Martin I. Lorin

Genesis One: Abel is Missing Martin I. Lorin

Have you ever wondered why Cain slew Abel or who tipped off God about the killing? These and other questions about man?s relationship to God are explored in this audacious mystery novel set in ancient Mesopotamia, about 5,000 B. C. near the purported Garden of Eden. Who were the people Cain feared when he said to God, "... every one that findeth me shall slay me?" While the Bible doesn't tell us who these people were or where they came from, it does imply that a sizable human population already existed when Cain slew Abel. Adam and Eve were not the first man and woman on earth. They were simply the first to be created in God's image.

Seven millennia ago, the land of southern Mesopotamia was so fertile that a large segment of the population was freed of the task of procuring food, and people gathered to live in cities. They knew how to ferment grain into beer and grapes into wine. A pottery jar excavated from a Neolithic village in Iran's northern Zagros Mountains was found to contain resinated wine. The vessel was dated to 5400 B. C.

GENESIS ONE: ABEL IS MISSING is the Old Testament tale of Abel's murder transposed to a fictitious story in that ancient world. The protagonist, a finder of lost persons by the name of Shlem, who may well be the world's first private investigator, is hired by God to find the missing shepherd, Abel.

While the novel parodies today?s hard-boiled investigators and their clients, it also explores the relationship of man and his gods. It is a mixture of mystery, archeology, and theology, with a generous helping of humor and suspense.