Black Bible

Joshua L Mayer, Tiffany Calpo (editor)

Hallie Matheson doesn’t know much about his life. When he receives a folder from a phantom stranger detailing the connections of his past to a town called Sanctum, he does not hesitate to travel there to get his answers. The town has had a fire that’s been burning beneath it for years and has been considered left a ghost town. But it seems that upon arrival he discovers not only his past, but two realities colliding by one book. With a dark cult pulling the strings, Hallie must fight for his identity across parallel worlds under his parents war before history repeats itself.

Black Bible is the debut novel by Joshua Mayer, consisting of infidelity, a child of divorce, and a twisted look into small town mentality. It is a very personal novel for the author, detailing a book that he has said, “wrote itself” and had organized the narrative for itself. It is a story about fearing what we pass on as our legacy and how others will view us for it. It is a challenging and convoluted paradox of characters directly or indirectly connected to the Black Bible and the living town of Sanctum. (Summary via Goodreads)

Black Bible …. Joshua Mayer ….. hmmmm.

I met Joshua Mayer at a local coffee shop hosting an all day event for authors. Meet the authors, talk about their books, get their books, go home and read them. The first time I met Joshua he provided me with a copy of Black Bible. When I informed him a few months later that I had started reading it, he asked me to wait because he was in the process of revising it. So I did and recently I went to another author event at the same coffee shop and we switched copies of the book. So today I have finished reading Black Bible. It took me no time in reading it … this is a captivating read and one that I am still processing.

In Black Bible you meet Hallie Matheson …. well, a few versions of Hallie Matheson. You are introduced to a town, Sanctum, which I am going to go on record and say that you will not want to visit Sanctum. Hallie Matheson is a young boy who grew up in Sanctum and is trying to figure things out. Sanctum and the Matheson family are full of secrets that follow Hallie and haunt him wherever he goes and no matter what he does, he is always drawn back to Sanctum.

Honestly Black Bible is a book that no matter what anyone tells you or what you read about it, you are going to want to read it yourself … and make your own mind up about it. It is a very interesting and captivating story that takes readers on a crazy, dark, scary, wild ride. I feel it should be said that reading it during the daytime in the sun or nighttime with ALL the lights in the house on is highly recommended. Black Bible will make you lose track of time while you have the book open ….

This is Joshua’s debut book and I know he has other books out there and is working on more and I, for one, am a devoted fan and look forward to reading all of his books. Whatever this crazy, intelligent mind writes, I want to read … and so will you.