By Karen McCarraher
“The Bones of the Apostle” by John Amos is a historical novel featuring two aging British private detectives—Flinders Petrie and Thomas Pettigrew. They have built a thriving business and have received many accolades for their fine work in the past. However, they yearned for just one more “big adventure”.
Months go by and then one day they are visited by the Patriarch of the Eastern Church. At the time of Christ’s ascension into heaven, the apostles scattered throughout the world. Peter went north to Rome. Thomas went east to Mesopotamia and established the Eastern Church. The Church flourished until the seventh century when the Ottomans overran the land and the Muslim Church was established. However, the Eastern Church continued its practices in secret. The bones of the Apostle Thomas were returned from India, where he died, to a basilica in Italy. Later they were sent to the Church of the East where they were cared for and honored for centuries. Recently, the bones were stolen. The bones were contained in a silver casket which was guarded day and night. One morning, the guards were found dead and the casket was missing. The Holy Scriptures were desecrated, and the altar was on its side but there were no other clues. The Patriarch begged Flinders and Pettigrew to take the case.
So Finders and Pettigrew took the train to Oxford. When they arrived, they went to the library to meet a contact from the British Secret Service. They were greeted by Father Divinius, a secret agent masked as a priest. Divinius took them to the bowels of the library where many artifacts were stored. They met with other agents and told them that they thought this was the work of “the Veiled One”, a very bad character the detectives had had encounters with in the past. The British Intelligence Service managed to trace “the Veiled One” to Baghdad so it was decided that Flinders and Pettigrew would go there. However, Divinius insisted that another agent accompany them, Grazelda Jones, who was also a witch.
They set off across the Red Sea and the by land to Bagdad. When they arrived, the place was in chaos. The Mongols were overrunning the city. Danger was everywhere. The group discovered that “the Veiled One” had set up his location in a bombed out, walled structure that had many rooms. The three found a small breach in the wall and made their way in. After a long search, they found “the Veiled One”. Flinders engaged him in a battle of swords; however, “the Veiled One” was wearing chain mail and Flinders was unable to wound him. Grazelda found them and shot at “the Veiled One” numerous times. The chainmail protected him somewhat but she was able to wound him slightly. She grabbed the casket of bones and the three took off down a long hallway. They managed to get to the river and made their way to the British Consulate. They had to escape the country by driving for four days across the Syrian Desert before they came to a seaport and could return to England.
This book was fun to read. It was filled with action and adventure. The historic descriptions of the fall of the Ottoman Empire were well researched. The last few chapters of the book contained an additional story that was heartwarming. All in all, it was a good read.
About the Author John Amos
John Amos holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and a JD from the Monterey College of Law. He has taught at the university level for over twenty-five years and has numerous academic publications. His fiction works include several novels. He has lived and studied in the Middle East—Egypt, Lebanon, Libya and Turkiye. He currently practices law in California.
Published by:
River Grove Books
Austin, Texas
Available online