The Patmos Deception

This story’s tension grabbed me right from the beginning, with Carey Mathers’ hope-fueled journey to Greece stalled by the economic crisis there – and possibly more. When Nick Hennessy re-enters her life, hope flares once more, only to become confused by the attentions of Dimitri Rubinos, the Greek hunk whose help they need. The characters are multi-layered and intriguing, and the storyline seems pulled from possible headlines. The plot excited me and kept me reading – right up to the terribly unsatisfactory end.
Because of that, what I’d expected to be a five-star rating became four stars. I don’t want to reveal too much, but I am of the opinion that a writer enters into an unwritten contract with his reader to wrap up the plot of the story by that story’s end, at least for the main characters and the main plot. When this does not happen, it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and fewer stars to award.
Therefore, I give The Patmos Deception four stars. Bethany House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Davis Bunn is one of my favorite authors of Christian fiction. When I learned about his new book, “The Patmos Deception,” I could hardly wait for my copy to arrive and get busy reading. And as expected, I was not disappointed. After all, Patmos, a part of the Greek islands, is where the Apostle John was exiled in AD 95 and where he had his Apocalypse vision and wrote the book of Revelation. It was fascinating to read a story that took place on an island that has so much biblical history.
Nick Hennessy, an investigative reporter, is secretly hired by the assistant director of an organization called World Heritage Sites, to investigate the disappearance of historical and artistic icons from the Greek islands. Needing an expert in Grecian antiquities, Nick hires Carey Mathers, a forensic archaeologist who is also a long-time friend.
The third main character is Dimitri Rubinos, who lives on the island of Patmos, owner of a charter boat business that is about to go under, as most of the other businesses on Patmos already had, due to the economic crisis in Greece. Desperate to earn enough money to support his aging father and grandmother and to save his business, Dimitri agrees to use his boat to pick up and deliver cargo for an extremely wealthy English man. At the time, Dimitri thought that what the cargo actually was made little difference to him. By accident, he discovered that it made a great deal of difference because this cargo made him a smuggler. What could he do to make good come of this? He didn’t know, but he would figure it out; he would make a plan. Then, Dimitri discovers that the investigation by Nick and Carey has led them to him!
Davis Bunn is a real storyteller. I really like how this story starts out with mystery, then danger creeps in, and then the level of suspense grows and grows with every turn of a page. I got so caught up in the story that I just could not put the book down until I knew the ending! I would recommend it to anyone. Also, it is appropriate for church libraries.

Bethany House Publishers provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read anything by this author before, but this book has me convinced I want to read more. It's a wonderful mix of Greek culture, suspense, history and the European economic crisis. I got the impression a lot of research must have gone into this work.

This story has an intriguing plot, enchanting setting, and interesting, well developed characters, all woven together with suspense that compelled me to keep turning pages. I really enjoyed Greece through the eyes of Carey, who soaked it all up with a wide eyed wonder and delight, unlike Nick, who was so focused on the task at hand, that he didn't seem to care about all the history and Greek culture he was surrounded. I was somewhat disappointed with the end though; I felt that it was rather abrupt and left a few loose ends.

Disclaimer:

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Despite being published under a Christian publishing house, there isn't much religion in this book. Actually, I wouldn't even consider it to be a Christian novel. It's pretty much a blend of Da Vinci Code, National Treasure and Indiana Jones, with a little romance tossed about. While the author does a great job with descriptions and for creating an interesting plot, I just kept thinking that there was something missing from this tale, like character development and realistic romance. Overall, I'm disappointed with The Patmos Deception!

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Patmos Deception very much felt like the beginning of a series. Bunn spent much of the book "setting up" the plot and introducing characters. To be honest, until about half way through the book, things were a bit hard to follow. The overall "feel" of the story was very stilted and the flow of the story was not smooth. I did enjoy Bunn's description of the characters' surroundings. I felt like I "was there" much of the book. Hearing from the different voices was a definite draw for me to hang in there with the book the first half. The ending leaves the reader hanging and lots of blanks are left empty making the perfect set-up for a series. I'll be looking forward to Davis' next installment!

