Publication date: March 6, 2012; Touchtone Books
Genre: thriller
Objective rating: 4/5
When biblical archaeologist Zoe Bradbury doesn't return home from the Greek island of Corfu as planned, her parents call on the son of an old friend to find out why. Former SAS operative Ben Hope has given up his old life of rescuing kidnap victims in dangerous situations and is now a theology student at Oxford University, so he sends his old SAS buddy Charles instead.
Things deteriorate pretty quickly when Charles calls from Corfu, wanting backup, and Ben heads out to the island only to find himself enmeshed in unexpected violence. An explosion in an outdoor cafe not only kills and maims a lot of people but signals to Ben that Zoe's disappearance is much more than it seemed at first.
Biblical prophecies, the Book of Revelations, and evangelical beliefs in the Rapture and End of Days fuel the plot of this novel. I found it fast paced and a good thriller, well written and quite easy to read. Ben's divided and haunted character is sympathetic as he goes from theology student back to his old life, while still dealing with the psychological wounds of his wife's death.
The character of the biblical scholar Zoe was not as believable. Zoe behaves like a spoiled, heedless young woman, which is quite at odds with the well know archaeologist and scholar she is supposed to be. For the sake of the plot, however, I overlooked this for the most part.
I am now interested in the other books featuring Ben Hope. This is the 7th in the series.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book.
Though it's not my regular genre, this does sound rather interesting, and I am wondering if this one will stand alone without the other 6 to back it up. This was a great review today, and I need to see if I can find this book. Very perceptive thoughts, especially about Zoe.
ReplyDeleteStand alone book in a series featuring the same main character.
DeleteThis one sounds interesting. I don't read much of this genre, but I'll keep it in mind if I feel like trying something different.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a good review. I'll look out for this.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Not entirely sure this is one that I would read but I actually do know someone that would probably jump right on this one!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review. I hadn't heard of this book or series before but it sounds intriguing and something I'd like.
ReplyDeleteMason
Thoughts in Progress