A new novel the Secret of the Seventh Son, a first novel by Glenn Cooper, combines the interesting life and death of James Forrestal, UFO and Area 51 Conspiracy theories and a serial killer being hunted by a washed up FBI agent. It will entertain, amuse, and educate you just a little. The perfect summer reading.

James V. Forrestal, then former Secretary of the Navy and Defense, under Harry Truman, died on May 22, 1949 from a fall from the 16th floor of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. That is about the only thing that most people familiar with the death agree about.

There are several popular theories regarding his death. They range from suicide because of psychologial reasons from depression to paranoia. Israeli assassination because off his opposition to the Palestinian partition. Soviet assassination because he was warning Truman, who disagreed with him, that the Soviets were set on domination. And the most intriguiing theory that he was killed by the U.S. government because of his knowledge of the UFO activity in Roswell, New Mexico. Adding to the mystery, the autopsy reports and records of Forrestal's death were sealed until 2004


The most widely-held theory is that Forrestal was despondent and committed suicide; because Truman called for his resignation as Secretary of Defense, even though Forrestal had decided to resign. Forrestal did resign on March 28, 1949 after Truman dismissal. Combined with the suicide theory, is the theory that Forrestal suffered from paranoia. It has been rumored, but never really proven, that one night shortly before his death that he was found outside shouting, "The Russians are Comming."

Some also believed that agents from either Israel or the Soviet Union assasinated him becasue he was advocating against their policies.

Forrestal vehemently opposed the Palestian partition and the creation of Israel. He understood that it would anger the Arab world and jeopardize our supply of oil. It is reported that he vehemently argued against it at atleast 2 Cabinet meetings.

When he wasn't busy worrying about Mid-East Oil, he was concerned that the Soviet Union was amassing weapons and readying to start another war. Don't forget at this time the countries of Czechoslovakia and China went communist, there was the Berlin blockade, and in the near future the invasion of South Korea by communist North Korea.

But when Forrestal started arguing these points, he was ignored by Truman and others. Forrestal was a lone voice, and if he could be silenced....

There are many UFO conspiracy theorists who believe that James Forrestal was the man on the ground for Harry Truman, when it came to dealing with the UFO that crashed in Roswell on July 10, 1947 and that he was the guiding force in the construction of Area 51.

That is not entirely impossible in 1952 as part of the Eisenhower's administration effort to learn about UFO, we learn of a report described the crash of a flying disk at Roswell and warned of an extraterrestrial presence of earth. A group of people, that answered only to the United States President was formed to deal with that. James Forrestal was number 3 in that group of 12.

 Quite frankly I was enjoying the Secret of the Seventh Son as a rather predictable serial killer mystery. A series of quite different victims had been murdered. The only link was a postcard with a coffin that had been mailed to each victim from Las Vegas.

Until I got to page 38. I thought the printer had made a mistake on the pre-publication copy and put the wrong pages in the book. All of a sudden the plot shifts to Churchill's WWII bunker and its February 12, 1947. A member of the government is showing the now semi-retired Winston Churchill an ultra-secret report. The request is made asking would Churchill please be willing to talk to Truman about this matter. He's the only one that Truman will listen to.

Churchill agrees and the next thing I'm reading about is Forrestal intervening in Roswell.

The book's plot went from predictable to really alot of fun. It combines a serial killer plot with UFO conspiracy plots. I wanted to find out how much resarch Glenn Cooper had done. That's why I started to research the topic. Now I'm really impressed with the plot, the background resarch and Glenn Cooper's writing ability.

Just when you get used to thinking about UFO stories and a serial killer. Cooper brings you back to the 7th century - and the brith of the Seventh Son. You'll also then consider the inner workings of a secret group of monks who protect the work of the Seventh Son and for centuries - until that work is done. Those monks have a direct bearing on the exsitence of Area 51 and the serial killer that the FBI and everyone else is hunting. Very inventive and interesting plot.

If you love UFO stories and conspiracies you're really going to love this one! Great Beach Read for Summer 2009