Elisha's Bones

Plans change for antiquities professor Jack Hawthorne when billionaire Gordon Reese hands him an irresistable offer to follow a rumor. Joined by colleague Esperanza Habilla, Jack searches for the prophet Elisha's bones---believed to reverse death---and stumbles upon a shadowy organization with long-kept secrets. Will they uncover the truth before the society catches them? 352 pages, softcover from Bethany.

Average Rating:

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Reviewed by Tim George (Pensacola FL), November 04, 2009

Elisha’s Bones has just about everything one could ask for in an action adventure story: a flawed and somewhat misplaced hero, a love interest from the past sucked back into his chaotic profession, and a billionaire willing to spend his life’s fortune and the lives of whoever gets in the way of his slim hopes of life. Add to that a farfetched yet vaguely plausible biblical mystery and Don Hoesel’s debut suspense novel make an entertaining and intelligent read. At the center of the story is Jack Hawthorne, a professor of archeology at a small North Carolina University with a back story that won’t wait. When an elusive billionaire dangles an unlimited budget for a short time archeological adventure to search for something that can’t possibly exist, Jack can’t resist. Within weeks his life is a tangled mess of international intrigue, murdered friends, and an ancient conspiracy that would have best been left buried. Written in first person present tense, the story has an immediacy that puts one inside this man’s shoes as he becomes first obsessed with a mystery and then running for his life with a woman he has been given an undeserved second chance with. Hoesel gives us, in Elisha’s Bones, something Dan Brown attempts in the Da Vinci Code and the The Lost Symbol minus Brown’s seeming axe to grind against all things religious. While you may scratch your head at the end of the book and doubt if such a thing could really happen, you will also find yourself the next day wondering if perhaps it has. This is the kind of story that works on so many levels just about anyone who loves good fast-paced suspense can enjoy. If you want, consider its themes about faith, life, and death. Or, just fasten your seatbelt and join Jack and Espy as they race from Mayan pyramids in Venezuela, to Coptic churches in Ethiopia, to the vast outback for Australia. Either way, you won’t be disappointed when you discover what might have happened to Elisha’s bones.

Reviewed by Linda Fullerton (Thomasville, GA), May 09, 2009

I found that this book dragged a little with all of the location settings. I will admit that the ending was a bit of a surprise.

Reviewed by Christy Lockstein (Oconto Falls, WIsconsin), April 22, 2009

Elisha's Bones by Don Hoesel is a pulse-pounding action filled thriller in the vein of The DaVinci Code, but written well! Jack Hawthorne gave up working in the field as an archaeologist to work as a college professor after the mysterious death of his brother. He's lured back into one of his old digs in Venezuela when a reclusive billionaire hires him to find the biblical prophet Elisha's bones which are rumored to have the power to resurrect the dead. Hawthorne reconnects with his old fiance (and she reconnects her fist with his face), Espy, who is a language expert. But every time Jack and Espy make a discovery, someone dies, and they are on the run for their lives, especially when he learns that this quest is connected to his brother's death.Hoesel has created a humorous self-deprecating character who has a lot to learn about himself and relationships. Espy is more than just his female foil, she's smart with a lot of heart and wants very much to share her new faith with Jack, but he's not quite ready yet. I fully intended to go to bed at a reasonable hour Monday night, but I because so caught up in the story, I didn't get to sleep until I finished it, after 1:30 am. So this book comes with a reader's warning: Don't pick it up unless you have the time to finish it, because it's too good to put down!

Reviewed by Cara Putman (Lafayette, IN), April 06, 2009

This is a debut novel filled with intense pacing, fresh writing, and richly layered characters. It's also filled with continent hopping as Jack Hawthrone and his old flame attempt to find Elisha's bones before they're killed. The suspense will keep the pages turning as the intrigue reaches DaVinci Code levels but in a much better written package. I loved this book, and hope the author has others releasing soon.

Reviewed by Shaun Tabatt (Cottage Grove, MN), March 23, 2009

Jack Hawthorne was well settled into the quiet and routine life of an archaeology professor at Evanston University in Ellen, North Carolina. It was only six years previous that a personal tragedy in Egypt had caused him to trade in the spade and meter stick of the field archaeologist in favor of textbooks and classrooms, the seemingly safer tools of the archaeology professor. Christmas break is just around the corner and Jack has every intention of spending it watching ESPN, eating frozen cookie dough out of the wrapper, and doing anything else he might wish to pass the time. That is, until his plans are suddenly derailed by a visit from a mysterious man claiming to represent billionaire Gordon Reese. Jack can’t help but wonder what use a man like Gordon Reese would have for an archaeology professor like him. As it turns out, Reese wants Jack to take up what seems a fool’s quest; finding the bones of the prophet Elisha. This quest is anything but new to Reese, who has been pursuing the bones for some time. As a dying man, Reese has more money than time and time is running out. Intrigued by the prospects of a little adventure, Jack can’t help but agree to Reese’s proposal. At worst, a fool’s quest funded by a blank check backed by a billionaire would be more exciting than three weeks of ESPN and frozen cookie dough. Jack soon finds that he got much more than he bargained for. The quest for Elisha’s bones will take Jack across the globe to the likes of Venezuela, Ethiopia and elsewhere. As the quest progresses and the stakes rise increasingly higher, the focus of the quest becomes less and less about finding the bones and more about finishing or getting out of the quest with his life. As fate would have it, finding the bones may be the only way to do it.

Reviewed by Herb Flinkman (Cissna Park, IL), March 23, 2009

This is an outstanding action novel! I was somewhat skeptical when I bought it since I had not heard of this author. But what a great surprise! It was excellent and definitely engaged you right from the beginning. I look forward to more great work from this fellow!

Reviewed by Rel Mollet (Australia), March 19, 2009

Elisha's Bones is a brilliantly satisfying adventure from debut novelist, Don Hoesel. Imbuing Jack with a dry wit and a self deprecating personality, Don has created one of the most fascinating characters I've had the pleasure to read. Spiritually conflicted and relationally challenged, Jack's interaction with his former fiancee, the fiery Esperanza, adds spice and intensity to the rapid fire action that doesn't let up as they travel over four continents. Nailing the balance between heart pounding danger, Jack's exceptional first person voice and the baffling lure of the unknown, Don has a sure fire hit on his hands. If you like Bronleewe's August Adams and the fast pacing of Liparulo's thrillers, you are going love Dr Jack Hawthorne and Elisha's Bones.

Reviewed by Ginny Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), February 16, 2009

An acclaimed archeologist has left the exciting life of active excavations and digs, and is living the dull but safe life of a college professor. Then he gets a call from one of the richest men in the world, and is asked to undertake a little project -- find the bones of the prophet Elisha, which are reported to resurrect the dead. The task takes him on a fast-paced globe trotting trip, uncovering a centuries-old trail and unearthing some dangerous people who will stop at nothing to keep him from his goal. I really enjoyed this book! It reads like a cross between Indiana Jones and Robert Ludlum, a formula for sure-fire excitement. I don't know if the author really as been to all those exotic places, but he writes like he's intimately familiar with them. And this is his debut novel! I'm going to keep my eye out for Don Hoesel's future books.

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