Sacred Books & Sky Hooks

This novel is a genre-bending work that blends nonfiction with fiction. It is a mystery/detective/literary work, providing high drama with an occasional dollop of comic relief.
The characters include the narrator and protagonist, Ethan Swift III, a former Washington lawyer and amateur comparative religionist who puts three founder myths—those created by Corky Ra, founder of a contemporary start-up religion; Joseph Smith; and the Apostle Paul—on the virtual stand and cross-examines their claims to having had divine revelations. Along the way Ethan encounters Alcina Smith, a beautiful Mormon apostate whose stern father is one of the Twelve; Sabrina Makespeare, a literary agent; Jason Joseph Allred, whose flirtation with polygamy both Ethan and Alcina in danger; and FBI special agent Dennis Box Elder, who offers Ethan a measure of succor.