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The Messiah Secret (Chris Bronson #3)
by
James Becker
Assessing the contents of a lavish English estate, museum conservator Angela Lewis discovers a crate full of sealed pottery jars-one of which holds a parchment which describes the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.
For Angela, the find is a miracle-a written reference to Jesus outside of the New Testament. But her discovery draws her and her husband, Chris, into a centur
...moreebook, 480 pages
Published
December 7th 2010
by Signet Book
(first published July 8th 2010)
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In The Messiah Secret, Oliver Wendell-Carfax, who died while in the process of being robbed in his run down familial estate in the English countryside, leaves his houses’ contents to the British Museum. Angela Lewis is one of a team sent from the museum to appraise and pack those pieces that the museum will be interested in keeping. While there, she and her ex-husband, Detective Chris Bronson, who she’s still friends with and invited up for a visit, find a box with an itinerary and notes from O...more
Dec 10, 2011
Kristin Lundgren
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
artifact-thriller
Not bad - second book in a series (I think), but you don't have to know the first book at all. Standard issue artifact quest, and missing some of the deeper details in the book - he saves much of that for notes at the back. Just a little light for my tasre in these kinds of books, and would really give 3 /12 stars, but it wasn't bad - just took a lot of turns with no real reason behind some of the character's motivations. It lacked motive, besides what it was. That this museum worker and her cop...more
ربما كانت احدى مشاكلي مع هذه الرواية هي أن أول رواية قرأتها من هذه النوعية هي شفرة دافنشي...نفس المشكلة قابلتني عندما قرأت لبول سوسمان بعد هذا ثم هذه المرة عندما قرأت لجيمس بيكر....و شتان ما بين حبكة دان براون و قدرته على الإثارة و التشويق و سوق المعلومات و بين الروائيين الآخرين...و بغض النظر عن الحبكة..فالرواية لا تخلو من الملل و الرتم البطيء و بعض التصرفات غير المنطقية...هذا غير أن عنوان الرواية كان كافياً ليوضح للقارىء أن الرواية تتعلق بالبحث عن جسد المسيح لا تابوت العهد كما فوجىء أبطال الروا...more
There weren't really any characters I was completely invested in during this book. Props to not having the divorced main characters get back together, which seems to always happen in books like this. I found the different groups of characters a tad confusing, and I was so annoyed at the middle of the book when the Big Reveal wasn't actually revealed to us. Of course, the title of the book kind of explained it, but...
In any case, this was pretty standard for the genre and while I liked it, I wasn...more
In any case, this was pretty standard for the genre and while I liked it, I wasn...more
Becker does it again with a great novel, full of adventure, some drama, many great action scenes and the mandetory religious relic that could blow the top off Christianity if it is discovered. He takes us on more adventures and keeps the book flowing from the preface all the way through to the last scream. I have come to thoroughly enjoy Becker's work, even though some would rather criticise its lack of a literary foundation. Are books sometimes not meant to simply entertain? If not, why do we h...more
I really liked the intriguing first chapter. The author sets the characters up well; uses the technique of jumping from scene to scene between characters in chapters, but I couldn't say it was a page-turner. By the end, it's clear the author has an agenda, which is to disparage Christianity. He is a doubter and finds it necessary to add his own views in a short essay after the story. I probably won't read any of his other (2) novels as a result.
Aug 16, 2012
Andronicus Kok
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-ive-read-in-2011
Finished reading James Becker - The Messiah Secret. His 3rd book. Chris & Angela are being chased when they discover an ancient relic that leads them into unearthing a secret that would shake the very foundation of religion one that defies all origins!! Storyline was so so but the shocking truth took me by storm and has left me dumbfounded.. LOL :)
Similar to Da Vinci Code - but he's a better writer than Dan Brown. Mildly interesting but huge suspension of disbelief required that a policeman and Museum-based archaeologist can drop everything and set off on an adventure trip around the world on 5 minutes notice. What are we paying these civil servants that they can afford it and their bosses don't care?
