Ishmael is ready to die for his religion. For the past six years, he has been indoctrinated into a world of radical lies that demand bloodshed and hatred to demonstrate his faith. His mission is to destroy the water supply to Los Angeles. His lifelong friend in death, Canaan, is also ready to die, but not for a religion hijacked by insane men. He is using the Global Azad Front for his own personal vendetta against Rev. Jonathon Duvall, an American fundamentalist who abused him at a Christian mission school in India. The charming, mischievous, and patriotic Rosasharn has always been ready to die for America, but will her country let her live as she wilfully gets entangled in a terrorist conspiracy in an attempt to stop the impending disaster? Radical Lies is a thriller about a terrorist whose day of reckoning is at hand. However, his uncanny encounter with a rather fascinating and determined girl, shifts him off course as he soon realises his plans are in jeopardy. Somehow though, he is not resisting. With her innocent, and yet spirited ways, will she deradicalise this man who is undoubtedly convinced that he knows his destiny?
Steven Sculli is a first generation Australian; his parents having immigrated to Australia in the 1950s from southern Italy. Leaving school at the age of eighteen, he worked for several years in the advertising industry as a copywriter and production assistant in the art department. Unsatisfied, Steven later followed in the footsteps of his father, driving taxis throughout Melbourne. Radical Lies is his first novel.
* A tense debut thriller about a terrorist who loses his extreme religious views and finds redemption.
* A unique take on the inner thoughts of a terrorist, Ishmael, who has sworn to Allah to make the ultimate sacrifice of his life. On the day that Ishmael is determined to end his own life and that of others, he is astounded when his friend’s mother, who has dementia, looks into his soul and states that he ‘does not really want to make those children suffer’. He begins to doubt his decision, especially when he meets Rosasharn, a woman who could change his life.
* Cleverly written and quietly humorous, Radical Lies is an entertaining read that will have you cheering for the redemption of a man who was convinced that he knew his destiny.
Publicity:
* Australian True Crime podcast Emily Webb (#1 in Australia), Herald Sun and Life and Crimes podcast, The Age (true crime author), ABC Radio National.
