‘Archaeological thriller’ by former Akron resident
“The Koh Ker Conspiracy,” an impressive “archaeological thriller” by former Akron resident Caleb Benadum, who writes as Caleb Andrew, is set in Cambodia with all its heat and history.
Jan Botha, a brutish Rhodesian soldier and former mercenary, is now involved in the theft and smuggling of antiquities. He’s determined to plunder sacred sites and sell stolen artifacts with forged papers.
Thomas St. Pierre, the French protégé of a famous archaeologist, is teaching at a university in Phnom Penh. He’s fixated on finding a stone carving from the temple of a king – the same Cambodian temple that Jan has been pillaging.
Jan tells Thomas he wants Thomas to falsify the provenance of an artifact; at first, Thomas balks, but his desire to see the object begins to overcome his suspicions.
Thomas asks his lifelong friend Boran Tomkins, a half-Khmer former CIA agent, to investigate Jan and checks with a contact, who tells him of Jan’s ambitious plans to dominate the looted antiquities market. Meanwhile, Thomas’s impetuous sister Emma is about to wash out of a military medical program and comes to visit for the summer.
Thomas is in disgrace for an incident that is not explained to the reader until late in the book. He hopes that finding the artifact will restore his reputation, but when Jan approaches him, he says he’s not interested. That’s not true, because Thomas becomes more and more obsessed with seeing the artifact. It also doesn’t work, because when Thomas declines, Jan and his guards beat and kidnap Thomas.
This sets off the chase. Boran uses his contacts to track Jan and succeeds in finding him several times, but the elusive smuggler has both backup and firepower, while Boran has only Emma.
The action is nonstop through many locations, from sprawling Phnom Penh to primitive farms, in an economy that thrives on bribes and rice wine. One character remarks, “It’s like a movie.” He’s not wrong.
The good guys get surprise assistance from a frustrated police commissioner and a group that pursues looters and dealers of artifacts, and the action turns into an international sting operation. Thomas realizes that the artifact Jan is hoping to sell is even more significant than either of them had thought: an exquisite statue that explains a millennium-old mystery.
In addition to the detail of the colors and culture of modern Cambodia, Benadum provides thoughtful information about art trafficking and efforts to prevent it. The barely accessible Koh Ker has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“The Koh Ker Conspiracy” (364 pages, softcover) costs $13.99 from online retailers. Benadum worked at the International Institute in Akron. He lived in Cambodia as a teenager and now lives in Switzerland.
Events
Fireside Book Shop (29 North Franklin Street, Chagrin Falls): Novelist Anita Gail Jones signs “The Peach Seed,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Parma-Powers branch, 6996 Powers Boulevard): Scott Longert discusses “Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman,” 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Mansfield-Richland County Public Library (Plymouth branch, 29 West
Broadway): Brandon Weis talks about “This Is Gonna Hurt: ThruHiking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Arizona Trail in a Calendar Year,” 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday. Register at mrcpl.org.
Mansfield Richland County Public Library (43 West Third Street): Brandon Weis talks about “This Is Gonna Hurt,” 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at mrcpl.org.
Loganberry Book Shop (13015 Larchmere Boulevard, Shaker Heights): Photographer Lauren Pacini opens his gallery show and launches “Empire Builders: An Illustrated History of Cleveland’s Van Sweringen Brothers,” 6 p.m. Thursday. At 7 p.m. Friday, Jennifer Kabat (“The Eighth Moon: A Memoir of Belonging & Rebellion”) and Laura Marris (“The Age of Loneliness”) talk to author Hilary Plum about their books.
Hudson Library & Historical Society: New York Times Diplomatic Correspondent Edward Wong talks about “At the Age of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China” in a virtual presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 South Green Road, South Euclid): A Self-Publishing Roundtable features Nicole Crawford (“Pieces of Platinum”), Sid Lenington (“Donovan’s M.I.A.: Big Stories for a Small World”) and Natalie Brown Rudd (“Stormy Weather: Twenty-Five Lessons Learned While Weathering the Storms of Life”), 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Shaker Heights Public Library (16500 Van Aken Boulevard): Laura
Meckler, whose “Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity” won the 2024 Ohioana Book Award in the Nonfiction category, presents “Researching Dream Town,” 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at shakerlibrary.org.
Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library (Willoughby branch, 30 Public Square): Ohio’s 2023 Poet of the Year Rikki Santer reads from her collection “Zebra Lashes,” 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at we247.org.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 North Main Street, Hudson): Cindy Rovtar signs her children’s book “Welcome to the World, Squirrelly Q,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Canal Fulton Public Library (154 Market Street East): Cathy Baker signs her mystery “Wrenville,” 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Rocky River Public Library (1600 Hampton Road): “Stories Matter: Authors and Illustrators Celebrate Cuyahoga Reads” features Karly West (“The Scholarly Banana” graphic novel series), David Gollinger (“123 CLE”), Jason Lady (“Magic Pen Adventure” series), Michael Williams, Lindsay Ward (“When Blue Met Egg”), Judith Brandon, and Erin Mulligan in a panel discussion and signing, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Cleveland artist Ben Small talks about his graphic novel “Mary Sticks,” 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets will be available Thursday for Jenna Bush Hager’s October 24 appearance in the Dr. Audrey Lavin Speaking of Books Series at the Canton Palace Theatre. Free, but tickets required; for $75, attendees will receive priority seating, a pass to meet Hager and a signed copy of Hager’s “Everything Beautiful in Its Time.” Go to starklibrary.org.