Review: Messages, by John Michael Hileman

Messages, by John Michael Hileman

Messages, by John Michael Hileman (Amlin Publishing, 2011)

David Chance is a journalism intern with the news team for a Boston television station. He’s an ordinary guy, married with two kids. One day he starts noticing random words and stringing them into messages. Messages that tell the future or that tell him what to do next.

Who’s sending them? David’s dead brother-in-law? God? Or David’s own mind?

All he knows is, the messages are true. And they’ve thrust him into a terrorist bomb plot.

Why him? Why now? If he obeys the messages, he risks his life and the safety of his family. If he doesn’t do his part, thousands may die—including the President of the United States.

Messages is a fast-paced suspense novel with splashes of humour. As a science fiction fan, I appreciated the character nicknamed Nerd’s references to Star Trek and Babylon 5. (Readers who miss those won’t miss anything crucial.)

The FBI are on the terrorists’ trail, but they don’t know what David knows—and how can he tell them without sounding crazy?

The messages, and the struggle to obey them blindly, rekindle David’s longing to know if God is real. His skepticism has always kept him from believing. Could the messages be the proof he needs?

Messages is a highly enjoyable read. It’s book 1 in the David Chance series, and as soon as I can clear a space in my to-read list, I’ll be into the sequel, Voices.

Author John Michael Hileman describes his novels as “contemporary pop fantasy with a spiritual twist”.  Visit his website to learn more about him and his other books.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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