The Sacred Bones: A Novel

Charlotte Hennesey #1

by Michael Byrnes

A brazen and violent crime occurs at the crossroads of the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish faiths—the shocking theft of ancient artifacts hidden for many centuries in a secret vault beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount. In its wake, thirteen Israeli policemen and soldiers are dead—and the fuse is lit on a volatile Mideast powder keg, threatening an explosion that could devastate the world.

In Italy, American forensic scientist Charlotte Hennesey has answered a Vatican summons asking for help. Joining with Italian anthropologist Giovanni Bersei, she embarks upon a perilous journey down a twisted path of revelations prowled by sinister zealots and relentless cold killers. For they must expose the astonishing secrets locked in the ancient bones resting in a newly unearthed burial box—the skeleton of a man who lived and died in the first century; a man who was scourged and stabbed . . . and crucified.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Religion, Novels

373 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Michael Byrnes is the internationally bestselling author of The Sacred Bones, The Sacred Blood, and the The Genesis Plague. Bounty is his latest novel. Mike earned his undergraduate degree from Montclair State University and his MBA from Rutgers University. He currently lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for these books. I always love a blend of real history and fiction with a touch of secret conspiracies. This one fits the bill nicely.

With a good cast and, for once, very little romance getting in the way the book rolls smoothly along keeping me wanting to know more. The two sides of the story were well entwined with neither side getting boring before switching keeping them both fresh.

An enjoyable book with a little twist near the end I liked I look forward to reading the next book which is already sitting on my shelf.

[Christine Zibas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The publication of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has inspired many authors to write their own takes on what may have happened in the life of Jesus and following his death. With a history rich in relics, Knights Templar, and Middle Eastern machinations, The Sacred Bones by author Michael Byrnes is part of this segment of mysteries surrounding the question of just what happened to Jesus after his death in Jerusalem. Unlike other books in this subgenre, however, Byrnes brings a fresh twist to his story by incorporating the current situation in Middle Eastern politics into his novel.

The novel begins with an explosion in the Islamic mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the confluence point of three major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Each group has a role to play in the novel, as does the Vatican, who secretly authorized the undercover action to steal the ossuary (a stone box containing ancient bones) from a secret room within the mosque's underground chambers. Once the ossuary has been moved to the Vatican, a young American forensic scientist begins to unravel the mystery not only of the bones themselves, but also story accompanying the theft.

Each religious group in the novel has its own agenda and preferred outcome to the situation. As a result, there is a story of ensuing madness and mayhem. With so many rogue elements coming from all sides (Israeli police, Vatican clergy, Islamic leaders), the story is soon filled with plots and subplots, chases and gun battles, death and destruction, as the clues are doled out. Although the central mystery of the novel (just whose bones are those?) is quickly uncovered by the readers, there is much to like about this fresh take on an old tale.

Author Michael Byrnes is able to infuse his story with historical detail, plot twists, and a panoply of characters and motives to keep the action fresh, even while adhering to a familiar storyline. What could have been another poorly done Dan Brown imitation has instead turned out to be something rather more contemporary, infused with interesting forensics and the willingness on the part of all major religious groups in the novel to compromise the truth for current political expediency. Indeed Byrnes rescues the familiar and makes it his own, set against an interesting background of the juxtaposition of the old and new. For those looking for a good religious thriller that can stand on its own literary feet, The Sacred Bones is sure to satisfy.

[Will Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

There must be a particular sub-genre of the action-adventure novel, one that relies on a discovery from antiquity that has real-world implications for power in the 21st century, or that upends hundreds or thousands of years of presumed wisdom. Surely the top of this heap is The DaVinci Codes. Righteous Men by Sam Bourne and Map of Bones by James Rollins pop to mind. There are many others. In this one, an ossuary is discovered under the Temple Mount. Could the bones found there in be those of Jesus? Vatican operatives, a New York-born Hassidic leader in Israel, an attractive American geneticist, an Israeli and French archaeologist all vie to unveil the truth. This is set in a political context as well. What impact might the potential or real discoveries have on politics in the region. Armageddon is mentioned. This is a fun, by the numbers adventure. The characters are as thin as the paper you read, but then characterization is not the point here. Fun, speed, things blowing up, people shooting guns, exotic venues, ancient mystery, volatile contemporary politics all figure here. Characters are merely the delivery mechanisms. It is a page-turner, one that offers a bit of payload regarding Middle East history, biblical research, genetics and will be forgotten within minutes of completion. Candy for the brain. As long as you recognize this sort of product for what it is, that’s fine. It does its job well. But if you are looking for anything literary or substantial, this would leave you wanting.

[Radwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

يا للأسف
كان عندى آمال كبيرة بساعات من القراءة الممتعة مع تلك الرواية, لكنها- مثل كثير قبلها و أكثر بعدها - خذلتنى.
ما جذبنى إليها أولا هو العبارة المطبوعة على الغلاف الأخير بأنها ( أخيرا رواية تنافس شفرة دافنشى), و لأننى أعجبت جدا برواية شفرة دافنشى فقد ابتعتها و أنا أدرك أن التشابه بين الروايتين منذ البداية سيكون كبيرا.
الرواية متشعبة كثيرا على أكثر من محور : رواية صلب السيد المسيح و قيامه من الموت , هيكل سليمان أسفل المسجد الأقصى و مدى صحة ادعاءات اليهود حول وجوده, حقيقة فرسان الهيكل ( و هو موضوع محبب كثيرا لدى الكتاب الغربيين كما هو واضح مع شفرة دافنشى)و صراع الفاتيكان مع من يملكون أسرارا من شأنها تقويض سلطة الكنيسة بكشف حقائق جديدة.
لقد فقدت التركيز مع بداية النصف الثانى من الرواية و أصبحت القراءة كعبء ثقيل أتساءل متى سأجتازه. أما آخر خمسين صفحة مثلا فلم أعد أعلم عما تتكلم بالضبط و ما مصير الكتاب أو التابوت ...الخ لذلك صراحة لا أعلم نهاية الرواية أصلا.
النجمتان فقط لبعض الحقائق التاريخية و العلمية المذكورة فى الرواية ليس إلا.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are in Dan Brown "DaVinci Code" territory with this book, published in 2007. It's a thriller involving speculation about religion. As in "The DaVinci Code," there's a secret that, if exposed, could blow up the Catholic Church, so zealous defenders of their church will stop at nothing to suppress the truth. I enjoyed the story. There was some action, but I did not feel it went over the top, as in some thrillers.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I said I was done with religious historical mystery suspense thrillers, but apparently not. This was a good one! A secret crypt is found deep beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It contains ten ossuaries--stone boxes that hold a dead person's bones. One of these ossuaries is elaborately decorated and holds the bones of an unidentified crucified man. Our crack geneticist makes a series of unexpected discoveries that lead her to wonder: could these be the bones of Jesus Christ??

(Although the bones depicted on the cover of the book are clearly not the bones of Jesus Christ. The nails are going through the palms--executioners actually put the nails through the wrists, because the hands are too soft to hold the body's weight up on a cross. Everybody knows that!)

If you liked The Da Vinci Code, I recommend this book. If you like CSI, you might also like this book!

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea, but extremely descriptive. Byrnes seems to need to give a description of the background of every single character on introduction, making the early part of the book tedious to read. The dialogue is direct and the characters have no evolution through the story (bar one lesser character). A frustrating read up to the last 100 pages when the story picks up a bit. Even then, the dramatic climax was mostly explanation (for the bulk of those last 100 pages). There were no surprises, and the bad guy was shown as evil from the start. An intriguing idea - Byrnes' information was broad and interesting - but not a well told story.

[☆Ruth☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm about 60% through with this book and I'm not sure if I'll finish it. There are marked similarities with Dan Brown's Inferno and I thoroughly disliked that book. This is marginally more interesting but also silly and unbelievable in many places.... including two supposedly world class scientists who don't appear to have a brain cell between them.

[David Schwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of two books. A book mysteriously shows up in the Vatican which leads to events in Jerusalem. A group of thieves break into a secret room and take something that could rewrite the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Lots of bad guys, a few good guys, and at least one person you are unsure of until late in the book. For people who like this genre--well worth reading.

[Muireann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like a trashy holiday read very occasionally and this certainly was that. Why do the protagonists in these things always wear chinos and crisp shirts? And why would anyone give a crap? The female one has 'striking emerald green eyes' naturally, and another minor female character who only exists so her male colleague can refuse after work drinks in order to somehow protect his dessicated marriage has 'hypnotic blue eyes'. Of the male characters' eye colours alas not one word is spoken, apart from Jesus who has blue eyes because of course.
I have added an extra star for a line in one of the very last chapters which is so Partridgeanily glorious that it made the whole thing worthwhile.

