Final Warning

by Joseph Max Lewis

MURDER DURING A DRUG DEAL

After stealing and then pawning The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, Jamall Harris and his two friends are set up to take the blame for the murder of two Police Detectives. The three men shoot their way out of the set-up, but now they’re wanted not only by the Police as cop killers, but also by the Crips street gang, who believe Jamall double-crossed them. Desperate, the men steal the scrolls back from the pawn shop they sold them to, kidnap a Professor of Latin and take over a University Lab with carbon dating equipment.

Their demand? Gubernatorial and Presidential pardons in exchange for the original scrolls, translation of the etchings in English, the carbon dating results and their hostages. The Society for Human Enlightenment sends men disguised as an FBI swat unit to breech the lab, kill the witnesses and destroy the scrolls before their content can be made public. Since the Fellowship is in disarray, Jamall and his friends are on their own.

Or are they?

262 pages, Paperback

Published July 23, 2020

About the author

Joseph Max Lewis served as a member of an Operational Detachment in the U.S. Army's Seventh Special Forces Group, the storied Green Berets. During his service Lewis received antiterrorist training and his detachment was tasked to "Special Projects." Afterward, he served as an instructor at the Special Forces Qualification Course. Lewis attended the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the University of Tel Aviv in Israel, and the University of Pittsburgh, receiving degrees in International Politics and Law while being certified in Middle East Studies.

After living and studying abroad, first in the Middle East and then Southeast Asia, Lewis returned home to practice law. He’s a columnist in the New Bethlehem Leader-Vindicator and currently lives, writes, and practices law in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG you went there!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the science

Excellent writing, great premise, interesting storyline. Some things, such as substitute profanity, could use rethinking. Maybe s•••. The pseudo is just stiff

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping in intensity “Final Warning” opens with a drug deal gone bad, two police detectives murdered and Jamal Harris and his two friends on the run. Blamed for the murders Jamal hatches a plan to steal back the “ Diaries of Pontius Pilate”, the copper scrolls he hawked, have them deciphered and authenticated at the University Lab. In exchange for the scrolls and prisoners they hold hostage at the Lab, Jamall plots to bargain for a pardon for the three of them only to be thwarted by the Society for Human Enlightenment who sends in a team dressed as an FBI Swat Unit to kill everyone and destroy the diaries.

Set in an atmosphere of uncertainty after the downing of the President’s plane; electrical storms; aurora phenomenon; and possible civil war, tension consistently builds. Exciting and fast-paced as Jamall barters a deal, Dr. Kevin Elliot who’s struggling with his faith discovers the whereabouts of his stolen scrolls setting out to the University knowing the Society is hot on his heels while evil rises and a scheme is hatched to impersonate the President and send a team to kill and destroy everything in the Lab. Intensity and suspense quickly build with twists and turns you don’t see coming. Well-written, all too quickly the plot flows to a surprising ending with a cliff-hanger that has you wondering about a third book coming soon.

Infusing intrigue into this powerful story of faith and hope are compelling characters like smart, resourceful Jamall Harris; formidable, easy-going T-Bone Shaw; tough, callous and angry Lucky D Ellis; and mousey, overweight but faith-filled Karen Melgram.

I thoroughly enjoyed “ Final Warning” and can’t wait to see what happens next.

[Susan Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good sequel. I really am enjoying this series of books and can't wait for the next one. There are some minor spelling issues, but nothing too distracting. There was one detail in the story that bothered me. When the first scroll was translated, Pontius Pilate was talking to the Centurion Petrus Heranus after Pilate had interviewed Cleopas. Pilate asked Petrus, if he had become a Christian? Pilate would not have used the term "Christian" a few days after Jesus' death as that term was not used until much later in Antioch.