3 out of 4 stars
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What if everything you believed about your faith was a lie? What would you do if the cornerstone of your belief system was a construct? Could your concept of God be completely wrong? These questions form the basis for the plot of Ghost Reapers, the international thriller written by Jackie Ferris.
Religion instructor Jazz is on mandatory leave from her job after tweeting that Jesus Christ may not have been physically resurrected from the dead. Francisco is a physicist from Cairo who has been keeping tabs on Jazz. To the public he is a dark matter specialist, but behind the scenes, his work has global significance that most people cannot imagine.
Together, Jazz and Francisco embark on a mission to uncover a conspiracy centuries in the making. Jazz's beliefs are all turned upside down as she is exposed to a reality she never knew existed. All the while she is unsure whether she can trust Francisco at all.
Ghost Reapers is told from the third person omniscient perspective. It helps the reader to understand the multiple subplots included, and how each character fits into the conspiracy. Ms. Ferris expertly uses suspense to peel back the layers of the tale. She draws the reader deeper into historical and present day events until the closely guarded secrets are revealed.
This book is an entertaining, fast-paced read. It whisks the characters to Vatican City, New York, Cairo and Newcastle as they piece together clues to the secrets. What I like most about the story is how Ms. Ferris combines fantasy, history and science to create a novel that pushes readers to explore why they believe what they believe. I also like that the author includes a footnote section in the back of the book explaining historical facts for the key elements in the story.
What I dislike about the book is the need for further editing. There were several typos that tended to be distracting, and sometimes the intricacies of the historical coverups were confusing.
Readers who enjoy historical novels that ask the question "What if?" will like Ghost Reapers. They will need to keep an open mind as they read because the very origins of Christianity, Judaism and Islam are called into question.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Ms. Ferris writes an entertaining suspenseful novel that makes the reader wonder how she will tie it all together in the end. The multiple typos and sometimes confusing explanations of historical conspiracies keep me from giving Ghost Reapers a perfect score.
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The Ghost Reapers
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