The Case of the Vanishing Corpse

Ben Bartholomew #1

by Kel Richards

The world of Ben Bartholomew. It is a world of standover gangs and armed terrorists, a world in which a P.I. For hire must carry a gun if he wants to live beyond lunchtime. It is a world of religious fanatics, petty tyrants, spies and nightmares, which explodes with intrigue and danger when a corpse disappears from a sealed tomb. "The case of the vanishing corpse" is the ultimate locked-room mystery.

Genres: Christian, Fiction, Mystery, Christian Fiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

About the author

Kevin Barry "Kel" Richards (born 8 February 1946) is an Australian author, journalist and radio personality.

Richards has written a series of crime novels and thrillers for adult readers which includes The Case of the Vanishing Corpse, Death in Egypt and An Outbreak of Darkness.

Richards currently presents ABC NewsRadio's weekend afternoons, which includes regular Wordwatch segments. Wordwatch is a feature introduced by Richards. Initially developed as a "filler" program for the radio programs to allow time for changes of people or locations, it tapped into an interest by the listening public and several books have been produced based on the show's research. In November 2003 the thousandth episode of the show was produced.

Richards can also be heard on ABC Local Radio programs including Nightlife (national) and Evenings in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Reviews

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Jesus whodunnit played some part in me becoming a Christian as a teenager. There's an explanation in the back of what becoming a Christian means which was quite significant for me.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are in the middle east region and the corpse of a recently executed political prisoner goes missing. The authorities are really bothered that he might pop up again with his gang and become a martyr and they really want the mess cleaned up quickly and quietly so they hire a well known and respected PI to find out how the corpse managed to be removed, find it and bring it back before the public get to know. Kel Richards narration is of good quality, fast paced and well executed making this a worthwhile and speedy read.

I think everyone will recognise the story as, althougth it is set in modern day Jerusalem the characters are those of a story almost 2,000 years old. But, applying the modern idem and testing the story using modern investigative methods brings it right up to date and makes it very relevant.

Some would dismiss this out of religious prejudice which would be a shame because it is a good read.

[Christine Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilariously funny and easy to read.
A detective is hired to find Jesus' body and prove that he could not have risen from the dead.
Loved it

[Evan Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Fast paced. Quality plot and characters. Mixed in is the authors Australian wit and vocab. Highly enjoyable read.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining and inspiring nod to old detective stories (Raymond Chandler’s work comes to mind). Imagine the first century A.D. just after Jesus’ death and resurrection: the High Priest hires a private investigator (Ben Bartholomew) to look into the case of Jesus’ missing body. What ensues gives us a glimpse of all the players in the drama: the Romans, the Jews, Kind Herod, the Zealots, the disciples and other followers, and others. It’s one man’s quest to find out what really happened, a bit reminiscent of The Robe in that respect. A great read, especially for a Christian.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old story. Modern slant with same result and mystery

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘If all this is untrue then it doesn’t matter. But if it is true it matters enormously. The one thing it cannot be is true and unimportant.’

[Nikita]

I liked the concept of this book but it had lots of incosistancies as far as the timezone was which confused me a lot.

[David Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An apologetic - sorting through the possibilities and concluding to the Biblical truth.....that the Gospel account of Jesus' death and Resurrection is correct.