Book Review - The Patmos Deception

Davis Bunn is one of my favorite authors of Christian fiction.  When I learned about his new book, “The Patmos Deception,” I could hardly wait for my copy to arrive and get busy reading.  And as expected, I was not disappointed.  After all, Patmos, a part of the Greek islands, is where the Apostle John was exiled in AD 95 and where he had his Apocalypse vision and wrote the book of Revelation.  It was fascinating to read a story that took place on an island that has so much biblical history.

Nick Hennessy, an investigative reporter, is secretly hired by the assistant director of an organization called World Heritage Sites, to investigate the disappearance of historical and artistic icons from the Greek islands.  Needing an expert in Grecian antiquities, Nick hires Carey Mathers, a forensic archaeologist who is also a long-time friend.

The third main character is Dimitri Rubinos, who lives on the island of Patmos, owner of a charter boat business that is about to go under, as most of the other businesses on Patmos already had, due to the economic crisis in Greece.  Desperate to earn enough money to support his aging father and grandmother and to save his business, Dimitri agrees to use his boat to pick up and deliver cargo for an extremely wealthy English man.  At the time, Dimitri thought that what the cargo actually was made little difference to him.  By accident, he discovered that it made a great deal of difference because this cargo made him a smuggler.  What could he do to make good come of this?  He didn’t know, but he would figure it out; he would make a plan.  Then, Dimitri discovers that the investigation by Nick and Carey has led them to him!

Davis Bunn is a real storyteller.  I really like how this story starts out with mystery, then danger creeps in, and then the level of suspense grows and grows with every turn of a page.  I got so caught up in the story that I just could not put the book down until I knew the ending!  I would recommend it to anyone.  Also, it is appropriate for church libraries.

Bethany House Publishers provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.