"Everybody's Daughter" by Michael John Sullivan

Michael Stewart is in love - with a woman living in Israel 2,000 years before his time.  He found himself visiting Jesus' time after walking through a mysterious tunnel in the basement of his church, but after a short visit returns to his own time, only to find that his teenage daughter Elizabeth followed him through the tunnel.  While Elizabeth battles a Roman soldier, can Michael find a way to reopen the tunnel in time to save his daughter?

You should note that Everybody's Daughter is the second in this series after Necessary Heartbreak, and with such a time-traveling plot and wide cast of characters, one might expect some confusion if you haven't read the first book; however, author Sullivan does a fantastic job of filling in the reader on the entire back story.

Everybody's Daughter is just plain fascinating.  Have you ever wondered just what it might be like to meet Jesus as a person of that time?  Would you walk up to Him?  Would you doubt His message, be like so many others of the time and believe that God couldn't possibly walking around in front of you?  Sullivan explores that possibility in this story in several periods throughout Jesus' life.  What might it be like to stand in front of Jesus, vulnerable, hurting, wanting to believe, but not knowing how to let go and trust?  Sullivan has created the perfect man to explore this concept in Michael Stewart, a man who struggles to survive the loss of his beloved wife and raise his daughter in a better home than he had himself.

I've always loved the concept of time travel, but strangely enough never would've claimed Bible times as a time I'd want to visit.  Everybody's Daughter made me think about that possibility, though, not because I expect to disappear from this century anytime soon, but because understanding the atmosphere and people of the time can help me put some of the events of the Bible into perspective.  I also really enjoyed contemplating how I might react if I were to meet Jesus today, face to face in person, with all of the pain and questions and preconceptions that I have now.

Sullivan has written not only a winner of a story that I couldn't put down, but a premise that makes you think.  My favorite books are those that make me seek out the next ones because I can't get the characters or the plot out of my head - and Everybody's Daughter shows no signs of leaving anytime soon.  Full of action and excitement spanning 2,000 years, this book is definitely a winner.

I received a free copy of Everybody's Daughter from the B&B Media Group in exchange for an honest review.