According to the adverts at the back of this book he seems to have written the same book 3 times over; which may be why it felt a little for...more
According to the adverts at the back of this book he seems to have written the same book 3 times over; which may be why it felt a little for...more
Another great read from Mr. Becker.Another tale of a religious relic hidden for many years and Bronson and Lewis go on the hunt and on their travels are nearly killed several times and yet they survuve and find the relic.
The question that lingers is will they ever get back together romatically?
Who knows.
Another good read.
The question that lingers is will they ever get back together romatically?
Who knows.
Another good read.
I enjoyed this book for all of the historical information that was included in the story. I also enjoyed the part which took place in Egypt, since I was familiar with most of the locations. As I have noticed in some of the books that I have read lately, some authors take great care in developing the story line but, then when the ending comes, it happens so quickly that the reader is left say, "what just happened?"
I bought it in an airport over the holidays. Don't waste your money. Though he writes fiction, the author has a clear agenda: shed doubt on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. If you read this book, be sure to also read "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus," by Habermas & Licona. It will set you straight.
Very interesting read. Set in the present but full of fascinating historical facts. The story is fictional but because of the factual content it becomes very intriguing. You begin to question what you know. He has also written the Moses stone and the first apostle which I can highly recommend.
The plot was very interesting and really made you think. Unfortunately, I could not give it 5 stars because the plot is the only thing that carries the story. The characters are two dimensional, at best, and you find yourself not really caring much about them. I did enjoy the author's epilogue where he added some more facts and opinions on the topic. Makes you realize how sanitized religion can be.
This was an interesting book that uses the myth of Jesus to examine an alternate ending to his tale. The story pits the Church against archeologists and a billionaire who wants to use potential genetic material from a corpse to make money. It was a fun read.
Lots of action and fast paced but fairly predictable. Everybody is looking for a lost relic, one bad guy wants it so he can make more money and the other bad guy - a priest - wants to destroy it as it's discovery would have serious implications for christianity.
Jul 28, 2011
Helen Maltby
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
21st-century,
2011,
crime,
fiction,
mythology,
religion,
set-in-england,
set-in-middle-east
Quite good for this genre. Definitely what I would call holiday reading. The biggest problem was that the title gave away the big twist. The author was trying to through in a red herring but it didn't work.
Would like to read his previous two.
Would like to read his previous two.
Yet again I really loved this adventure featuring Chris Bronson - I love story lines which involve historical references but also have lots of action and intrigue with strong characters and this fits the bill nicely.
God-weepingly awful. Nepotism alive and well in the publishing world it seems, there can be no other explanation as to why a tree suffered the indignity of being pulped into this brain melting offal.
Good premise in the story. A long lost s roll describes the burial place of Jesus and 3 sets of people go searching for it. Some parts are very violent.
Gave up half way through. This book seemed like it was trying to be The Da Vinci Code, but I didn't care at all about the characters. I'm moving on to greener pastures.
Never read anything by this author, and probably won't again. Book was too graphic and confusing. Could have been really good but missed the mark.
a quick read, not as in depth as most books who deal in this type of adventure. found the authors need to justify his plot at the end overkill. an easy read for a holiday.
Dec 23, 2010
Michele bookloverforever
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
thriller
predictable. run of the mill. but engaging characters..an easy read (for me 2 hrs). Evil is punished, the good survive.
Decent book for Da Vinci Code genre fans. Lots of fluff but all in all a satisfactory religious thriller.
Dry, boring reading. More time was spent on technical aspects of archaelogy than on story.
OK, but not as good as many and, as the author's afterward makes clear, the author has an agenda.
enjoyed this book and kept me occupied once my contractions started haha
Good story - can't put my finger on why I didn't rate it higher.
Read like a grossly diluted Davinci Code. The only really interesting part of this book is the very end when the "great secret" was revealed but that interest ended quickly with what unexpectedly happened to "the secret" after it was discovered.
Definitely the first time I've heard of Jesus as a bhudist prophet.
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James Becker spent over twenty years in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air arm and served during Falklands War . Throughout his career he has been involved in covert operations in many of the world's hotspots; places like Yemen, Northern Ireland and Russia. He is an accomplished combat pistol shot and has an abiding interest in ancient and medieval history.
More about James Becker...
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