A Mysterious Scroll Holds the Key to Mankind's Destiny
A young woman thrust into a world of power and corruption...
The sold-out follower of Christ who vows to defend her...
And the scroll that links them both together...
Anna Riley has just stumbled across a family secret--her ancestors have been keepers of an ancient scroll that God gave to John the Disciple. And now it's hers. But Anna will soon discover that being the keeper of the Scroll comes at a price, for there are those inside the Church who would have the scroll and its secrets at any cost. Sucked into a world of corruption and deceit, Anna is thrust into a journey that leads her half way around the world. And the only person she can trust is a stranger named Jason Lang who, she's told, was appointed by God to help her with the task.
As Anna and Jason race against the clock, Anna's own journey of faith may very well be the thing that unlocks the scroll's secrets. And her decisions will determine whether the man she's grown to love will live or die, as a mystery that's eluded the world since the time of Adam and Eve is finally revealed.
--The Guardian
by Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed
Copyright ©2011 by Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed
Published by Barbour Publishing
My Review
When the grandfather she never knew passes away, Anna becomes the keeper of a vitally important Christian artifact. In the book of Revelation, an angel of Christ gave John the Disciple a scroll containing a riddle that would reveal the answer to a centuries-old mystery. The problem is, she has to find the scroll and then find the answer to the mystery.
Assisting her on this quest is Father Vincent Marcella, her grandfather Thomas’s friend and guardian. The clues her grandfather left her lead them first to Venezuela, then to France, to the church where her grandparents were married.
Unfortunately, such quests are rarely solitary adventures. The Vatican is aware of her grandfather’s—and now her—quest and while she has the blessing and backing of the pope, not everyone in the papacy is on her side. A certain cardinal with more earthly aims will do whatever it takes to possess the scroll and its secrets. His hired gun is following Anna and Father Vin from Venezuela to France to the church.
At the church, Anna and Father Vin follow her grandfather’s clues and discover the hidden location of the scroll, along with Thomas’s notes regarding his work in deciphering the riddle. But leaving the church with the treasure is not easy, because Jason Lang, an American Baptist missionary, stands in their way. So does the cardinal’s hired gun.
When the smoke clears, Father Vin is dead, the hired gun is wounded and Jason has become Anna’s new guardian. Together, they flee France to a London safe house. Together they must solve the mystery of the scroll before the key to the temple falls into the hands of evil.
Assisting her on this quest is Father Vincent Marcella, her grandfather Thomas’s friend and guardian. The clues her grandfather left her lead them first to Venezuela, then to France, to the church where her grandparents were married.
Unfortunately, such quests are rarely solitary adventures. The Vatican is aware of her grandfather’s—and now her—quest and while she has the blessing and backing of the pope, not everyone in the papacy is on her side. A certain cardinal with more earthly aims will do whatever it takes to possess the scroll and its secrets. His hired gun is following Anna and Father Vin from Venezuela to France to the church.
At the church, Anna and Father Vin follow her grandfather’s clues and discover the hidden location of the scroll, along with Thomas’s notes regarding his work in deciphering the riddle. But leaving the church with the treasure is not easy, because Jason Lang, an American Baptist missionary, stands in their way. So does the cardinal’s hired gun.
When the smoke clears, Father Vin is dead, the hired gun is wounded and Jason has become Anna’s new guardian. Together, they flee France to a London safe house. Together they must solve the mystery of the scroll before the key to the temple falls into the hands of evil.
I enjoyed this story because it concerns an event in the Bible, specifically in the book of Revelation that most people probably just skip right over and keep reading (kind of like the Prayer of Jabez). I like stories that delve into those little-realized mysteries and give them the exploration that they deserve.
I feel that the authors could have gone a bit deeper into the characters and into Anna’s slowly growing faith. Their motivations are genuine and not exaggerated as some over-done stories play out, but I came away feeling as if I wanted more. I never felt as if Anna fully grasped the importance of the mission she’s been given, although she never wavers in her determination to see it through. Jason’s motivations are clear, as are the supporting characters, but Anna is the protagonist of this tale. Her motivations and development of her faith need to be clearest, and to me, that goal wasn’t quite achieved.
This is a very good story and I would recommend it to Christian book study groups (there are even helpful discussion questions at the end).
I give this story THREE and a HALF STARS.
I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof from NetGalley.
This book is now available for purchase through popular online retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders) as well as Christian Book.com, Parable.com, Family Christian.com and Lifeway.com
For more information, check out the book’s web site, Unlock the Scroll
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