Strait of Hormuz - Book Reivew

I received a complimentary digital copy of "Strait of Hormuz" from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Strait of Hormuz

Synopsis

Under the guise of investigating money laundering via high-end art purchases in Europe, Royce finds himself in Switzerland with only sketchy information, no backup, and without a single weapon other than his wits.

His appointment with a gallery owner in Geneva is a dead end--the man is on the floor with a bullet through his chest. But it turns out Royce does have backup. The Mossad has sent someone to keep an eye on this undercover op, which is of more than casual interest to the Israelis. And it's someone Royce knows...

An under-the-radar phone call from the U.S. State Department puts Marc Royce once again on assignment—ferreting out rumors of a clandestine operation stretching from Asia to the Mideast. At stake is Iran’s threat to blockade the narrow Strait of Hormuz, cutting off vital shipping routes and escalating global tensions beyond the breaking point.

My Thoughts

Well here is the third book in the Mark Royce Series and I have to ask myself was it the right move to go for a third and the answer is a definite YES.

This one drew me in from the very first page, the start was a delight to read and at no time did I stop to think is this similar to the others because I was so interested in this story for itself.

By this one we feel like we know the character of Marc Royce well enough to really imagine the tone of the words he is saying and we have the ease into it by having one of the main characters from the second book appearing right at the start.  However even if you are reading this book without having read the first two, you will have no difficulty in getting right in there with the characters because of the way it is written.

How do we get from Art dealers to a ship in troubled waters, from Switzerland to Israel? Following the hero we are prepared to go anywhere he leads, as are the people who trust him and whom he trusts.  Davis Bunn has again, as in the first of this series, built up good relationships between the characters and this is one of the reasons this is such a good read.

In this book you will get adventure, excitement, romance, loyalty and a strong sense of faith. 

Well worth waiting for! 

About the Author:  CLICK HERE

About Strait of Hormuz

ISBN (Trade Paperback): 978-0-7642-1138-6

ISBN (Hardback): 978-0-7642-1145-4

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-4412-6279-0

336 pages

November 5, 2013 from Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group

If you have read all three reviews of this series then you will understand when I say that I'm torn between the first and the third to pick as my favourite.

What about you, have you read the first 2?

Which did you prefer?

Are you enticed to go to Amazon now and get no. 3?

Let me Introduce you to One of My Favourite Authors

...... Davis Bunn.

From the day I read his novel "The Presence" I was an avid fan and you can read my review of that book in this earlier blog post.

    The Presence - Book Review 

Now I am excited to be reading his latest novel just released today "The Strait of Hormuz" (the third book in his Mark Royce Series) and I will be reviewing it here on my blog on Tuesday 12th November, so don't forget to drop in then and see how good the book is.

Before that however I will give you a nice run up to it by reviewing the first two books in this series "Lion of Babylon" 

and "Rare Earth" and if you head over to Amazon they are available there at good prices.  

Just click on the pictures of the books or the titles to see more about them.



About Davis Bunn

Davis Bunn is a four-time Christy Award-winning, best-selling author now serving as writer-in-residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Defined by readers and reviewers as a "wise teacher," "gentleman adventurer," "consummate writer," and "Renaissance man," his work in business took him to over 40 countries around the world, and his books have sold more than seven million copies in sixteen languages. 

Davis Bunn and his wife, Isabella 

Strait of Hormuz is the series finale of the popular Marc Royce Adventures. Library Journal named Lion of Babylon (Book 1) a “Best Book of 2011.” Rare Earth (Book 2) won the 2013 Christy Award for best suspense novel and was a CBA top 20 best-seller.

Q & A with Davis Bunn

Q: The first two books in the Marc Royce series have been bestsellers and also won praise from the critics. Lion of Babylon won the Library Journal’s Best Book of 2011 award, and Rare Earth won the 2013 Christy Award for Suspense Fiction. What do you see is behind this success?

Davis Bunn: The stories have certainly resonated with readers. I have tried to develop a strong sense of unfolding drama, combined with a unique spiritual theme. This moral structure plays out both in the story and the characters. My aim is to create an inspirational challenge that remains with the reader long after the book has been set down.

Q: This story includes two special components from your early life. Tell us about them.

DB: My mother worked as an antiques dealer. In truth, ‘work’ was not really the correct term, because this was a passion she inherited from her mother. They bonded while my mom was still a child, going to small eastern Carolina towns and hunting around junk stores for the sort of bargains that don’t exist anymore.

Their first love was early Americana, a type of colonial furniture known as Jacobean that predated America’s nationhood. I never really shared this passion, but in two previous books I came to respect and admire those who do.

And so I knew a great delight in re-entering this world in Strait of Hormuz, only this time at the very highest end. Strait takes place in the rarified world of multi-million dollar art, where the richest of collectors vie with museums and galleries for items that are no longer classed as antiques, but rather as treasures

The second special component was the location. I lived in Switzerland for almost five years, and many of the venues were places where I worked, and walked, and came to discover myself as an author.

Q: In what way is the setting important to this book?

DB: The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical waterways. Stretching between Iran and the Gulf States, the strait us home to two US fleets. More than a third of all the oil consumed worldwide pass through these waters. But the story actually begins in Switzerland, before traveling to the Sinai and then into the hotly-contested Strait of Hormuz.

Q: What spiritual theme is the focus of this story?

DB: One growing area of the missionary church movement is with displaced persons. More than five million Iranians have been expelled from their homeland, or been forced to flee the current regime. This includes virtually the entire Christian population. The missionary church movement has made enormous strides in bringing peace to these families and introducing Christ into the world of Muslims fleeing a Muslim government.

Q: What drew you to the missionary church movement as a theme? 

DB: I came to faith in a missionary church. I was working as a consultant based in Germany. The year I accepted Christ, the Southern Baptist Mission Board founded a missionary church in Dusseldorf. I attended the church, I grew in the church, I studied under two amazing pastors, and one of them returned to Europe to marry us.

It was also where I learned to write. Two weeks after coming to faith, I felt called to writing. I wrote for nine years and completed seven books before my first was accepted for publication. The church, its members, and the elders all played a critical role in bringing me to where I am now. I am living testimony to the vital role played by the missionary church.

Q: All three of the books in this series have given significant insight into the Muslim world, something critics have picked up on. What experience do you have with this region?

DB: For the four years prior to moving to Germany, I lived and worked in the Middle East. I was the only non-Muslim in the management structure of a family-owned company. They had three major arms: construction equipment, shipping, and pharmaceuticals. I rose to become Marketing Manager of the pharmaceutical division.

One of the requirements of this job was to take instruction in the Koran and Islamic history from an imam who taught at the local university. I think this experience played a major role in my coming to Christ.

UPDATE:

You can now read my "Lion of Babylon" Review

and "Rare Earth" Review

and the latest release  "Strait of Hormuz" Review

Have you read any books by Davis Bunn?

If so please leave a comment to say which ones and what you thought of them.

  

Disclaimer:

I have not received any compensation for my views or recommendations of books in this blogpost