VERITAS A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife

A good story well told cuts across every category of audiobook listening. This remarkable tale of a high-profile fraud combines elements of scripture studies, academic politics, investigative journalism, and true-crime reporting. Narrator Robert Petkoff is pitch-perfect in delivering author Ariel Sabar's examination of "The Gospel of Jesus's Wife," a forged parchment of dubious origin that duped a Harvard professor, made headlines, and here unfolds into a provocative study of the uneasy relationship between fact, belief, and the dedicated pursuit of truth. Petkoff maintains a firm, steady pace for a narrative that some listeners may find too detailed. But it's Sabar's painstaking attention to detail that exposes layer after layer of fraud and self-deception, and in the end provides a compelling and memorable listening experience. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]