** Remember that in a book review I could give away key points but I do try not to … at least not ALL of them. **

I picked up the book on Wednesday and finished it this morning. Little story before I get to my thoughts. When I looked online at Borders.com for the book, my local store didn’t have a copy. The one in the ‘next town over’ said it did, so I made a quick phone call and she couldn’t find it in their system because their system had it misspelled. 🙂 Then when she found it, they only had one copy, so they held it for me. 🙂 I just found it comical that I had to do my own treasure hunt for a treasure hunt book. 😉

It captured my attention and kept me engaged. That I like. 🙂 I had a huge issue with the repetitive use of the word ‘now’ used in context with the past tense. Of course if you’ve followed my blog at all you know that I abhor the word ‘now’ because it is constantly misused. But that’s the writer in me. 🙂 So now that I’m done with my rant … which along with starting sentences with the word ‘And’ and ‘But’ … that was really my only problem with the writing.

Stephen has a nice conversational style that made me feel like I wasn’t just reading the story, I was a part of it. I love when writers can do that.

So the story is about these folks who go after this missing treasure (I love treasure hunts) when this one particular gem is found clutched in a dead-for-a-long-time guy’s hand. But it’s not just about a gem hunt. It’s a story about finding yourself.

None of the players, of whom John, Sarah and David are the keys, but so are a crazy lady, a pedophile/murderer, a cop and a porn-movie theatre owner. So the story comes through all their lives. We see the progression from the ‘news’ of this gem being found all the way to it being found and the after affects for the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’ in the story.

Thankfully, the bad guys get their due and the good guys, get their … good stuff.

I was not expecting the end, but given the way the story progressed, I should have. To have chosen an Amish-born man as a cartographer and to have put him into general society … while the cover says he is ‘scrupulously’ honest … he is not. That really threw me and bothered me for a while, but as I kept reading, I realized what the period in his life symbolized. Change. Recognition. Understanding. Revival.

The same stuff the gem symbolized to all the ‘good guys’. 🙂 I LOVED that about the story. I loved the relationship between the three main characters and all the little arcs (side stories) that drew me right up until the last page.

If you liked Dan Brown’s books but got grossed out at some of the things that happen? This one is a great alternative (or addition). If you like the movie National Treasure, this is a great “similar” type story. If you liked Night at the Museum, you’ll like this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thoroughly. I was glad to pick it up, pay full price and get to read it.

Many thanks for a good read. 🙂

Now, if you want a treasure hunt of your own (and no I do NOT have the patience for it) … you could win your own stone. So get the book, read it and good luck!

Congratulations Stephen on a fantastic debut novel!