Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Never try to fool Alexander the Great...or betray him. The Thebans tried, and he burned their great city to the ground. But he left the temple of Oedipus untouched, hoping to obtain the legendary crown inside. Politically, the sacred crown may give him divine status. Privately, it will boost his ego...even more. Practically, it can kill him. Unless, of course, he discovers the ancient secret of crossing the pits of fire and poisonous snakes surrounding it.


But as Alexander calls in his clever Hebrew friends Miriam and Simeon to help, he faces another baffling puzzle. An old soldier, alone inside a locked room and guarded by a ferocious dog, has been murdered. But how? The clues point to a traitor among Alexander's men. Now, amid the agonies of war and the ashes of Thebes, Alexander needs answers, and fast, before his own life becomes just another Greek tragedy....

173 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2013

8 people are currently reading
59 people want to read

About the author

Paul Doherty

236 books611 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, Celia L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.

Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the usual education before studying at Durham for three years for the Catholic priesthood but decided not to proceed. He went to Liverpool University where he gained a First Class Honours Degree in History and won a state scholarship to Exeter College, Oxford, whilst there he met his wife Carla Lynn Corbitt. He continued his studies but decided that the academic world was not for him and became a secondary school teacher.

Paul worked in Ascot, Nottingham and Crawley West Sussex before being appointed as Headmaster to Trinity Catholic School in September 1981. Trinity is a large comprehensive [1700 on roll] which teaches the full ability range, ages 11-18. The school has been described as one of the leading comprehensives in the U.K. In April, 2000 H. M. Inspectorate describe it as an 'Outstanding School', and it was given Beacon status as a Centre of Excellence whilst, in the Chief Inspector’s Report to the Secretary of State for January 2001, Trinity Catholic High School was singled out for praise and received a public accolade.

Paul’s other incarnation is as a novelist. He finished his doctorate on the reign of Edward II of England and, in 1987, began to publish a series of outstanding historical mysteries set in the Middle Age, Classical, Greek, Ancient Egypt and elsewhere. These have been published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press of New York, Edhasa in Spain, and Eichborn, Heyne, Knaur and others in Germany. They have also been published in Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Portugal and China, as well as Argentina and Mexico.

He has been published under several pseudonyms (see the bibliography): C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name. He recently launched a very successful series based around the life of Alexander the Great, published by Constable & Robinson in the U.K., and Carroll and Graf in the U.S.A., whilst his novels set in Ancient Egypt have won critical acclaim. Paul has also written several non-fiction titles; A Life of Isabella the She-wolf of France, Wife of Edward II of England, as well as study of the possible murder of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, and a study on the true fate of Alexander the Great.

Paul and Carla live on the borders of London and Essex, not far from Epping Forest and six of their children have been through his own school. His wife Carla currently owns two horses and is training, for showing and dressage, a beautiful Arab filly named Polly.

Paul lectures for a number of organisations, particularly on historical mysteries, many of which later feature in his writings. A born speaker and trained lecturer Paul Doherty can hold and entertain audiences.

His one great ambition is to petition the Privy Council of England to open the Purbeck marble tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. Paul believes the tomb does not house the body

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
48 (52%)
4 stars
33 (36%)
3 stars
6 (6%)
2 stars
4 (4%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
10 reviews
June 10, 2018
Captivating

I have read four of Paul Doherty's books set in ancient times. Not only do they holding your attention from the first page to the last, they are also very historically informative.
42 reviews
May 27, 2021
Another Thrilling Whodoneit

This book was even better than the first! I couldn't put it down. Great story that keeps you guessing all the way.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.