Recent Reads {The Bell Messenger}

The Bell Messenger by Robert Cornuke with Alton Gansky - It surprised me to see the Cornuke has also written some works of fiction, and piqued my curiosity, but I did manage to find this one through my local library.  The story follows a Bible as it passes from one 'messenger' to another, always with the challenge to "Be God's messenger as I have been."  The Bible is first passed from a young Confederate named Elijah Bell to the Union officer who shot him, and from there the Bible journeys around the world with its various owners.  Cornuke uses parallel storylines beginning with the Union officer, Jeremiah Tate, and the modern-day recipient of the Bible, Gary Brandon.  Gary receives the Bible as a graduation gift from an alcoholic uncle and begins to research the names recorded in the Bible in an attempt to find its true owner and its history.  Tate takes the Bible with him to San Francisco, and it passes through the hands of a Chinese doctor, a new bride on her honeymoon tour of Egypt, a soldier during the Great War, and a treasure-hunter seeking gold in Saudi Arabia.  The story is enjoyable, and as I expected from Cornuke, full of well-researched historical background.  I'm not sure the ending was completely satisfying, but I won't give it away. ;-)

By the same author: In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah, In Search of the Mountain of God, In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant,  The Lost Shipwreck of Paul