Dead Sea Rising by Jerry B Jenkins

This novel did not grab me. There was no tantalizing opening to capture my attention. The narrative jumps around to three time periods. The connection between the contemporary story and the one from 2000 BC was not established early and I was still left wondering at the end. Apparently some meaningful artifact will connect the two stories in a future book.

The contemporary story involves Nicole, an archaeologist who is awaiting permission for a dig in Saudi Arabia. The novel opens with Nicole being notified that her mother has fallen and broken her hip. We do find out later that there was foul play. The contemporary story really has no suspense, moved slowly and the foul play has a resolution that comes out of left field.

The historical story involves Terah, father of Abram. The time is 2000 BC in Shinar, Mesopotamia. We learn about Terah's service as an adviser to King Nimrod and that his wife will be giving birth soon. There is some intrigue in this part of the novel.

The third story takes us back to Viet Nam as we learn some about the experiences of Nicole's father while there. I didn't think it had much to do with the contemporary narrative and only served to provide a slightly touching scene between Nicole's parents at the end.

The character development is sufficient. My favorite character was a secondary one, the detective investigating the foul play.

I may be picky but I was surprised at one lack of attention to historical detail. Terah, living in 2000 BC, refers to a height saying, “More than a mile and a half?” This is in response to another speaking of “more than eight thousand feet.” (p. 300) The term “mile” did not come into use until the time of the Romans. It is from mille passus, a thousand paces. The term would not have been in use or even known in Terah's time. The same seems to be true of the use of “feet.” Romans and Greeks used the concept but older civilizations used the cubit.

We get a hint of what future novels might contain but I would have liked a stronger hook at the end of this book.

My rating: 3/5 stars.

Jerry B Jenkins' books have sold more than 70 million copies. Twenty-one of his titles have reached the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. He and his wife have three grown children and eight grandchildren and live in Colorado.

Worthy Publishing Group, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.