Sam Bourne

Sam Bourne (born in London, 1967) – “Sam Bourne” is the literary pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland, a prominent British journalist and thriller author. B.A. Oxford U. (1989). He is a columnist for The Guardian and a presenter for BBC Radio 4’s The Long View. He co-hosts the popular international podcast, “Unholy: Two Jews on the News”, with Israeli journalist Yonit Levi, and hosts Politics Weekly America. Supports and frequently hosts major fundraising and community events for the New Israel Fund UK, an organization dedicated to civil rights, democracy, and equality for all Israelis. Under the pen name Sam Bourne, he has written several best-selling political and religious thrillers, including The Righteous Men and The Last Testament. Themes:

Lamed Vavniks (The 36 Righteous Men): In his debut, The Righteous Men, Bourne explores the Jewish legend that there are always 36 righteous people on Earth whose existence justifies humanity to God. The mystery centers on a series of murders targeting these individuals to trigger the end of the world.

Holocaust Memory and Retribution: Several novels deal with the “mystery” of hidden history. The Final Reckoning centers on a secret group of Holocaust survivors—the “Jewish Avengers”—seeking vengeance for wartime crimes. Similarly, The Boy Who Saw utilizes the backdrop of Nazi death camps and family secrets to drive its plot.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Bourne frequently incorporates the geopolitics of Israel as a source of suspense. The Last Testament revolves around a lost archaeological treasure that could fundamentally change the religious and political landscape of the Middle East.

Kabbalah and Occult Mysticism: Elements of Jewish Occult Mysticism and ancient traditions are often used as “codes” or cryptic messages that the protagonist must solve.

The Jewish Identity in Secular Worlds: His characters often contend with the friction between modern secular life and traditional religious roots. For example, his Maggie Costello series sometimes features Jewish characters like Dr. Frenkel or Goldstein who act as outsiders in the “gentile” world of Washington D.C..

Holocaust Denial and Historical Records: In To Kill the Truth, the mystery involves a conspiracy to erase the physical and digital evidence of historical atrocities, including the Holocaust, posing a threat to the very existence of history itself. [Google/AI]

Bourne, Sam, (The Righteous Men [hc, Harper, 2006]) 978-0061138294 [pb, Harper, 2006] 978-0007834020

Bourne, Sam, (The Final Reckoning [hc, Harper, 2010] 978-0061875748 [pb, HarperCollins, 2010] 978-1554689002

Bourne, Sam, (The Last Testament [hc, Harper, 2009] 978-0061470868 [pb, HarperCollins Canada, 2009] 978-1554680740

Bourne, Sam, (To Kill the Truth [hc, Quercus Publishing, 2019] 978-1787474918 [pb, Hachette International, 2019] 978-1529403190