While I must confess it took me a few chapters to get into Pentecost by J.F. Penn, eventually the story grew on me. The story of a scholarly female protagonist who somewhere along the line also learned how to kill and defend herself efficiently seems a little overwrought. Add to this the fantastical, mystical element of twelve stones, one for each of the twelve disciples who gathered on the day of Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit, and you start wondering whether you have enough suspension of belief in you to get through it.

[Note: since I picked up this book, it has been retitled to Stone of Fire.]

For a bit, I feared the tale would turn into a poor Dan Brown scavenger hunt imitation. Twelve stones hide throughout the world, in the hands of various keepers. Our protagonist counts herself as one of them. The bad guys—two different teams, as it turns out—want them for, well, evil purposes, because these stones allegedly carry awesome power. A third team, steps in to save our protagonist and offers her a chance to help them recover the stones before the bad guys get into them. She’s not sure whether she should join them—are they another set of bad guys?—but she does since her sister and niece have been kidnapped by bad guy number 1. Let the chase begin.

If I’m sound cynically skeptic, Penn’s ability to flesh out a credible, sympathetic female lead, and her meticulous research into the religious and historical details that permeate her story brought the story to life for me. The skill and deftness with which Penn unveils these details also deserves mention, as does the way she imaginatively weaves in the story’s fictional aspects. Though at times this story may feel like that Dan Brown scavenger hunt I mentioned, it is much more, and is presented with more style through lead characters that don’t feel like cardboard actors. I do say “lead” here, because the—once again—maniacal, deranged, snarling villain does show himself in this story, though not in sufficient quantity or weight to bring it down.

As for pace, Pentecost without doubt moves ahead at compulsive page-turning speed. The stakes and conflict ratchet up until we reach the climax and resolution. If Penn sought to give us a thriller of a ride, she succeeded, managing to do so without falling through many of the cliché trapdoors many authors drop us through.

In the end, as I closed the book, this story left me thinking. Wondering. Could this happen? Is there more to the world than materialistic, scientifically formulaic explanations? For that alone, I admire how Penn handled this story. We are left grappling with the protagonist’s own struggle to accept or reject the supernatural. In this sense, the story transcends above the action and the characters. Delivering those two elements in good measure, it also stands for more, and for this, I commend Penn for a job well done.

[Rating: 4 of 5 stars]