The Antiquities Dealer

"Filled with religious fanaticism, deception, manipulation, blackmail, coercion . . . equal in intensity and depth to any Dan Brown novel." -The Book Review Crew
David Greenberg may own an antiquities gallery in St. Louis, but he's no stranger to the sketchier side of the tracks filled with scam artists and gamblers. His sophisticated worldview comes in handy when he hears from an old love for the first time in twenty years.
Miriam Solomon had run off to Israel with Greenberg's best friend, but now she needs the antiquities dealer's help. Said best friend, her husband, committed suicide, but beforehand, instructed her to recover an artifact: the last surviving nail from Jesus's cross. The quest piques Greenberg's curiosity as rumors of Jesus's return to Earth have started to spread.
With nothing much to lose, Greenberg agrees to help-and is immediately thrust into a world of kidnapping, assassination, and smarmy televangelists. With a burly bodyguard known as God's Left Tackle at his side, Greenberg heads to Israel and uncovers an international conspiracy-a toxic cocktail of cutting-edge science, human achievement, and greed.
The Second Coming just may be Greenberg's last hurrah.
"History, science and mystery-lovers alike will devour Ed Protzel's The Antiquities Dealer. It's a globetrotting thrill ride with a unique cast of characters who navigate intense action sequences, confounding puzzles and supremely high stakes." -Rob Samborn, author of The Prisoner of Paradise
"[A] deep story of religion, evolution, and sci-fi. There is no gentle lead-in, we dive straight into the story at the start and we're off and running on a journey to find what seems to be impossible." -Anne-Marie Reynolds, Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)

Ed Protzel grew up in St. Louis, the son of a Jewish father and a part-Cherokee mother. For a time he lived in an orphanage when his parents divorced, and left home after high school to live in St. Louis's bohemian Gaslight Square entertainment district. These experiences gave Protzel a unique perspective, which is reflected in the traits of many of his fictional characters: outsiders and gamesters-male or female-on lonely quests, seeking justice, love, and fulfillment against society's blindness.
​Protzel began writing both novels and screenplays while in college, working on them in his spare time while employed in securities management. He kept writing as he moved around the United States. He did some freelance work for 20th Century Studios and completed several original screenplays, one of which was optioned by a producer. But Protzel couldn't abide what he calls Hollywood's "hyper-Darwinism," so he enrolled in grad school at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he earned his master's in English and creative writing.