'Finally, she had achieved a good night's sleep. All it had taken were a couple of glasses of wine and a sleeping pill. The unexpected and utterly gratifying bout of lovemaking hadn't hurt, either.'

[Mihaela C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dan Brown style is felt in each chapter; however a really good story and very well presented. I believe is the kind of book which has the power to make almost each reader to further research on the events and places presented. The ending feels a bit rushed and leaves the reader with some questions but an overall very good book.

[Nuzo Onoh]

A decorated stone box hiding mysterious ancient bones; Conspiracy and intrigues in high places; Rich history, lots of twists and brilliant pace.

The Sacred Bones is a book I'll recommend to anyone that's read and loved Dan Brown's The Da vinci Code.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

So once you get beyond the cover art (i.e., crucifixion spikes were driven through the wrists and only smaller nails were driven through the palms, if at all), you enter a fun little book that so wants to be The DaVinci Code meets CSI. The dust jacket reveals that the author studied theology, which I found kind of interesting as you wouldn't expect such a person to be as likely to go to the conspiracy theory place. Of course, I was no less surprised by the fact that someone with such a background would misattribute some of the terminology used by the assorted stakeholders in the book. Specifically, when reckoning dates, Jews use the terms B.C.E./C.E. (before the common era/common era) rather than the B.C./A.D. labels--given the fact that they don't see Christ as the Messiah, so don't relate all notions of time in reference to him. Thus, in the story, it ought to be the IDF folks who use this nomenclature, and not the Muslims. Equally annoying is the fact that dates are consistently miscited as 1200 A.D. (vs. A.D. 1200, which is the correct form). Nor, for that matter, would a scientist ever call it "carbon dating." Instead, he/she would more likely say radiocarbon dating or--even likelier given the storyline--he/she would simply refer to it as an AMS date. And they send a single sample to a single lab?! I don't think so! (Even less likelier given whose remains we are led to believe these are.) Seeming petty details, but collectively they undermine the very exactitude that the author has otherwise worked so hard to suggest. Despite the fact that in my estimation this book totally stretched my willing suspension of disbelief past the breaking point, I adored the character Rafak, the highly-placed Palestinian troubleshooter. He consistently exuded a level of calm, he appreciated the high-stakes political nature of the theft, the duplicitous nature of many of the parties involved in the so-called investigation, and was the one ray of verisimilitude in this otherwise pretty contrived story. He, in fact, is what garnered the book a third star in this review. As a concept, I really enjoyed the book--a clever new wrinkle on an old question--however its execution was not as sophisiticated as I would have hoped. Everything was too tidied up--and utterly improbably so--by book's end. In the last few pages the story devolved from the Vatican intrigue of The Name of the Rose to a Dirk Pitt novel. And that's a darned shame, because these characters--and this reader--deserved better.

[Ioana Corina Sava · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nu mi-a plăcut. Autorul, deşi vrea să introducă în naraţiune o schemă cinematografică, pentru a ne arăta cum se derulează acţiunea în diferite unghiuri spaţio-temporale, nu face decât să creeze o harababură totală: episoadele sale se termină brusc, pentru a lăsa loc altora, iar personajele sale nu sunt memorabile. Nu găsesc niciun personaj de care să mă pot ataşa.

În niciun caz această carte nu poate fi comparată cu "Codul lui DaVinci" a lui Dan Brown, aşa cum se laudă coperta. Dan Brown este un narator desăvârşit, reuşind să creeze, prin figura profesorului Robert Langdon, acel gen de personaj alături de care eşti de la primul paragraf până la ultimul punct şi pe care nu-l poţi uita. Îmi aduc aminte chiar şi de Silas şi de călugăriţa aceea care se temea foarte mult de acesta. Caracterele lui Brown nu sunt şterse, ci bine conturate, spre deosebire de cele ale lui Byrnes, de care am şi uitat cum se numeau.

Pe de altă parte, însă, descrierile sale sunt destul de bune, iar uneori te ţine în suspans. Un episod care mi-a plăcut foarte mult a fost momentul în care protagoniştii au pătruns în catacombele Romei şi s-au luptat acolo.

Nu recomand cartea nimănui din cauza gustului său fad pe care mi l-a lăsat. Mediocră. Îi las doar 3 steluţe.

[Paola Sánchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Sacred Bones', o 'Relictum' en su edición en español, es un libro que pretende ser una mezcla entre un thriller con tintes religiosos al estilo de 'The Da Vinci Code' y el programa televisivo 'Bones'.

