Some claim this book rivals The DaVinci Code. I think not. This is a good attempt at that but falls very short of achieving its goal. Ava Fischer, a brilliant student specializing in ancient languages and history, goes across the world to help a friend in need, whose boss has found what he and others in his party think is a real coup in archaeological searches, the lost jars of Cana (used by Christ to change the water into wine at the marriage feast). What she gets is a whirlwind story filled with all sorts of twists and turns, as Ava and her friend run from country to country hoping to escape terrorists, fanatics and criminals who also want the jars of Cana, though probably for different nefarious reasons. The book moved along smoothly, but got totally caught up in all the running and escaping, so much so that I became weary of reading about one more escapade in Ava and her friend’s life. All the running and escaping kept the author from developing the characters and mystery very well. I did get a good feel for Ava, but not for anyone else. The book also kept switching from one scene with its characters to another, so fast that began to worry I would miss something important. In the end, the author seemed to just sort of give up, figuring he had to end the story somewhere, even if not in a terribly exciting way. The book has a lot of promise, and the author knows his history and the culture of the archaeological search and searchers well, but I think he just got too caught up in that aspect and lost some of the oomph the book could have delivered. No, this is not a remake or even rival to Brown’s works, but it is a good book to pick up if you are into ancient history, culture and lore connected to it—or books written in this vein. I finally decide to give it three stars. Weighing the merits versus the cons. Because of all this, I also think it could have been shorter, and not dragged quite as much as we followed Ava across so many countries and in and out of so much danger and near mines/captures. I received this from NetGalley to read and provide an honest review. The Cana Mystery has all the elements of a top thriller. A strong female protagonist, exotic locales, and enough hardware to satisfy the avid Clancy fan. The mystery itself is worthy of Dan Brown, with tighter plotting and no lost or forgotten characters.David Beckett has full command of his twists and turns, and ties them up neatly when he is done. This is a book you'll be glad you have on a rainy afternoon.
What do You think about The Cana Mystery (2013)?
Mystery thriller involving archeological finding of the jars of Cana.
—NAMANA
Love these religious hitorical novels. Interesting theory.
—Directioner3244
This was a good book. I would recommend it to a friend.
—jasmine
