“A stellar novel of action, adventure, and intrigue.”
American Conspiracy
The presumed president-elect has been assassinated. The fate of the United States is at stake.
And Detective Jim Murphy of the Chicago PD is to blame. Serving as extra security in a parade for the apparent presidential winner, he succumbs to a moment of distraction. That indelible lapse allows an assassin to take down the president-elect. His shame is made even more profound now that Bryan, his rivalrous brother from the Justice Department, has come to Chicago to investigate the assassination and rub it in. Determined to restore his reputation, Murphy throws himself into a new investigation: the mysterious disappearances of several Chicago gangbangers. As he untangles the threads tying the disappearances to shocking murders, he is led to the doorstep of aging Sebastian Senex, a pharmaceutical tycoon desperate to cheat dementia and death.
Meanwhile, the presidential election is thrown into Congress for resolution, ultimately catapulting Dallas Taylor, the young and progressive vice president-elect, into the Oval Office. Enraged at being led by a millennial president, Sebastian Senex and his power broker minions plot a coup to return the United States to what they see as the glories of yesteryear. As Senex’s plan is set in motion, Detective Jim Murphy and President Taylor must unite to put down the conspiratorial menace facing a United States in crisis.
The old must give way to the new, but as death reaches out from one generation to give birth to the next, how far are some willing to go to hang on to life and power over the future?
Reviews
“A stellar novel of action, adventure, and intrigue. The twists of betrayal unravel at a perfect pace, and Polelle nails the details of this high-caliber political drama.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author
“. . . A novel with twists and turns that will keep readers hooked . . . an intriguing thriller with complex characters.” —Kirkus Reviews
"Author Polelle does a masterful job of intermingling concurrent storylines, while introducing memorable characters who interact on multiple fronts . . . For those with an appetite for thrillers as intellectual as they are intense, this one will likely assuage their hunger." ―US Review of Books ("Recommended")
Awards & Recognition
SPR Book Awards (Finalist)
Eric Hoffer Book Awards (Finalist)
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The Mithras Conspiracy
An Italian detective must unravel the secrets of an ancient cult to save lives—and prevent a coup.
Rome is in chaos. Earthquakes shake the city. The pope is in a coma. And a Vatican scholar has been found dead in the Tiber.
Detective Marco Leone is about to take a sabbatical when his estranged friend—charged with organizing the Vatican’s secret archives—is murdered. Leone stays to investigate, but the killing is just the first in a series of ritual assassinations and attacks on specific churches—all of which were built over ancient chapels of the Roman god Mithras.
Leone’s investigation leads him to two American scholars who have uncovered a pair of scrolls that, if authentic, could rewrite history. While attempting to unravel the parchments’ mysteries, they are drawn into a bitter feud between a scheming cardinal and a charismatic tycoon, Lucio Piso, himself bewitched by the cult of Mithras. As the deaths pile up, Leone begins to wonder if Piso is involved, and if his obsession feeds larger personal and political goals. Could the cult of a long-forgotten god topple the Italian government and bring the Church to its knees?
In the tradition of The Da Vinci Code comes a thriller that dives beneath the veneer of a powerful ancient institution to explore the crumbling ruins—and the shocking secrets—that lie within.
Reviews
“An enjoyable thriller . . . Polelle rewards readers with uncertainty in every chapter. Leone’s Rome is a dangerous place with a masked attacker around virtually every corner. And that’s what makes it fun to visit.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Things done ‘in the name of religion’ have brought out both the best and worst of humankind. The ‘whatifs’ in this book are real possibilities—ancient legacies that may someday be uncovered and reshape the perceptions of the past and ancestral faiths.” —Dr. Steven Derfler, Emeritus Professor, Joint Doctorate in Classics and Archaeology (University of Minnesota)
Awards & Recognition
Eric Hoffer Book Awards (Finalist)
Royal Palm Literary Awards of the Florida Writers Association (Finalist)
IndieBRAG Medallion
ABOUT MITHRAS
Mithraism was the final pagan religion of the Roman Empire. This widespread religion centered on the worship of the god Mithras in underground caves called mithraeums, which were either natural or artificially formed. The relationship between Mithraism and early Christianity has been a source of conjecture and controversy based on intriguing but incomplete historical facts. Learn more from my author’s notes.