La mezcla de las ideas presenta una buena amalgama y la lectura es bastante fluida; aún cuando no sepamos absolutamente nada sobre genética y anatomía, la historia de la religión católica o sobre los marcos político-religiosos de las disputas entre musulmanes y judíos, el autor nos proporciona la información necesaria para entender la trama con un lenguaje simple.

Este trabajo tiene los elementos necesarios para mantenernos pendientes de la historia, sin aburrir al lector pero sin ser extremadamente complicada. El final del libro lo puedo definir como un final predecible para este género, pero sin caer en la categoría de 'malo'.

Finalmente puedo decir que no se trata de un libro que vaya a cambiar tu forma de ver la religión o que vaya a crear una verdadera duda en su fundamentación, pero vale la pena leerlo y darle una oportunidad de entretenerte

[Azza · Rating 4 out of 5]

تقاطع الديانات السماوية الثلاثة وفلسفة الخير والشر وصراع الضمير الإنساني، والذهنيات المتوارثة الثابتة والعلم والتاريخ والإيمان بالله والقداسة والحب والطموح الإنساني والشخصي مع السلطة والمصالح والصراعات السياسية واهمها الصراع العربي الصهيوني، كل ذلك في مركزين من أهم مراكز الجغرافيا الدينية؛ القدس وروما، او دولة الفاتيكان.

رغم المنطق الخفيف سياسيابدرجة ما، والمتأثر برؤية الصراع العربي الصهيوني من الخارج، ولنقل المنطق الغربي، وابتعاد بؤرة التقاطع والصراع نسبياً عن الإنسان البسيط المهدر حقه في حياة إنسانية، إلا أن فكرة الرواية مذهلة بالفعل.

حرفية قص عالية، ومعرفةومجهود ضخم للإلمام بالأحداث التاريخية، ودراماً بوليسية آخاذة حتى لمن لا يهوى هذا النوع من الدرامات، ومشروع جرئ للروائي والمترجم ودار النشر، وخاصة العربية.

في النهاية عمل ممتع ولا يمكن تجاوزه بسهولة.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written and very entertaining. Sometimes you keep reading to discover when the experts in the book will cotton on to what you have already decided is happening and this was one of those books. The plot was fairly obvious but the author kept you interested and there was a sprinkling of thriller thrown in to keep you turning the pages. The title sort of gives the plot away as well. I liked the DNA analysis and the conclusions that drew and felt that was quite a good portrayal of the bones' owner. Definitely and interesting and lively read. You are left wondering whether something more could have been done with the plot, but in reality anything else would have been a world-changer.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot doesn't work well and the writing was very hard to get through.
I wouldn't waste my time.

[Barbs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Langweilig.

[Rasha Shabaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب قصصيا رائع وطريقة سرده اكثر من رائعة .. كما انه مشوق جدا فى احداثه .. ولكن من وجهة نظرى ليس منافسا لشيفرة دافشى بل هو نموذج مبسط جدا منه ..

[Elizabeth O'Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and really enjoyed the different points of view portrayed in the story. So sad to see 1 of my favorite characters die. Can't wait to read the next book.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

RDSE 2007 ~ Fr. Patrick Donovan, the Vatican's Chief Librarian was not a stranger to violence. While growing up in a 'war zone' in Northern Ireland during the 1960s' bloody conflict between Protestants and Catholics he stabbed and killed a Protestant in self~defense during a brutal attack. Upon regaining his proper senses, he was prudent enough to remove himself from further involvement with that conflict as well as cutting off his ties with the IRA... and enrolled into the seminary, excelled in his studies and was ordained into the priesthood vowing to atone for his youthful misdeeds. Owing to his outstanding diligence and dedication as an historian, he accompanied Ireland's prime Cardinal to Rome and was then shortly appointed to his present post as custodian of the Vatican archives. At the start of the story, he received an ancient book, the Ephemeris Conclusio or The Journal Of Secrets from an unknown source... it was also believed to be a lost gospel. According to the information he read from it, he was able to pinpoint the exact location of an artifact at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, at the Marwani Mosque... so a quick and efficient extraction team was successfully mounted, using explosives and leaving at its wake 13 dead Israeli soldiers at the site, 2 dead helicopter pilots and an exploded Black Hawk used in their escape in the desert. The bloody extraction was to preempt another archeological discovery that was about to happen as recently scheduled. Given the explosive events and the existing vociferous street protests, the situation was contained away from the prying media. What was taken was just one ossuary (burial casket) sealed in wax with the figure of a dolphin and trident on its cap. The symbols were used by the early Christians to represent Christ. The bone contents were what called Dr. Charlotte Hennessy, an American geneticist, to Rome to work in tandem with an Italian anthropologist in Roman culture... their host at the Vatican was Fr. Donovan though the Pope's Secretary of State, the ruthless amoral Cardinal Santelli who was running the operation. There were further revelations like the deep involvement of the Templars... and more drama, some even personal... and more deaths. A plausible reality given that the New Testament's 4 gospels were chosen by the Council of Nicaea for the congruity of their accounts so all chronicles to the contrary about Christ's divine nature and His relationship to God the Father were then rejected. The findings would have been of Great value and interest to the Jews for the discovery would 'validate' their claim about the Messiah... so it was kept from them. The discovery was also kept from the other 2 major world religions to avoid upending their existing Beliefs thus avoiding the inevitable ugly aftermath. Blessed are those who Doubt and yet Believe... Emperor Constantine had a lot to answer for.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has an interesting storyline. It starts in the fourteenth century with the demise of the Knights Templar and the death of their last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. He knows of something that is buried beneath Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem that would rock the world's major religions to their core.
Moving forward to the late twentieth century and an artefact is stolen from under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and reappears in the Vatican, where a geneticist and an anthropologist are tasked with examining what is inside the stone ossuary.
During their investigations, the two scientists discover the remains have a DNA sequence never seen before. When they scan the bones into their computer and then flesh out the bones, a striking looking male of about thirty years of age looks back at them. On closer examination of the bones, there is damage on the ribs that could have come from a scourging. There was also damage to the bones of the wrists and feet, consistent with nails having been driven through them. Could this person have possible been crucified?
One of the symbols found was of a trident with a dolphin entwined round it. The dolphin had a cross in the place of its tail fins. The author mentions that this was symbolic of Christianity in a time when it was dangerous to be a Christian. He then references Greek and Roman mythology and the corresponding names of the god of the sea. The author appears to say, rather confusingly to my mind, that the Roman name was Poseidon and the Greek name was Neptune, when I knew that Poseidon was Greek and Neptune Roman. I even went on Google to check myself, and confirmed that I had remembered correctly. Maybe I slightly misread what the author wrote, but I found that small section somewhat confusing.
When the scientists make their findings known to the Vatican hierarchy, their lives are in danger.
Various cardinals and priests want to cover up what has been found, while the scientists feel their findings should be made public.
The book was a bit slow at the beginning, but became more interesting as it went on.

[Alba Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the mood for a Dan Brown type conspiracy since watching Netflix's Vatican Girl docuseries, I saw this one at a use book drop and could not resist, despite several library books atop my to read list. So glad I did!! This book was exactly what I was looking for. It scratched that historical thriller itch I've had for a couple weeks and provided a much needed distraction to teal life stress.

It was tense and fun and nail biting. It kind of felt like reading another version of the Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, which worked perfectly for me. While some of the themes are the same/similar, it had enough differences to keep me turning pages...and enough similarities to satisfy my Dan Brown craving. Anyway. One doesn't read this type of book for the depth of the characters or the quality of the writing, but as long as you don't expect miracles in these areas, this book is a wild journey.

In the end, justice is mostly served, in depth answers are given to the reader, enough of the secrets are revealed to the world to feel satisfying (while enough is kept hidden from the world for future hunters of historical secrets), and the reader feels like they've had a history course while really having consumed a thriller. Not sure how much us accurate as I haven't fact checked yet but as usual with this type of book, take it with a grain of salt and just enjoy the wild ride into the murky depths of the past...and the shady institutions who want to keep it that way.

Note - no religion is safe! Islam, Judaism and Christianity all have their flaws on display in this book.... but each religion also has at least one sympathetic character amongst the shady ones...

[Tiina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sisu poolest ei olnud see paljulubav: Templimäe alt varastatakse iidne reliikvia ning sellest saab alguse ahel, mis viib sündmuste keerisesse Ameerika teadlase Charlotte Hennesey ja itaalia antropoloogi Giovanni Bersei. Nende kahe ülesandeks saab teha selgeks inimsäilmete vanus. Samal ajal suurenevad pinged Palestiina ja Iisraeli vahel.

