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COURTESY PHOTO

Inspired by the North Fork and details from his own life, local author and Suffolk County Community College history professor George H. Monahan has published his latest book entitled: Artifact: A Novel.

The plot, as the Southold resident describes it, explores the dynamics of what happens when archaeologists and commercial real estate developers clash.

Set in the fictitious North Fork town of Stirling Harbor, the novel tells the story of Peconic Community College anthropology professor Thomas McGrath who is attempting to stop real estate developers from clear-cutting the Bayview Woods to make way for condominiums. Relying on an obscure law designed to protect Native American relics, Mr. McGrath petitions the Stirling Harbor Village Court to mandate a cultural impact survey of the development site.

The plot thickens when the survey digs up of a mysterious artifact putting the construction on hold. Adding to the suspense a court-imposed news blackout fuels speculation that a government cover-up is afoot.

Meanwhile, everyone on the East End is asking the same question: What in the world has been discovered in the woods on the outskirts of Stirling Harbor?

With thinly veiled references to the North Fork culture and landscape, Artifact is a follow-up to Monahan’s first book, Biodiesel: A Novel, released in 2012.

Artifact is available in paperback and on Kindle on Amazon.com for $15.

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