Review – Book of Days

Cameron wondered how crazy Jason could be. Not only had Jason investigated Cameron’s background without telling him, he believed in a book that recorded all past, present and future events, a book he would do anything to find. Cameron couldn’t know then that would include murder, but he would soon find out. However, the story begins much earlier.

Cameron Vaux knew he was too young to develop memory problems like his dad, but the thought nagged him. After all, his dad had died from Alzheimer’s disease over a year ago, his last words forever imprinted on Cameron’s mind. “When it starts happening to you, you must find the book with all your days in it. It might cure you.”

Cameron questioned if his dad had gained lucidity in his last moments of life or if the disease that destroyed his mind prompted his remarks. Yet his wife Julie, who died six years ago, also talked of the strange book, said she’d seen it as a child and made him promise to go to the small central Oregon town of Three Peaks to find it. However, Cameron wouldn’t look for the Book of Days until he found himself losing his own memories.

Thus begins James L. Rubart’s thought-provoking, allegorical, thriller suspense, built around Psalms 139:16, “In Your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being.”

Readers meet mysterious Taylor Stone with his own story of the book he refuses to share. Investigative reporter Ann Bannister, his wife’s best friend with a secret she’s unable to share. Cameron’s wife Jessie who haunts him and Jason Judah’s strange followers, a cult who worship a book they have never seen, only heard about.

The author keeps the pages turning with suspenseful twists and turns that make it impossible to guess who the villain is, until he’s revealed in the last pages. The storyline also raises questions of choice, predetermination and knowing the future, among other intriguing concepts. Even though Cameron in the beginning doesn’t believe in God, the reader learns along with Cameron whether to trust and believe in a loving God.

Rubart is one of my favorite new authors. His writing is poignant, his characterizations skillful, and his plotting incredible. His second release is different than Rooms, lags a bit in the middle, but the last chapters make up for it.