Review – The Bone Box

Dust flung into the air by the earth-moving machine highlighted the sunset’s golden colors against the ancient Jerusalem skyline. Momentarily distracted, the operator sensed a sudden shift beneath him. He swiftly brought the engine to a shuddering halt and jumped to the ground, soon joined by other excavation members.

They stared into the gaping hole in the desert floor ten feet below, inches from the front of the machine. Several stone boxes sat on the floor of what might have been an ancient burial chamber. If they were right, the Jewish Antiquities Authority would take over the excavation site.

They were concerned about their jobs, but losing the site would be nothing compared to the political infighting, danger, and intrigue their discovery would unleash. Tightly rolled scrolls inside one sealed box would reveal the 2000 year-old bones of the high-priest, Joseph Ben Caiaphas.

In The Bone Box, award-winning author and pastor, Bob Hostetler, writes a fictionalized tale of biblical supposition, filled with archeological, political, and religious intrigue. The story confirms the resurrection of Christ, and the fictional role Joseph Ben Caiaphas might have played in the ancient event. The story is told through the eyes of three fictional characters, Randall Bullock, recent widower, and agnostic archaeologist, his estranged college-age daughter, Tracey, and the high-priest, Joseph Ben Caiaphas. The Bullocks story revolves around dysfunctional family relationships and Bullock’s crisis of faith, which was triggered by his astonishing discovery of the bone boxes.

Hostetler uses short chapters to interchange time periods, with the archaeologist’s story running concurrent with the excavation. Caiaphas’s 2000 year-old story parallels Bullock’s adventures. The alternate time frames slowed the story down for me until the middle of the book.

Two plot lines that weakened the story for me was the implied romance between Bullock and Miri, the Israeli Antiques Authority representative, and the romantic involvement between Tracey and Carlos. I would have liked to see the relationships more developed and integrated into the plot.

However, the plot was ambitious and interesting, particularly Caiaphas’s account of what-might-have-been. Verifying Jesus’ death and resurrection and why newspapers wouldn’t print the story, was thought provoking. Overall, however, Hostetler has written an interesting, fictionalized account drawn from the pages of time.