Monday, August 26, 2013

Elisha's Bones

Elisha's Bones by Don Hoesel is the first book in the Jack Hawthorne Adventure series.
Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor. Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. A born skeptic, Jack doesn't think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth. But he's not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.
I've found a new series and I can't wait to read the next book.
The bones of the prophet once raised the dead to life... but they vanished from history in a whisper. Now Jack Hawthorne, part-time skeptic and full-time professor of archaeology, is enlisted to sift them from the sands of time. Bankrolled by a dying man of unlimited means, Hawthorne's hunt spans the globe and leads him into a deadly conspiracy older than the church itself. And he soon discovers those sworn to keep the secret of the bones will do anything to protect them.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Fear Has A Name

I received a copy of Fear Has A Name by David C Cook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
How Far Would He Go To Keep Them Safe?
It was more than a break-in. More than a stalking. It was personal. When a stalker targets his family, journalist Jack Crittendon must uncover who the person is and what his motives are—if he is to protect the ones he loves. It will lead Crittendon into a world of behind-closed-door secrets and faith gone awry, as does his investigation of a missing pastor, whose apparent suicide is more than it appears. Each move Crittendon makes weaves him tighter and tighter into a web of lies, greed, hypocrisy, sin, and danger. He believed he’d never give in to fear. But that was before. And holding on to his faith won’t be easy. Nor will keeping his family safe, and ending the terror. Because that might require him to step over lines he never dared to cross.
This was a different kind of book than I normally read.  It had a couple story lines going at the same time and it took me a while to figure out how they were related.  Jack was mixed in the middle of both stories.  He had to deal with his own family's worst nightmare while also figuring out what happened to Evan, a pastor gone missing.  In the end Jack and Evan both realize that they aren't in control of their lives but God is if they'll just believe.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Home Run

I received a copy of Home Run by Travis Thrasher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Baseball star Cory Brand knows how to win. But off the field, he’s spiraling out of control. Haunted by old wounds and regrets, his future seems as hopeless as his past. Until one moment—one mistake—changes everything. To save his career, Cory must go back to the town where it all began. His plan is simple: coach the local Little League baseball team, complete a recovery program, and get out as fast as possible. Instead, he runs headfirst into memories he can’t escape ... and the love he left behind. Faced with a second chance he never expected, Cory embarks on a journey of faith, transformation and redemption. And along the way, he discovers a powerful truth: No one is beyond the healing of God.
This was a really good book.  I would have liked to had to know more of what happens with Cory and his family at the end.  It kind of left things up in the air.  Cory seemed to me to be the typical great athlete - arrogant and self centered.  It's nice to know there are people out there like J. T. that have the heart for broken people and can get through to them.  If it wasn't for J. T.'s friendship I don't think Cory would have come around.