Blood and Bones by Don Hoelsel

A decade after Serpent of Moses, Jack is married to Espy and back teaching at Evanston University. They have two sons, one of whom has cystic fibrosis. Despite this challenge, life is comfortable. But that all changes when the CIA, while combing through the papers of the late Gordon Reese, uncovers the secret of Elisha's bones. Jack's world is then turned upside down by an urgent call from his old friend Duckey, who's been alerted to the CIA's probing by one of his former contacts. Jack and his family escape from their home just ahead of the CIA, and he decides to do what he should have done long ago: recover the bones and destroy them. Except the bones aren't where he left them.

 This is the third book in the Jack Hawthorn series. I have read the first two and was excited to see that the third book was being published. I knew that another great adventure was just waiting beyond the cover of the book.

 This book finds Jack and Espy about 10 years after the end of “Serpent of Moses”. They have settled into a regular family life in North Carolina. Jack has returned to the profession of teaching that he has dreamed of. They have a comfortable, stable life with two sons, one which has cystic fibrosis. And all it takes is one phone call to shatter their tranquil lifestyle. With his family in danger, Jack and Espy set out to recover the bones of the prophet, Elisha and the healing power that they hold. Being chased from country to country by the CIA and a clandestine group bent on protecting their secrets, this story takes you on an adventure never seen before. Can they track down the bones after so many years? Who is behind all of this danger his family is in? If he can find the bones, should he turn them over to the group threatening him or should he keep them to heal his son? Danger abounds and questions are answered, but you will only find out if you BUY THE BOOK!

 Once again I was not disappointed with the writing style of Mr. Hoesel. The story hooks you from the beginning and takes you on a wild ride. He develops realistic characters, characters that make you cheer for them, characters that make you down when tragedy befalls them. Yes, I felt there were some issues with storyline, (ie – A couple on the run but can hop from country to country without fear of being stopped along the way, their children being kidnapped but the parents acting as if that happened to them every day and they had already gotten used to the ideal) but this is a fiction book, so I’ll let it slide this time.


 Is this a guy’s book? There doesn’t seem to be any reason that a guy wouldn’t read this book, unless they haven’t read the other books in the series, then they just need to buy them all. The action, the adventure, the settings all will draw you into this book and keep you reading for hours

About the Author

Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but calls Spring Hill, TN home.

He works in the Communications Department 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.

 *I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.