See raamat oli ja ei olnud ka. Minu jaoks oli põnev lugeda Hennesey ja Bersei töö kohta, mis viisid üllatus-üllatus üsnagi etteaimatava tulemuseni. Templimäe ümber toimuv jättis mu üsna ükskõikseks ja ma oleks hea meelega selle osa lugemata jätnud. Lõpuks õnneks kuidagi lahenes ka see.

Aga ma arvan, et järgmisi Byrnesi sarja raamatuid ma ette ei võta. Nooremana meeldisid mulle sellised jutud väga: neis oli parasjagu seiklust ja intriigi ja sissepõimitud ajaloolisi või religioosseid teadmisi, et see oli huvitav. Kuid ma olen ilmselt neist raamatutest välja kasvanud. Ühest aastas piisab enam kui küll.

[Mladoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une histoire mystérieuse autour d'une découverte archéologique qui suscite beaucoup d'intérêt de la part des trois grandes religions monothéistes dans deux lieux chargés d'histoire et de controverses. Entre Jérusalem et Rome, une enquête scientifique et anthropologique sans précédent qui pourrait bien faire s'ébranler les bases de fondements religieux considérés comme acquis depuis des siècles.

Esotérique, intéressant, le point de vue adopté par l'auteur dans cette fiction est en tout point intelligent et montre la profonde humanité qui réside dans chaque croyance et comment religion et politique sont étroitement liées et donnent souvent un mélange peu propice à la paix. J'ai vraiment apprécié cette lecture mythique et mystique qui résonne particulièrement bien dans l'actualité de ce début d'année.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read something in the genre of "alternative archaeology adventure" in quite some time. I enjoy, especially in summer, a quick adventure involving conspiracies and history-shattering artifacts. (Truth: the gem of this genre, The Da Vinci Code, isn't actually a favorite of mine. There are some better entries out there!)
This was dry. Very dry. Byrnes does a...thorough...job of explaining and setting up the historic context of the conflicts among the three religions at play here. He also spends a LOT of time in exposition with action all packed in to one main section. It's a very uneven pace.
It's the ending that really made my eyes roll a bit. The main character very quickly decides to be the human guinea pig of injecting herself with the DNA of Jesus in order to beat cancer and become a perfect human. Yep...that happened.

[Dean McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SACRED BONES by Michael Byrnes -- This is the first of a two-book series (the second being THE SACRED BLOOD), although one may read just this first volume as a stand-alone. So much comes together in this work: religion and theology, politics, archeology, Middle East conflict, Biblical history, Jesus Christ and Mohammed, conflict and interaction between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Vatican politics and secrets, and much more. A 2,000-year-old ossuary is found, containing the bones and artifacts of a crucified man. Testing leads forensic and genetic experts to wonder if these could be the bones of Jesus Christ. Resulting conflicts, tensions, and hostilities between factions, along with generous amounts of history, theology, politics, and religion combine for an exciting page-turner. I highly recommend following it immediately with the second volume.

[hugo van der wildt · Rating 4 out of 5]

We gaan van Jeruzalem naar Rome, het Vaticaan en terug.
Waarom?
Men heeft een doodskist gestolen in Jeruzalem en overgebracht naar het Vaticaan.
In het Vaticaan wil men de inhoud kennen en heeft daarom twee wetenschappers aangesteld. Zij komen zeer dicht bij de waarheid wat levensgevaarlijk is.
In Jeruzalem wil men de daders kennen van de diefstal als ook wat er gestolen is. Zij komen er achter dat het doodskist is en wie lag er in deze doodskist?
Het is ook iets meer dan een thriller.
Een reisgids omdat we iets leren over de mooie stad Rome en het Vaticaan.
Ook heeft het geschiedkundige waarde. We krijgen de strijd, de spanning rond de tempelberg en de verhoudingen tussen de verschillende godsdiensten.
Dus spannend tot het einde.

[C G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but not Christian Fiction. I took a chance on a new author found in the Christian Fiction category. Though I did enjoy the book and the story, there are a few things that keep me from recommending it.

1) The book puts more emphasis on tradition than the Bible. There are a number of plot elements (don't want to spoil anything) that contradict scripture and even attack its reliability. I don't mind considering different views, but I would have appreciated the author highlighting the alternate view as well.

2) The characters often swear. The bad guy especially likes the F-word which I didn't need. Even a few of the good characters used foul language.

If these things don't bother you, then you'll probably enjoy the book, but if they do, then only read it with your radar up.