FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:
Two things struck me about this book: First ... how can I say it gently? The author would have done well to expend more time and/or resources on editing the manuscript. Tragically for this gifted story-teller, the reader/blogger notices typographic and stylistic errors before he or she has read enough to appreciate an exceptional story. And second, eye of the god is an exceptional story.
Ariel Allison's edgy novel succeeded by integrating the whodunit's misdirection and intrigue with the perpetrator's perspective typical of a study in criminal motivation; fascinating stuff that kept me reading to the last page. And speaking of the last page ... the last sentence, really ... why did you do it, Ariel? I was with you right to the end, but you threw in a twist that goes nowhere, except perhaps, to a sequel. We can only hope.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Allison is a published author who lives in a small Texas town with her husband and three young sons. She is the co-author of Daddy Do You Love Me: a Daughter’s Journey of Faith and Restoration (New Leaf Press, 2006). Justin Case, the first of three children’s books will be published by Harvest House in June 2009. Ariel is a weekly contributor towww.ChristianDevotions.usand has written for Today’s Christian Woman. She ponders on life as a mother of all boys atwww.themoabclub.blogspot.comand on her thoughts as a redeemed dreamer atwww.arielallison.blogspot.com.
From Ariel:
I am the daughter of an acclaimed and eccentric artist, and given my “unconventional” childhood, had ample time to explore the intricacies of story telling. I was raised at the top of the Rocky Mountains with no running water or electricity (think Laura Ingles meets the Hippie Movement), and lived out the books I read while running barefoot through the sagebrush. My mother read to me by the light of a kerosene lantern for well over a decade, long after I could devour an entire novel in the course of a day. Authors such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein, George MacDonald, and L.M. Montgomery were the first to capture my heart and I have
grown to love many others since.
ABOUT THE BOOK
eye of the god takes the fascinating history surrounding the Hope Diamond and weaves it together with a present-day plot to steal the jewel from the Smithsonian Institute.
We follow Alex and Isaac Weld, the most lucrative jewel thieves in the world, in their quest to steal the gem, which according to legend was once the eye of a Hindu idol named Rama Sita. When it was stolen in the 17th century, it is said that the idol cursed all those who would possess it. That won’t stop the brilliant and ruthless Weld brothers.
However, they are not prepared for Dr. Abigail Mitchell, the beautiful Smithsonian Director, who has her own connection to the Hope Diamond and a deadly secret to keep. Abby committed long ago that she would not serve a god made with human hands, and the “eye of the god” is no exception. Her desire is not for wealth, but for wisdom. She seeks not power, but restoration.
When the dust settles over the last great adventure of the Hope Diamond, readers will understand the “curse” that has haunted its legacy is nothing more than the greed of evil men who bring destruction upon themselves. No god chiseled from stone can direct the fates of humankind, nor can it change the course of God’s story.
If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter ofeye of the god, go HERE