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Bone Box Kindle Edition

by Jay Amberg (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 2,121 ratings
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On a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea in Turkey, an international team of archeologists discovers a stone box that first-century Jews used to rebury their dead. The box’s Aramaic inscription: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Sophia Altay, the beautiful French-Turkish archeologist who heads the team, tries to keep the discovery secret until she can authenticate the ossuary. She knows that people will kill to obtain the relics—and to suppress the box’s other contents, documents that could alter Western history.

Joseph Travers, an American sent to Turkey to evaluate the archeological dig, soon finds himself pulled into the web of betrayal, reprisal, and violence. In his journey through Istanbul’s mosques and palaces, the archeological sites around ancient Ephesus, and, ultimately, the strange and mystical terrain of Cappadocia, he comes to understand the epochal meaning of the bone box.

Readers’ Favorite: “This story takes you on an incredible and dusty journey from Istanbul to ancient Ephesus, Izmir, and Cappadocia, blended with Christianity, archaeology and Islam, described with accurate detail to bring the story alive.…Jay Amberg is a master of description and intrigue…the plot and characters are believable and interesting.…keeps you guessing through each and every chapter. A cross between The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and The Sign of the Cross (Chris Kuzneski) this is an ‘un-put-downable’ book of the highest quality.”

San Francisco Book Review: “A mystery of biblical proportions right down to the very last page. As the story unfolds, the characters’ histories, weaknesses, and ambitions are brought to light through their interactions with one another: the lies they tell, the crimes they are willing to commit, and the truths they are willing to confide only to the right person at the right time. And yet, as Joseph and Abrahim put themselves in harm’s way to protect what has become so precious to them, we wonder: What truths are some people willing to die for?”

Self-Publishing Review: “A fast-paced religious thriller that will make many question not just their religious beliefs, but their personal beliefs as well.…

“What helps this story hit all the right spots, is Amberg’s ability to bring not just the characters to life, but Turkey as well. His descriptions make it easy to visualize, smell, and almost touch the objects in question.…Amberg not only sets the scenes, he does it with ease making the reader nearly feel at home in an exotic land.

“Of course the reader can’t feel completely at ease since this is a thriller. It would ruin the fun to know right from the beginning all the good and bad guys. All the characters are nuanced, and at times, everyone’s motives are questioned.…the characters are battling their own personal demons. Most of the turmoil is boiling under the surface, adding to the tension. Who and what will explode creates anxiety adding layer upon layer of intrigue and suspense.

“The lingering questions of what’s real and what isn’t keeps the reader invested in the story. It’s not just the mystery about what’s inside the ossuary and if the artifacts are authentic. There are other factors that play a huge role…Politics, religion, sexuality, culture, deceit, greed, and prejudices turn this thriller into a page-turner. There’s a need to find out what will happen with the bones and letters, but there’s also a desire to know what will happen to the characters.

“…By the end of the novel, one feels that maybe the contents of the ossuary weren’t the most important aspect of the story. They get the ball rolling, but it’s the actions that they set in motion that are integral…The stories within the story demand attention and remind us that one event can be perceived rightly or wrongly from several perspectives.”
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  1. Print length
    257 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 13, 2015
  5. File size
    3678 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Award-Winning Finalist, Thriller, 2015 Readers' Favorite Book Award Contest
Award-Winning Finalist, Thriller, 2015 National Indie Excellence Awards
Award-Winning Finalist, Thriller/Adventure, 2015 International Book Awards

KIRKUS REVIEWS
www.kirkusreviews.com
A novel of danger and adventure about an archaeological discovery that threatens to rewrite biblical history.

Amberg's...thriller takes readers to Turkey, where Joe Travers, a former Motorola executive, visits an archaeological site funded in part by his friend's foundation. Joe finds the project riven by conflicts between Sophia Altay, the Turkish-French lead archaeologist, who quickly wins him over; Leopold Kirchburg, the Austrian project director with a considerable ego; and Charles Lee, who represents right-wing foundations that provide much of the financial support. The archaeologists discover an ossuary containing relics and documents that could substantially change humanity's understanding of early Christianity.

The search for the ossuary's contents-which were hidden by Sophia's devoted assistant, Abrahim-drives much of the book's plot. Scenes of beatings, killings, and chases are punctuated by moments of extreme emotion; for example, at one point, Joe is "already in a quandary, the balance between the breathtaking beauty of the day and the sordid affairs of men not at all clear"; at another, Abrahim's "blood boils-the Janissary blood, the blood of his lost ancestors, the wanderers and cave dwellers alike."

In Joe, Amberg offers a narrator who's a keen observer, which allows the story to blend archaeological intrigue with a sharply drawn portrait of urban and rural Turkey. There are some clever turns of phrase, as when Joe notes that a document displayed on a computer screen is "illuminated in a way that would shock medieval monks." ...The author keeps the tension high...as Joe rushes to sort out everyone's motivations and loyalties. Readers will be too caught up in unraveling the plot to wonder about the unanswered questions regarding the ossuary's contents.

A...well-written, fast-paced thriller that follows in the footsteps of The Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00UP7ON9M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amika Press (March 13, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 13, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3678 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1937484270
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 2,121 ratings

About the author

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Jay Amberg

Jay Amberg

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Jay Amberg is the author of twelve books. He received a BA from Georgetown University and a PhD from Northwestern University. He has taught high school and college students since 1972. Contact him at jayamberg.com.

His latest book, The Healer's Daughters, is now available from Amika Press. Amberg has also published Bone Box, Cycle, America's Fool, Whale Song, and compiled 52 Poems for Men.

Prior to Amika Press, Amberg published thriller novels Doubloon (Forge), Blackbird Singing (Forge) and Deep Gold (Warner Books).

