Michael Solomon

The Conversion Prophecy

by Michael Solomon

Green Dragon Publishing

Reviewed by Joe Kilgore U.S. Review of Books ©2015 All Rights Reserved

"Death came swiftly and unexpectedly."

In the Pantheon of literary genres, international thrillers have their own wing. There, encased in sepulchers with headstones writ large, stand names such as Robert Ludlum, John le Carré, Alistair MacLean and more. Their stories cross continents and languages to snare readers in compelling tales of intrigue. In the world’s they create, knowledge is power, and treachery always lurks within treaties between nations and often within promises between friends.

Now, former New York City Police Officer, Michael Solomon, has turned his experienced ear for criminality, corruption, and conspiracies, to the world of high-flying deception in his debut novel, The Conversion Prophecy. Not the least bit intimidated by the renowned authors that have come before him, he confidently stakes his own claim to the genre with a globe-hopping tale of multinational mystery and suspense.

It all begins in the year 2024. World peace has virtually been achieved. Violent terrorism is a thing of the past. Countries no longer settle their differences with armies and armaments. Corporations actually cooperate rather than compete. Consumers like and believe in the companies they buy from. Citizens collectively trust their elected officials. The stock markets of the world are at record highs. Has utopia finally been achieved? Or does a somewhat closer look reveal that perhaps nothing is as it seems.

Solomon’s story hits the tarmac running. With staccato prose, free of any cloying sentimentality that might slow the pace, he whisks us through the untimely death of the Vice President of the United States. Then he flashes readers back to an Indonesian Mosque years earlier, where clandestine plans are put in place by fanatical conspirators to take advantage of just such an opening in the highest echelons of American government. The author uses this shifting time technique to adroitly move multiple flesh and blood pawns across a vast transnational chessboard. But a lot more than a game is going on here, the results of which could be cataclysmic.

The players on Solomon’s continually changing battlefield include Secret Service Agents under the gun, career politicians with much to gain and more to lose, world leaders held hostage to a diabolical scheme, devout Moslems and devoted Jews, young men thrust into older men’s hatreds, plus an appropriate smattering of stone cold spies.

Revealing too much of the plot would deprive you of much of the fun inherent in peeling back one layer after another of Solomon’s fast-moving tale of assassination, infiltration, and the potential annihilation of the world as we know it. Suffice it to say that readers will be jetted to exotic locales, ensconced in expensive hotels, piped aboard luxurious yachts, and fêted with the finest food and wine. There will also be initiations into secret societies, closed-door meetings with the CIA and the Israeli Mossad, and financial maneuvering that brings the world to the brink of collapse.

If you’re the type who can pack your willing suspension of disbelief along with your appetite for adventure, then you’ll likely find The Conversion Prophesy a whirlwind excursion you won’t want to miss.

©2015 All Rights Reserved • The US Review of Books

A Former NYPD Investigator, Michael is the survivor of a double assassination attempt on his life.

He was assigned as the intelligence officer to the U.S. State Department where he participated in treaty negotiations between the U.S. and Turkey.

He has personally met four U.S. Presidents.

Michael acted as personal security and bodyguard for the Shah of Iran and Madame Chang of Taiwan when they would visit New York.

During his tenure in the Police Department and as a part time tax accountant, he discovered a flaw in the NYC Payroll procedures. His change to the procedures reduced taxes, saved the city over $120 Million and balanced the NYC Budget.

Michael holds a BS Degree in Behavioral Sciences and a Masters in Public Administration.

After his Police career, as a small businessman, he was twice nominated as operating the best business in America in his field by a national magazine.

After he became successful he started to take care of the less fortunate. His work with various charities led him to be named by the New York State Legislature in Senate and Assembly Resolutions as Humanitarian of the Year in 2003.

He has been the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles.

In 2006 he was named among others as "Time Magazine's person of the year."

He is a frequent Radio and TV business and political guest and has appeared on over 350 Radio and Television talk shows. He appears on Fox News, Fox Business News, ABC, CBS and NBC. He has been a panelist on the Fox Business News show the Mangru Report.

Michael is a bestselling author of two books. "Success By Default" - The Depersonalization Of Corporate America. Forbes magazine book club said, "This book should be on the desk of every CEO in America."

His second book, "Where Did My America Go?" was listed as number six on the bestseller list. Steve Dunleavy, Columnist for the New York Post upon reviewing his book said, "My only regret is that I didn't write it." It is the book that started the Tea Party Movement in America.

He is currently a National Business, Political, College and Motivational Speaker. As a business consultant he has helped many companies take their businesses beyond the next level.

"The Conversion Prophecy," is his first novel. It won't be his last.