Book Review: I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins and James MacDonald

Synopsis (from Amazon.com)
From multi-million copy best-selling novelist Jerry Jenkins comes a compelling international thriller that conveys you from present-day Texas to a dank Roman dungeon in A.D. 67, then down the dusty roads of ancient Israel, Asia, and back to Rome.

Filled with political intrigue, romance, and rich historical detail, I, Saul is a thrilling tale of loyal friendships tested by life-or-death quests, set two millennia apart, told by a master storyteller.

It’s true confession time. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Jerry Jenkins novel. The last one that I read wasn’t a favorite (and no, I won’t tell you which one!) and since then, I’ve been buried in books to review, so I just never went back. But when I, Saul came across my desk for a blog tour, I was intrigued. I love history and I love the Bible so anything that melds those two elements with a modern day adventure sounds pretty good to me.  I can say now with no reservations that I’m glad I gave it a spot on my ‘to-read’ list.

I, Saul plunges the reader immediately into modern day  mystery and intrigue. From the very first page, Jenkins grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. Even with the jaunts into the past to follow the life of Paul, the story didn’t slow at all. Switching back and forth between modern and historic storylines can sometimes drag a story down but thankfully, in this case it didn’t.

I enjoyed the insight into the life and times of Paul, Luke and the other apostles. One of my favorite moments was when I realized that Timothy, always discussed in Paul’s letters for his youth, was in his 50’s at this time. I loved having a new perspective on the lives of these men and their writing.

The modern day story was filled with enough mystery and suspense to keep things moving along at a nice pace as well. Though I was able to figure out some of the surprises within the story, I was pleasantly shocked at a few others.

All in all, this was not only an entertaining read, but an educational one as well. It was great to learn more about the lives of the men in the Word and see how their stories continue to impact us in the modern day.

If you’re interested, I, Saul is available to purchase from Amazon.com. For history buffs and Bible scholars, this is a good one to have in your library! 

Note: I received this book as part of the I, Saul blog tour from Fiction Addict. I received no compensation for this review and only received a copy of the book for review purposes.