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have heard nothing but fabulous things about this author, and after reading The Patmos Deception, I can understand why! His writing style is beautiful, I love the way he words everything and his characters are very well made. A plus to this story, is that it Nick is from Texas! I love reading books where the characters are from my state and Nick played the Texan role well ;-) The story and plot was different than that of what I have read before and I really enjoyed each characters' role in this suspense novel. Well done Bunn! I look forward to reading another one of your books (which is actually going to be Emissary as I already own that one ;-) !

"I received this book from the author/publisher for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are my own."

The Patmos Deception is labeled as Romantic Suspense on the back cover of the book, but there were no emotions throughout the entire book. As for the romantic feelings, Nick declares he begins to love Carey, but I don’t see how that was even possible. He never once showed how a little tingle up his spine affected him or wanting to spend time with Carey made him excited. Nick wandered around on the pages of the story not really doing anything. He used his journalistic skills at the end of the novel to help solve the mystery, but he didn’t do anything else. On the other hand, Carey used to have feelings for Nick when she was younger but seeing him again, she mentioned those feelings, but they never advanced to realistic love. To confuse the readers even more, Bunn made Playboy, Dimitri Rubinos, decide he could settle down and become real with Carey. I don’t understand how this was even possible. The relationships weren’t defined. None of the characters really spent time getting to know each other in order to pursue a mature relationship.

The characters were flat with no personality. Each of them were passionate about their chosen careers, but there was nothing else to their personalities. First, you meet Carey Mathers, a student in forensic archeology, who wants to complete her Ph.D with field work in Greece, but the company she came to work for has folded shortly before she arrives. Then the plot introduces Nick Hennessy, who might be our hero I wasn’t sure, a journalist on the hunt for his next big story to make a name for himself. He calls on Carey, an old acquaintance from Texas where they grew up, to help him find stolen artifacts. To throw a twist in, there is a subplot, which tangles up with Carey and Nick later in the book, featuring Dimitri Rubinos, who runs a tourist/ fishing business to earn money in Greek’s faltering economy.

As for the suspense, it took until page 117 to discover what Nick and Carey were looking for. It was described as “massive silver and gold frames decorated with gemstones.” But then the hunt turned to counterfeit money and then moved onto a letter from the scribe who wrote down John’s revelations. I was confused as to what they were actually looking for. In a suspense book, there should be moments of sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens, but this book did none of that. Never once throughout the first 257 pages of the book did Carey and Nick’s life become in danger. Suspense books place peril around the characters every chance they get, but I never worried about them because no one was chasing them, trying to stop them from looking for the artifacts. Even the ending had me tossing the book across the bed declaring that the book wasn’t that well written.

I was highly disappointed with this book. It does not live up to the genre of romantic suspense.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House and all the opinions are my own.

"Patmos Deception," is such an intriguing title. That alone got my interest. The first few chapters, however, were a little disappointing. Disappointing because the story was slow to gather momentum. As Mr. Bunn developed the characters, the plot and the place it did come together. I apreciated the information provided about modern day Greece and the difficulties they have been experiencing.

"Patmos Deception" provided everything to make a story interesting and compelling- good character development and relationships, a bit of light romance, tension, mystery and adventure. Not the least of these are the bits and pieces about biblical history.
I liked the book and certainly would recommend it to others. I received this as a complimentary book for review from Bethany House.

When I chose this book to review through Bethany House Publishing I was eagerly awaiting its arrival and checking the mailbox every day. After this synopsis who wouldn't be excited ?

Nick Hennessy, a young Texas journalist yearning for his big break, finds himself in Europe--his assignment, to investigate the alarming disappearance of invaluable Grecian antiquities. Nick has the credentials--and cover ID--to unearth the truth. And he knows just the researcher to help him...

