About the author
Larry Barthurst was raised in Midlothian, VA and graduated from the University of Richmond and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was Virginia State Decathlon Champion in 1973 and coached track for 11 years. After serving in the Army Corps of Engineers he went into construction, designing and building custom homes. He and his wife Bonnie live in central Virginia with their camellias and magnolias.
About the Book
When nuclear physicist Vincent Carbone approaches Atlantic City casino owner Johnny Sands with a bold claim that he can make gold, skepticism turns to interest fast. But there’s a catch: it’s not real gold. It’s an isotope, chemically identical, but with a secret half-life that guarantees it won’t last. As Carbone and Sands build a shadow operation to produce and sell this unstable fortune, they draw the attention of mobsters, investors, and the FBI.
From the gleaming casinos of the East Coast to the high-stakes halls of federal law enforcement, The Philosopher’s Stone weaves a sharp and fast-moving tale of science, greed, and deception. But when fake gold starts to quietly vanish from safes across the country, and the evidence turns into something even more dangerous, the game becomes harder to control—and impossible to walk away from.
A twist-filled crime thriller with a brilliant speculative edge, The Philosopher’s Stone explores the true cost of turning lead into gold.
Other works by Larry Bathurst available on Amazon.com
The trial of the Nazi war criminals, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany, from November 1945 through October 1946 is perhaps the quintessential story of good versus evil. These twenty-two men authored some of the most shameful, depraved acts in the annals of human history; but now, shorn of their brief authority, they would be given something that they never afforded millions of their victims – a fair trial.
It’s 1986, the early years of Islamic extremists and the latter years of the Soviet Union. a U.S. plane mysteriously explodes in the Philippines. The American government receives a message from a terrorist, thought to have been killed two years before, threatening to blow up a U.S. military installation on America’s birthdayJuly Fourthwith a nuclear bomb!
Sit in on war councils as an ad hoc committee tries to fathom the mind of a deranged killer and to decipher where he will strike.
Alan Lawrence, once close to neutralizing the terroristCainis recalled to duty with the CIA from an early retirement at his Virginia farm. He chased Cain literally around the globe, but he is always a step behind. Meanwhile, components of the bomb are being smuggled into the country cleverly disguised as parts of track-and-field equipment.
Will Lawrence stop Cain this time, or will July Fourth bring to America nuclear holocaust?