The Aisha Prophecy

by John R. Maxim

Elizabeth Stride, the notorious Black Angel, had hoped to live quietly at last; no more killing, no more being hunted. She now had a family to think of. She had four young girls whom she'd sworn to protect. Especially Aisha, beautiful Aisha, whom she'd come to think of as a daughter. Add to this a mixed blessing; Martin Kessler was back with her. For two years, he'd allowed her to think he was dead. He had his reasons, but, still, she found it hard to forgive him. She would try very hard not to let herself love him. A good man, true, but almost gleefully reckless and every bit as lethal as she was. All seemed well until the prophecy appeared; it was everywhere; in every language; all over the Internet. It foretold the coming, now, today, of what some called a Muslim Joan of Arc. Aisha, the youngest wife of Mohammed, had been reborn, "to show men how they had fallen into error." A fiery angel had come with her, to guide and protect her. Aisha and Qaila. Aisha and the Black Angel. She couldn't know that some had already decided that the two might be one and the same. It was heresy, they said. They must be found. They must be killed. All this talk of the prophecy would die with them. "Maxim, who's been writing top-grade thrillers for more than two decades, continues to be one of the form's best kept secrets." -Publishers Weekly "Top drawer entertainment." -Kirkus Reviews "Maxim constructs a complex plot, juggles numerous characters, and pulls it all off with a cinematic breathless pace." -Library Journal "Maxim's super-smart novels simply can't be put down." -Booklist

616 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 2009

About the author

John R. Maxim was born in Greenwich Village, NYC, educated at NY Jesuit Schools (Xavier and Fordham) played all the street sports and most team sports.
Comes from a family of cops and a few Feds. After school, took up flying, skydiving and dirt-track stock car racing until the Military decided it could do without him. Then went into marketing and advertising. Several awards. Rose to Senior VP at major New York Advertising agencies. Work involved a great deal of international travel. Major hobby back then was sailing.
Always wanted to write, however, and, one night on the bar car, decided to give it a year, succeed or fail. Sold first novel at age 41. Wrote 12 more plus one non-fiction, averaging a year and a half each. Translated into ten languages. Several were optioned for film or TV. Still waiting.
Took up skiing. Many trips to Switzerland and Colorado. With the kids gone, sold our Connecticut house and moved to Hilton Head Island with his beautiful wife, Christine, herself a champion sailor.

Reviews

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED all of Maxim's "Bannerman" books and also enjoyed the ones about Elizabeth Stride and Martin Kessler (who are key characters in "The Aisha Prophecy"). After years with no new Maxim books, I eagerly awaited this one and absolutely couldn't wait to read it. Perhaps my expectations were too high!
I found it anticlimactic and just didn't enjoy it all that much. I didn't hate it, but unlike the "Bannerman" books, it is unlikely that I will be re-reading it. I found it to be slow in places and not very engaging. Rather than savoring it, I kept wondering how much more there was to read!
In Maxim's other books, although many of the characters are very rough-around-the-edges, flawed, and often downright psychopathic, I always found a sly humor in the crazy things they did. This book just didn't have the quirky characters and darkly humorous juxtapositions that I had come to expect from Maxim.