The Moses Stone

We were on vacation.. and I had forgotten to bring something to read. The synopsis sounded intriguing.. so, I bought it! What a lovely introduction to James Becker's writings! The suspense grabs you in the beginning.. and takes you on one heckuva a ride! I haven't looked yet.. but, I'm REALLY hoping.. that there are a whole batch of his books that I've not read. On my way to look and buy!

As with most folks, I read the reviews first before buying and I have to say for the most part they were spot on. The story was exciting; full of adventure, mystery, and intrigue. The characters were well defined although I do think there were one too many "teams" pursuing the "items" but that is being nit picky. Unlike Dan Brown's books where the man, usually Robert Langdon, is the all knowing one in regards to ancient history, symbols and religion. In this book it's the heroine, Angela, who is the all knowing archeologist who coaches Chris on the finer points of religious history. Overall I really enjoyed this book. Pretty fast paced, good story line, lots of twists and turns, decent ending. The only criticism I have about the ending is that I wish it left something unanswered. I wanted more, I wanted there to be a twist at the end. Maybe something along the lines of the Da Vinci Code with the pyramid. Regardless of the ending, it is still a very good book. One thing that Becker and Brown do better than others is their research. The way they go into great detail to describe people, places and things really brings the story to life. Other similar authors need to do more of this. I felt this was definitely lacking in the Exodus Quest. I also read a bit from James Becker's new book, The Messiah, that is provided in the back of The Moses Stone. That prologue is interesting as well. I will definitely be buying that one come December. I would definitely recommend this book to others who like these types of religious mysteries. Next up....The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury. The Last Templar was FANTASTIC, I hope The Sanctuary is as good. Of course they ruined The Last Templar with the mini-series which wasn't even in the same league as the book. Read The Moses Stone, read Dan Brown's last three books (Angels and Demons, Da Vinci and The Lost Symbol), and read The Last Templar!

Last year I picked up a copy of The First Apostle, the first novel by James Becker, and was pleasantly surprised. The book was well written, with an exciting story, interesting characters and lots of interesting historical details. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Becker had written another novel about Chris Bronson. I just finished reading it and liked it even better than the first one. There is more interesting historical background (with lots of additional information at the end of the book) and again the story really drives the book along. Of course the story seems a bit familiar and of course there are all kinds of coincidences and the two main characters manage to escape death again and again. But, hey, it's a thriller!! And it's refreshing to hear the main character mentioning a couple of times that it's not all worth the effort and maybe they should forget about the chase... Anyway, I found myself racing through the book and looking up more information on the internet about the sites and artifacts mentioned in the book. So, if you liked The DaVinci Code and are looking for another exciting thriller, you should definitely give this one a try. And the best news? In December the third novel will be published and I can't wait to get my hands on that one!!

A couple is killed after finding a tablet that is a piece of the world's history. When a detective named Chris investigates, he realizes that his job is asking him to bite off a lot more than he can chew. He is forced to delve into the past and try to solve a mystery that pre-dates biblical times. Will he be able to crack the case or will this mystery go unsolved for the rest of time? This is a thriller through and through! If you like a good mystery with a great plot and likable characters, you will happily drown yourself in this book from beginning to end.