Empire of Lies

In Raymond Khoury's Empire of Lies, this alternative history thriller will blow you mind.  It all started when this mysterious man had an interesting proposition to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul 1683 to change history. Fast forward to 2017, in present-day Turkey, Ramadan Agha works at the local hospital when a naked man appeared in the hospital with dozens of tattoos all over his body.  He's happily married to his wife Nisreen, and has two kids of his own. But when this man named Ayman Rasheed remained silent and spoke in a new language, it blew his mind. His brother Kamal, works for the Sultan's private sector army, while they deal with war-like issues in Turkey. But when Rasheed's secret is discovered,  mayhem and chaos ensued in the hospital. While Kamal learns about this newest development, he stops Ramadan and Nisreen with a bloody mess on the streets. When the were killed in the crossfire, it was up to Nisreen and Kamal to go back in time and make things right to change history. But the consequences might be deadly when it was up to them to stop Rasheed in his tracks for a better future.

This was a fantastic thriller that had an alternative history twist. I cared for Nisreen and Kamal and Ramadan on how they've gotten into this mess. I did feel sorry that Nisreen loved Kamal before she married his brother. I love the historical facts that's been interwoven into the storyline and how it had made me in the edge of the seat. I loved the various locations in past and present-day Turkey and Paris--the scenic settings were mesmerizing and well-absorbing to get sucked into this time warp in the second half of the book. The theme is difficult to define: don't change history and leave the past in the past.

If you love time-travel/alternative history novels and mind-blown thrillers with tons of intense drama, plenty of non-stop actions, sparks of suspense, and lots of mystery to keep you hooked on the first page, check out Empire of Lies today!