I have read The Bard and The Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, blog posts, and prayers by Bob Hostetler, but The Bone Box is the first Christian thriller I have read by the author.
I loved the narrative flow and style throughout the book. What a joyous experience to segue effortlessly from one thought to the next and hear stylistic music.
This novel includes a dual timeline. The first features archaeologist Randall Bullock and Israeli Sergeant Major Miri Sharon. I enjoyed the dialogue between the two and found myself carried into the storyline. The second went back to A.D. 26 and included Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas.
My favorite relationship was between Randall and his estranged daughter, Tracy. The pull toward and away from having a relationship with her father rang true and added to the logistical nightmare of circumnavigating the Israeli authorities to find him. While the second storyline deepened my understanding of artifacts and history, I found myself enthralled by the lives of Randall, Miri, and Tracy, to the point that I felt peevish about switching gears and slowing down to A.D. 26.
I would have preferred Hostetler sticking with the contemporary storyline—nothing fancy or extra needed. But then I read Chapter 40, with its conflict-ridden dialogue between Pilate and Caiaphas, and became instantly hooked. I loved learning more about Caiaphas’s historical background and enjoyed the philosophical distinction between “believing” and “following” Christ, which was challenging.
I thought the narrator, T. Ryder Smith, did an excellent job with the pacing and delivery of the narrative. This male narrator performed convincingly for male and female voice parts, and I had no difficulty making the switch between characters.
If you like Christian thrillers, The Bone Box by Bob Hostetler may be an excellent choice. Other Christian thrillers you may appreciate include Dead Sea Rising: A Novel by Jerry B. Jenkins, another dual-timeline novel, and Fear Has a Name: A Novel by Creston Mapes, a contemporary thriller.