Carey Mathers, fresh from her studies in forensic archeology, has accepted a job with the prestigious Athens Institute for Antiquities--a dream come true, really, particularly when the Greek isle of Patmos, where the Apostle John received his vision of the Apocalypse, was a particular focus of her research.

Dimitri Rubinos, for whom the Greek islands represent his life, holds on by his fingernails to the family charter boat business. But his country's economic chaos isn't the only thing that has turned his world on its head...

Davis Bunn is a master at very descriptive writing. As I began the book I became engrossed in the Greek culture you are submersed in as the author describes the sights, smells and sounds of Greece. I found myself sympathizing with the people of Greece as they struggle with the devastation of economic downfall while having my spirits lifted as Dunn described the coastal islands of Greece. However after getting half way through the book I began to get bored. I anticipated that this book would be a page turner and it was found lacking. I felt the plot lacked substance and took a very long time to develop. The writing style of the author is SUPERB, but the story itself just missed the mark for me. I honestly lost the desire to finish the book, but chose to out of my commitment to post an honest review. The characters were likable and relatable I felt as though the story was not fast paced enough for my taste. If you are looking for an easy, time killer read and enjoy Greek culture this is a great book for you. I give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I am a reviewer for Bethany House Publishing. I was sent a complementary copy of this book for my honest review.

This review is for the book "The Patmos Deception" by Davis Bunn. When I began reading this book I kept waiting to get sucked into the storyline. Unfortunately I never did. I never made a connection with the characters, and part of that may be that the Greek culture is completely new and foreign to me. The ending did not really tie up all the loose ends which makes me think there will be a sequel. I think that Davis Bunn is a great writer - I have read other books by him - but this one just missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Bethany House for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

The Patmos Deception had two story lines in the book that eventually merged. The one story line drew me in, while the other made me want to skip over those chapters. Once the stories merged, I was more interested in the book as a whole.

Once again this book contained a situation that needed to be solved. The one researcher knew a lot of Biblical information about the times of Paul that was included in the book. Kinda neat to think about places that you can still visit and how they played in the Bible.

Thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to review The Patmos Deception.

The Patmos Deception is a well-written combination of history, suspense, self-discovery, and fiction. I had a slightly difficult time keeping the less-frequently seen characters straight, but the main character development was well done and I found myself rooting for them. Whether real or fictional, I enjoyed the storyline involving actual Biblical personalities. The author did a superb job making me excited for a possible sequel.

My thanks goes out to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review.

The Patmos Deception by Davis Bunn is a good story. It contains a quest for missing treasure, drama, very likable characters, bad guys and of course romance...something for everyone. I enjoyed the plot, but have to say it is noticeably slower paced than Bunn's Marc Royce series.
Spoiler,

Although it does not say, from the conclusion I would assume there will be a sequel
I was given Patmos Deception by the author for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

The first hundred pages or so had me interested in the story, but then I found it very difficult to finish. The writing seemed to be stunted in places and the characters lacked depth. While I did finish, the ending of the story left me disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House for allowing me to review this book--the opinions and thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed the book, particularly learning a bit about Patmos and some historical information. I was a bit disappointed with the ending, unless there is a sequel, Bunn should have wrapped up a couple of the situations.

Surely hope there is a sequel! This book was very captivating and hard to put down. There are some loose ends that hopefully will be tied up in another book(s)... Hoping we don't have to wait too long!

I prefer to read Christian fiction vs. secular. However, frequently the writing is not quite on par with mainstream. That was the case here coupled with a completely unfulfilling ending. It did have the effect of having me jump start my next trip to Greece and to ensure I make it to Patmos.

I prefer to read Christian fiction vs. secular. However, frequently the writing is not quite on par with mainstream. That was the case here coupled with a completely unfulfilling ending. It did have the effect of having me jump start my next trip to Greece and to ensure I make it to Patmos.