Elisha's Bones by Don Hoesel - reviewed

"I don't belong here. But I open the door anyway." (p. 315)





I never fully decided whether it was curiosity or anger at God that served as the driving force in Dr. Jack Hawthorne's life. See, Dr. Hawthorne - Jack - is the main character in Don Hoesel's debut novel, Elisha's Bones, and his struggle against the reality of a sovereign God is still resounding within my heart. For you see, it is a battle we all must fight - just before we surrender to the irresistible grace of our loving Savior.





Elisha's Bones is a unique and powerful debut novel. Jack Hawthorne's character has emblazoned itself in my mind as a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. When he is ripped from his safe academic environment by an irresistible archeological mystery and a limitless supply of money with which to pursue it, things become both exhilarating and deadly. A dying man is seeking new life at any cost, and he plans to use Jack Hawthorne only until he proves himself no longer useful.





What Jack nor his billionaire employer planned to encounter s the malevolent evil that has warred against God for all eternity. Jack's associates - nay his very brother - become little more than a trail of death in the wake of a holy relic that is supposed to contain the power to bring the dead back to life. Jack Hawthorne must determine whether or not he will believe in an all-powerful God, or whether he will shun Him for what he perceives to be limitless evil. Will he fall on those who defend the holy relic or those who are determined to misuse the power it is supposed to contain?





The answer is both amazing and heart-wrenching in its reality. Through non-stop action, multiple face-offs with death itself, heartbreaking loss and physical pain Jack Hawthorne battles his way to the brink of his own eternal destiny. There he discovers that there are some things worth dying for. There is something so powerful that it reaches the most avowed skeptic - and Jack must face it head-on.





You will not BELIEVE how much can take place in the short span of 330 pages! Your mouth will hang slack-jawed at the surprising twists and turns along the way! More than once I'd hear myself say, "Oh no!" only to shake my head in wonder at the turn of the page. The last fifty pages will practically give you heart failure! The ending...not what I expected, but extremely satisfying!





If Elisha's Bones is Don Hoesel's debut, well... I hope to read his stories the rest of my days! Incredible, intelligent, action-packed writing take you all over the world only to end up in the deepest parts of man's heart and his need for a touch from One who designed it all in the first place. Pick up your copy today!!

Read the first chapter here!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but calls Spring Hill, TN home.
He works as a Communications Department supervisor for a Medicare carrier and hopes to one day sell enough books to just say that he's a writer. You can help with that by buying whatever his newest novel happens to be.