according to his grandfather’s wishes, then he receives all the money in the fund. If for some reason, Akrad does not achieve this, then he will continue to receive only the amount established by his grandfather. If he dies the money goes to the families of victims of pollution-caused deaths.

Phermstoole and Associates is located in an old electric motor rewinding shop with Akrad living upstairs in the loft. His associates are his cat, One-Eyed Cat, and a large English bulldog named Clarence who Akrad calls Fifi when he chews things up. Added to this is his girlfriend named Corrine who Akrad calls Zelda. With a last name like Phermstoole the character is entitled to naming people anything he wants.

The pacing is amazingly fast and when you get to the end, unfortunately, you are disappointed. The disappointment is from not having another of these books to continue the adventure. The Saracen’s Golden Armor is well-written, historically based, and action filled. The humor within the characters also makes this delightful for everyone. This is definitely a “must read” book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or action-adventures stories.

Hawthorne Vance is a pen name for a successful Dallas attorney. I am definitely looking forward to more books by this gifted writer.