Among his books on teaching are School Smarts and The Study Skills Handbook, published by Good Year. Amberg wrote The Creative Writing Handbook (Good Year) with Mark Henry Larson and Verbal Review and Workbook for the SAT (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) with Robert S Boone.

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
2,121 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jwb52z
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected and a rather anticlimactic ending
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book has some problems I don't often encounter. First, for such a short book, it had far too much unnecessary backstory and exposition explanations. You don't get to the real plot of the book until you're almost a third of the way into reading it. There are a few times a word is spelled wrong or used wrong, but that's not horrible. The characters were sort either frustrating in multiple ways. I won't bore you with a plot summary as I know other reviewers are fond of doing that. The main plot is not bad, but the execution is not what I would expect or want as it is exactly done in this book. The ending is anticlimactic for this kind of plot, if you ask me. It just kind of stops as if turning off a TV right before a scene change and never finding out what happened next or why that last part ended that way. There are things I am glad didn't happen, but could have very easily in such a situation as the book is done. I wish the book's formatting had been better. I don't like it when chapters are not separated. One chapter should end and the next chapter should begin on the next page. I also wish this book had had chapter demarcations. Chapter demarcations make it so much easier to see how close you are to the end of a chapter or to find a stopping place when you need to do so. If you can get past these problems, give it a shot. I'm just glad I got it for free during the rather short period of time it was free. This author has potential, but the book should have been much longer to overcome its problems.
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D. Safir
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting plot but ultimately too many characters and too confusing.
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2016
Verified Purchase
I vacillated between giving this 3 or 4 stars, but settled on 3. There were pros and cons. One knew what to expect, as this was compared to The Da Vinci Code in the description. I often find books written in the present tense awkward reading, but this worked. It started off quite slowly, though, and it seemed like I read for a long time before anything of consequence happened. Until then, it was simply learning about many different people involved, all with different agendas. Finally the box was unearthed and later the possible contents revealed. Then the plot began to get interesting. Much of what kept me with it were the two main characters, Dr. Sophia Altay, the archaeologist, and Joseph Travers, the American representing one of the corporations involved. The plot moved and hooked me to find out what would be resolved, both with the characters and the relics. There were several problems I had with the book, however. First of all, it was too complicated, with too many characters with different agendas, representing different organizations, and I never completely understood the whole thing. In fact, even when it was done, I wasn't completely sure who did what, and why. The ending just left too many questions. And, ultimately, I wasn't really sure as to the purpose of the entire book. With the Da Vinci Code it was clear that Dan Brown was throwing up an alternative to the accepted version of Christ in the Bible, and a rather intriguing one. It also contained all sorts of puzzles to figure out in search of this answer. Here, I felt a new version was given but I was just not sure I got the purpose and meaning of the ideas thrown at us, and what it meant for the world. I wasn't even sure the world would get to hear about it. So, to sum up, after a slow start, interesting plot with characters you come to care about, but too confusing in its complications and not clear as to its real intent. So a mixed review from me.
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Karsiyaka
5.0 out of 5 stars A Breathtaking Archeological Thriller and an International Murder Mystery in Anatolia
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2017
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I received this free eBook from the author for an honest review.
What a breathtaking thriller this is! After a slow start and what appears to be a simple story, the book gets complex, suspenseful, and very difficult to put it down. There are so many things to like in this such an original and one of a kind book. I liked the culturally diverse characters from different countries and religious backgrounds who also significantly differ in terms of personality types. The book didn’t have any racial stereotypes, or a condescending tone Western authors usually have toward foreign people or countries different from theirs. The author seems to know about the culture, people, places, and history of the country he wrote about. The complex and multilayered story flows beautifully, and the suspense is breathtaking. I even liked more the writing style of the first chapter of the book, different from the rest, reading like poetry. Reading this book was like being in Asia Minor observing the characters as the story was unfolding. The depth of the author’s understanding of human nature and condition is amazing, as the descriptions of the less than perfect and troubled characters show. Especially the parts about describing how spiritual Cappadocia, where the first Christians who ran away from Rome to avoid religious prosecution lived in underground cities (catacombs), is made me put visiting this area on my bucket list. Such an original and breathtaking international thriller! I plan on reading more books by this author.
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Top reviews from other countries

Mrs. S. Walker
4.0 out of 5 stars The unknown the unsure who can believe or are we all doubting Thomas
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2020
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Bone box yes a box full of bones but who's, story full of wonder mystery mystique greed and passion it is found hidden recovered yet where is it now. It kept me wanting to know more. I recommend this book for a well written story
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Bone Box
Reviewed in Canada on July 6, 2016
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Interesting and sensational. The characters have an unending set of setbacks in their untrustworthy enemies that are bent on self aggrandizement.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Reviewed in Australia on September 22, 2016
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Totally submerged in story. A great read with detailed information about scenery and people which fleshed out the story. I would recommend this book to others.
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Dave McIlmoyl
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Archaeological Mystery
Reviewed in Canada on November 21, 2016
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This book is set in Turkey at an archaeological dig where ancient bones and some scrolls are found. They may change the history of the world. There are the usual thugs who want to subvert the message. There is an evil German, an evil American and a Turk who alternates from good guy to bad guy depending in the chapter. The main characters are overly emotional with lots of drama and poor decisions. Lots of intrigue but the plot is muddy and convoluted. The book has wonderful descriptions of the land but the plot is weak. Not a bad read but it isn't very satisfying.
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Kim P. NZ
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story
Reviewed in Australia on January 11, 2017
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This book is the first I have read by this author and I liked the storyline and characters, although found it slow to really grab my interest. That said, it was interesting and I think readers keen on this genre should certainly consider giving this book a go.
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