Review: "A Wonderful Thriller That Is Hard To Put Down!"
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 23, 2012
What a pleasant surprise!  When I got this kindle book from Amazon, I really expected little. What I did get was a book that slowly captured my interest and pulled me into its pages. Before I got the e-book, I worried a bit about the plot line as it sounded just like another of the Dan Brown "wanna-bes"; however, the "Secret of the Scroll" by Chester D. Campbell delivers on all levels and is a wonderful read and a thriller that is hard to put down.Retired Air Force OSI Agent Greg McKenzie and his wife Jill are on a trip to the Holy Land. Shortly before they return home, a souvenir street vendor convinces Jill to purchase a "souvenir" that turns out to be an ancient scroll. When they innocently return home, the McKenzie's world turns upside down as Jill is taken hostage in a battle between militant Palestinians and radical Israelis to recover this ancient scroll. The police, however, target Greg as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, and with a little help from his friends (and a few others), he sets out alone in a perilous chase to save his wife as she is spirited out of America and back to Israel.The "Secret of the Scroll" is honestly a classic page-turner; I often kept reading when I knew I should go to sleep. I just kept saying; "Just one more chapter."  It is a thriller without a large body count; it is a book about an historical artifact without trying to clone Dan Brown.  Yes, there is plenty of action and intrigue, but the real suspense comes from all of McKenzie's efforts to save his wife while trying to stay a step ahead of the mysterious figures who will stop at nothing to get the scroll. While there are many twists and turns in store for the reader, there is as well a strong realism in the characterization of the main character who seems to be a bit more like your neighbor rather than a James Bond super-hero type. You will like these characters and you will like the book - "Secret of the Scroll" (Greg McKenzie Mysteries #1).