The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Sacred Cipher (Kregel Publications, July 31, 2009) by Terry Brennan.

About the Author

Over the past 35 years, Terry Brennan has accumulated a broad range of experience in both the profit and non-profit business sectors.

His 22-year, award winning journalism career included:
• Seven years as a sportswriter and editor with The Philadelphia Bulletin, at the time the largest-circulation afternoon newspaper in the nation;
• Leading The Mercury of Pottstown (PA), as its editor, to a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing;
• Serving as Executive Editor of a multi-national newspaper firm – Ingersoll Publications – with papers in the USA, England and Ireland.

In 1996 Brennan transferred his successful management career to the non-profit sector and served for 12 years as Vice President of Operations for the Christian Herald Association, Inc., the parent organization of four New York City ministries, including The Bowery Mission.

Now Chief Operating Officer of the National Organization on Disability, Brennan also won the Valley Forge Award for editorial writing from the Freedoms Foundation. His two adult sons and their families live in Pennsylvania. Terry, his wife Andrea and their two adult children live in New York City. The Sacred Cipher is his first novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

History's greatest secret could be tomorrow's greatest threat More historically and biblically accurate than The DaVinci Code and just as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie, The Sacred Cipher combines action and mystery to draw readers into a world of ancient secrets and international escapades.

When an ancient scroll appears in a secret room of the Bowery Mission in New York City, Tom Bohannon is both stunned and intrigued. The enigma of the scroll's contents will send Bohannon and his team ricocheting around the world, drawing the heat of both Jewish and Muslim militaries, and bringing the Middle East to the brink of nuclear war in this heart-pounding adventure of historical proportions. The Sacred Cipher is a riveting, fact-based tale of mystery and suspense.


If you want to read the Prologue of The Sacred Cipher, go HERE.

My Review

The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan begins in an intriguing fashion with a fictional account of a surprising figure from church history. The hook was great, and the pace of the novel only increased as the main character, Tom Bohannon, discovers an ancient scroll with an unrecognizable script in a renovation project. Just when you think the language on the scroll will never be deciphered, the team Tom has assembled proves their scientific merit by figuring it out.

The team unravels captivating yet believable historical elements behind the cipher; the message of the scroll leads them to ancient Jerusalem, and a high-scale treasure hunt begins. The journey of the men through the ancient tombs and tunnels snaking beneath modern-day Jerusalem is fascinating. Combined with a race against time and an exciting, even miraculous escape, it made for enjoyable reading.

Not only was the book a page turner, but there was also substance to the characters, and the message of forgiveness and redemption was clear. Particularly appealing was the fact that Tom had his own struggles, and his faith grew throughout this journey, which he felt was designed by God. The author should be congratulated for weaving a tale of action and intrigue with a message of purpose and hope. Well done, Terry!