Book Review - IN THE SHADOW OF SINAI by Carole Towriss

Oh, Carole, what a novel you've written! You grabbed me on the first page with the crash of drums and held me right down to the last drumbeat on the last page. What a debut!

The Jews were a stubborn and rebellious bunch--but still the apple of God's eye, beloved and cared for. Your book so well illustrated the Book of Exodus, I felt as though I were there.

I know, I'm partial to Biblical fiction and tend to brag on my critique partners' successes a lot, but this one is well worth the bragging. Carole has made the artist live again--Bezalel, who constructed the Ark of the Covenant and all the gold and silver urns, altar, basins, rings, etc. for the magnificent tabernacle of God.

In this book, Bazalel begins as a Hebrew slave in Egypt, so artistically talented, particularly in metal and jewel work, that he serves the pharaoh himself. But in the process of becoming so favored by Ramses, he loses his faith in God.

Bazalel saves the life of a small boy, son of a deceased concubine to the pharaoh, and takes him to his own mother to raise. And then there's this other concubine, Meri.

Along come Moses and Aaron with their plagues that wear down Ramses until he sends the Hebrews across the Red Sea, away into the desert, and into faith or failure.

The rest is history--but Carole has woven the characters and circumstances together with an artistry of her own that will have you consuming page after page and living that history with them.

Thank you, Carole Towriss. Job well done.

In the Shadow of Sinai is available from Amazon and Barnes and Nobel. To learn more about Carole, click on her name. To purchase the book, click on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel.