About the Book
When Gideon, a former missionary, discovers a mysterious drawing tucked in an ancient journal he returns to Jamaica with dreams of finding a centuries old treasure. He quickly learns there are those who would kill to keep the treasure secret. This thrilling adventure takes you deep into Jamaica's treacherous cockpit country and back in time for a spine-tingling mystery you won't be able to put down.
Picking up this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. Unlike previous books I've read, no one recommended it to me and I hadn't heard anything about it, aside from what the cover blurb had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised and am glad that I decided to read this book. But, as always, I'll start with the not-so-good so I can end with the good.
I ended up enjoying this book, but to be completely honest, I had a hard time getting into it at first. It wasn't boring or bad; it just didn't grab me or pull me into the story right away. I'm not sure if that's a result of the writing or just my personality. Sometimes when I have no expectations for movies or books, or have no knowledge of what they're really about, I have a harder time getting into them because I'm just trying to figure out what they're about. Either way, it took me a bit to get into this book.
Having said that, I felt like the story picked up the further I got into the book, and I liked the story overall. Aaron certainly has a way of transporting his readers to the land of his love—Jamaica. He does a good job portraying the people, the language, and the culture. Now, I've never been to Jamaica, but through Aaron's writing, I was able to envision what it would be like there.
I also enjoyed the parallel stories of Benjamin Jarvis and Gideon Goodwin placed three hundred years apart. They flowed together really well, and the transitions didn't disrupt from the reading. I had several questions I was worried wouldn't be answered, but by the end of the book, I was satisfied with the revealed answers.
I was also interested to see how the author would deal with the LDS aspect, as Gideon is a Mormon. I was pleased that Aaron made it apparent what Gideon's belief and religion was without saturating the entire book or forcing that aspect so it became awkward.
So even though it took me a bit to get into the book and really understand the direction it was going, I enjoyed, and I'm glad I read it. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.
