Don Hoesel

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 4 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Ariel


Blood and Bone by Don Hoesel was a great archaeological adventure that was reminiscent of the Indiana Jones franchise. The third in the Jack Hawthorne Adventure series, it was still easy to read and get through without reading the first two (although I will be picking those up as well). Jack Hawthorne and his wife, Esperanza (aka Espy) have retired from archaeology and have been show more focusing on raising their two boys, Alex and Jim. All of this changes when Jack’s friend Duckie calls him, warning him to flee. Years ago, Jack, Espy, and Espy’s brother Romero, buried the bones of biblical prophet Elisha in the deserts of Australia, never to be seen again. Now, Jack must recover the bones to keep him and his family alive.

The plot of this novel was amazing, I love a good historical adventure, and Blood and Bone does the trick. The search of Elisha’s bones takes Jack and Espy to Australia, Russia, and France, and the novel never gets dull at any point. If the two aren’t being chased by any of the three organizations that are after them, they are piecing together clues to take them one step closer to their goal. The clues were really fascinating to me, but it did make the novel a little hard to follow at times because I wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. However, I love watching people figure clues such as these out, and once Jack and Espy figured out the clues, it was easy to go back and see how they pieced it all together.

Jack and Espy are a wonderful couple, and they kept me entertained throughout the entire novel. Jack is definitely more of the daredevil, the risk taker, the one more likely to throw caution to the wind, whereas Espy is more rational and keeps Jack in check. This does not make her any less enthusiastic to go on their adventure, however. There are multiple moments where Jack either has an idea, or gets them into a mess, and Espy proceeds to start a string of Spanish that Jack doesn’t understand, but knows she would never say in front of the boys. And Espy is the one who speaks multiple languages and is able to help the two of them navigate through the country by gaining the locals’ trust.

There are about three different organizations after Jack and Espy throughout the novel, and while this definitely adds to the intensity of the novel, I got to the point where I started to wonder who WASN’T after them. The only other gripe I really had with the novel was I felt that the ending was really anti-climactic. I was left with a couple of questions that weren’t resolved, which always bothers me.

Overall, Blood and Bone gets 4 out of 5 controllers. Despite the unsatisfying ending, it was a phenomenal read, and an exciting adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. I definitely look forward to reading more works by Hoesel. show less

This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Imagine a Dan Brown wannabe who's out to prove God exists--only with a truly outlandish plot, writing that is about at the level of an 8 year old, and utterly unbelievable characters who are one dimensional at their best. The "plot" revolves around a secret group who, taking over from the ancient Israelites who preserved the prophet Elisha's bones, which supposedly can bring the dead back to life, pass the bones from one set of "caretakers" to show more another down through the ages, managing to wind up in such places as Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Australia. The characters act in totally unbelievable ways, the plot is made up of loose ends, and in what I consider a truly outrageous interpretation, killing is justified to keep the secrets of the bones, using the excuse that even the ancient Israelite priests killed to keep the secret. And yet the protagonist "finds God" in two sentences, after he learns how to kill.

This book is an insult to intelligence and to the Judeo-Christian faith community.

Avoid this like the plague. show less

I can't resist books that look like religious thrillers. I don't know why, since I have yet to find one that's satisfying in any way. Elisha's Bones has an interesting enough premise. The bones of the biblical prophet Elisha have the power to bring back the dead, so an old, rich, and terminally ill man hires our protagonist (an skeptic archaeologist with a tragic past, natch) to find them and retrieve them. What follows is a bunch of globe trotting, whizzing bullets, and exploding cars, all show more leading to an extremely unsatisfying ending. Unfortunately there are no real surprises in this book and no real twists. You see what the author is about to do long before he does it and are left with a sense of disappointment. show less

2 1/2 stars. It was three stars until the author got himself hopelessly lost in Australia. A few hours more research would have given him the information he needed to avoid looking silly.
The characters were well described, and the story was interesting enough, although it's not typical reading for me. There wasn't much that was overtly Christian in the story. That in itself doesn't bother me. But what did bother me was the way the author incorporated the Christianity that was included. It show more felt like it was tacked onto the story simply because it was supposed to be there as a Christian fiction publication. For example, Esperanza has become a Christian since Jack last saw her, but each time she talks about her faith it's as though someone else is talking. She slips out of character for a brief few seconds to talk faith, and then she's back to normal.
I don't know, maybe that's how Christians are in reality. Sad thought.
Anyhow, it was fairly enjoyable, but I won't be seeking anymore books by this author. show less