Contested Modernity: Sectarianism, Nationalism, and Colonialism in Bahrain

The Voynich Manuscript - an untranslated, medieval document in a mysterious, unique language - has baffled scholars since it was discovered a century ago. To this day, nobody knows what secrets are buried in its pages.

When a book dealer comes to him with the key to the manuscript and a promise of untold riches, mob boss Gezim Petrela is hooked. Then the dealer disappears and Petrela tracks down the team he'd chosen to demand that they finish decoding it. And he uses his own brand of persuasion to make sure they comply.

Petrela gives Ben Jarvis, a linguistics reader at a small university, two weeks to do what the world's top cryptologists have failed to do in a hundred years. Or his girlfriend will die...

Secret codes, a turf war between rival gangs, a theft from a government building and a shadowy, offstage figure known as the Architect all collide in this thriller that will keep you guessing to the end.

50% of the proceeds of this book go to cleft lip and palate organisations.