What do you think?
Rate this book
Secrets in Bethlehem
Dark and treacherous secrets are about to come out when a small, elite group of the world’s most powerful men, called The Committee, realize their illegal experiment in human cloning is about to be made public. Should it be found out where the DNA came from used in the experiment, it could cause catastrophic repercussions leading to untold chaos the world over. They must erase all evidence of the experiment, including its result: five year old Jesse Messenger, before this single little boy can bring down a legacy of power that has been in control for over one hundred and fifty years.
Through a series of uncontrollable and tragic events, Travis Brody, an unemployed short order cook with a go to hell attitude and Janey Carmichael, a waitress in a greasy spoon diner fighting to make her way in a world filled with disappointments, find themselves in the world of dark secrets and corrupted power as they boldly take on the role of Jesse’s protectors. Sticking to the frozen, shadow filled alleys of Bethlehem Pennsylvania, they are running out of options as they narrowly avoid Jesse’s pursuers who leave dead bodies in their wake. Their only chance of survival is in the hands of a mysterious stranger and the hit man hired by the chairman of The Committee to terminate them with extreme prejudice and return the boy to him. While running for their lives, and trying to protect Jesse from The Committee, Travis and Janey must try to come to terms with their own growing feelings for each other and whether they have a future together. That is, if they survive.
Through a series of uncontrollable and tragic events, Travis Brody, an unemployed short order cook with a go to hell attitude and Janey Carmichael, a waitress in a greasy spoon diner fighting to make her way in a world filled with disappointments, find themselves in the world of dark secrets and corrupted power as they boldly take on the role of Jesse’s protectors. Sticking to the frozen, shadow filled alleys of Bethlehem Pennsylvania, they are running out of options as they narrowly avoid Jesse’s pursuers who leave dead bodies in their wake. Their only chance of survival is in the hands of a mysterious stranger and the hit man hired by the chairman of The Committee to terminate them with extreme prejudice and return the boy to him. While running for their lives, and trying to protect Jesse from The Committee, Travis and Janey must try to come to terms with their own growing feelings for each other and whether they have a future together. That is, if they survive.
522 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 12, 2012
9 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 5, 2021
The story was fantastic- It drew me in and kept me guessing. The characters were likable and believable. I do think some editing would still be helpful. There are some misspellings and wording errors, even though there has been some editing. Still, I highly recommend this entertaining read!!!
February 1, 2013
Full disclosure: I made a deal with the author to review her book if she will review mine. This review is also on Amazon.com.
I liked the story. The plot is well thought out and there is a surprise ending. The characters are well developed and I was interested in what happened to them. The hero is appealing even though he is a rough character. I really liked that the heroine is not the typical feminist on steroids, neither was she vapid and silly, she actually seems like a real person. I was pleasantly surprised to find she was able to love with abandon and allow her motherly instincts to emerge without an internal struggle. I defy anyone to not fall in love with the little boy; he is adorable - I admire the way the author portrayed his character. It reminded me of my oldest son and how I could have adult conversations with him when he was only 4 years old. The boy's perception reminded me of my next son, who has always been able to know how I feel about things, even when I don't know myself. The villains are just the right amount of evil for the story.
As a Christian, there were a couple of scenes I could have done without, and which I just skipped over in order to continue with the story. Without those I would have given it 4 stars, because the story itself deserves 4 stars.
I am really glad she didn't dwell heavily on the moral aspects of the plot. She makes one statement that does not agree with my Christian doctrine, and had she taken it any further I might have struggled to keep myself from pointing out the fallacy. As it turned out, she doesn't expound on it as I expected her to or even mention it again. I was also quite relieved she didn't feel the need to explain the technical side of things either, since I was not interested in that and just wanted to know what happened with the characters.
I give it 3.5 stars.
I liked the story. The plot is well thought out and there is a surprise ending. The characters are well developed and I was interested in what happened to them. The hero is appealing even though he is a rough character. I really liked that the heroine is not the typical feminist on steroids, neither was she vapid and silly, she actually seems like a real person. I was pleasantly surprised to find she was able to love with abandon and allow her motherly instincts to emerge without an internal struggle. I defy anyone to not fall in love with the little boy; he is adorable - I admire the way the author portrayed his character. It reminded me of my oldest son and how I could have adult conversations with him when he was only 4 years old. The boy's perception reminded me of my next son, who has always been able to know how I feel about things, even when I don't know myself. The villains are just the right amount of evil for the story.
As a Christian, there were a couple of scenes I could have done without, and which I just skipped over in order to continue with the story. Without those I would have given it 4 stars, because the story itself deserves 4 stars.
I am really glad she didn't dwell heavily on the moral aspects of the plot. She makes one statement that does not agree with my Christian doctrine, and had she taken it any further I might have struggled to keep myself from pointing out the fallacy. As it turned out, she doesn't expound on it as I expected her to or even mention it again. I was also quite relieved she didn't feel the need to explain the technical side of things either, since I was not interested in that and just wanted to know what happened with the characters.
I give it 3.5 stars.
January 21, 2013
This book could use a good editor. There are a lot of words that are either missing or spelled wrong. My favorite was "United States of American". If this type of things drives you to distraction, skip the book until better edited.
As I have said before though, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I can usually roll right over it and not get distracted with the missing stuff. I just fill it in and keep moving.
There was something very small in this book that actually made me stop for a moment and shake my head. There was a basic fact that the author messed up and it killed me. This book is supposed to take place in February 2012. The hero of this book is supposed to be 28 years old. There is a place where the author states his birthdate and it is July of 1981. Wouldn't that make the hero 30 and not 28? Like I said, small, but it annoyed me that the author messed up on something so basic as dates.
Thankfully, that didn't ruin the story for me. This was a very decent book that kept me on my toes to the ending. I don't think all of it is very believable, but hey it is fiction. The villain's were good, you couldn't always tell who was 'good' v who was 'evil'. The love story was OK. It was nothing to get hot and excited about and you don't really see the story develop. It is more told to you. The story wraps up pretty well and the ending was kind of a surprise to me. I didn't expect that at all.
As I have said before though, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I can usually roll right over it and not get distracted with the missing stuff. I just fill it in and keep moving.
There was something very small in this book that actually made me stop for a moment and shake my head. There was a basic fact that the author messed up and it killed me. This book is supposed to take place in February 2012. The hero of this book is supposed to be 28 years old. There is a place where the author states his birthdate and it is July of 1981. Wouldn't that make the hero 30 and not 28? Like I said, small, but it annoyed me that the author messed up on something so basic as dates.
Thankfully, that didn't ruin the story for me. This was a very decent book that kept me on my toes to the ending. I don't think all of it is very believable, but hey it is fiction. The villain's were good, you couldn't always tell who was 'good' v who was 'evil'. The love story was OK. It was nothing to get hot and excited about and you don't really see the story develop. It is more told to you. The story wraps up pretty well and the ending was kind of a surprise to me. I didn't expect that at all.
March 15, 2016
The newer edited version of this book is awesome. This was the authors first publication so some latitude should be afforded but for people thinking about getting it, I encourage you to! This is a story that has not been told and the possible implications of this happening really get you thinking. I hope to follow little Jesse into another story. Should be very intriguing. Highly recommend all of Kate Porters books. Such a great imagination!
Read
February 10, 2016522pgs, romantic suspense, Dark and treacherous secrets are about to come out when a small, elite group of the world 19s most powerful men, called The Committee, realize their illegal experiment in human cloning is about to be made public.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews