Pirates & Treasures ~ A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell ~ Review & Giveaway

Chip Bell is a Jimmy Buffet fan. Did you guess?

I feel like I have met a kindred spirit and can hardly wait to embark on his A Pirate Looks At Forty adventure.

Add me to Goodreads now!

A PIRATE LOOKS AT FORTY by Chip Bell

A Jake Sullivan Novel

MY REVIEW

The publisher offered me an opportunity to read and review this awesome looking novel and there is no way I would turn down that offer. Between the title, the cover and Chip Beck’s love of Jimmy Buffet, I knew I had met a kindred soul (as I rub my hands together in eager anticipation of reading the book).

A beautiful sunset, a ship, a relic, a prophecy….

We start out with Abraham Abulafia and his need to recover the relic in 1260 A D. The Rabbi strives to protect it during the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 A D. In 1702 A D, 13 year old Louis Estabar found the hiding place where the Rabbi had secreted it and vowed to keep it forever.

In 1715 A D, Estebar is now a Captain and sets sail from Havana, heading toward the Florida Straits, which at this time belongs to Spain. A monster storm and rogue wave would end their trip home. The Spanish, pirates and looters salvaged much of the treasure and the wreck was abandoned. Until…

U S Senator Daniel Simmons had read about the loss of the Spanish fleet, so when he retired, he bought a yacht, the Treasure Trove, and went hunting. He listed his findings online and asked for help in identifying a relic of a boy with a pretty stone on a leather thong. He did not anticipate what is to come.

Treasure, pirates, storms, sinkings, Florida…what more can I say for the dreamer? An adventure the likes of Indiana Jones, only underwater and off the Florida coast.

Jake Sullivan is the Chief Prosecuting Attorney in the Justice Department Miami Office. When the Senator and his wife are murdered, he’s called in to solve the crime. Told this would be a slam dunk, he knew it would be anything but an easy mystery to solve.

The repercussions if the relic falls into the wrong hands, could bring on WWIII.

Is it possible for a small group to rule the world? I believe in conspiracies and it would not surprise me at all if there was.

Worldwide economic collapse. International intrigue, political conspiracies.

Perfect for the upcoming beach reading season.

Some characters are good, some bad, with death on both sides. Even when things are obvious, it is that special investigator that has a gut feeling, or is it intuition, that there is more than meets the eye.

I’m wondering, does Lev, a Special Agent with Mossad, suspect, like I do, who the traitor is? Is it a setup? At first I am disappointed he doesn’t suspect who I feel is the culprit.  But…WAIT…As I read along, I  believe I was very wrong about the spy. The way the story was written, Chip fooled me. I was part right and part wrong. Way to go Chip. I love it. Not only did I not figure it out, I figured it out wrong. LOL

Parts of the novel read like current events. I do believe it is in their best interests for Israel, Palestine and all the rest of the countries in that neck of the woods to figure out a way to get along. Will it ever happen?

Chip Bell’s ability to blend the past and the present, treasure hunting, murder and political intrigue, myths and legends, kept me reading from cover to cover. He presented me with so many obstacles to overcome in my search for the answers that I could not quit reading.

I will eagerly be on another adventure with Jake Sullivan in One Particular Harbor.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  4  Stars

SYNOPSIS

When a retired United States Senator’s passion for deep-sea treasure hunting off the coast of Palm Beach leads to murder, Jake Sullivan, Chief Prosecutor for the Justice Department in Miami, thinks he has an open and shut case: the DNA of the man pulled out of the warm waters near the ill-fated yacht, matches blood found on the deck. But life is never so simple for Jake.

In a rush of political maneuvering, Jake’s suspect is whisked away by the State Department under a claim of diplomatic immunity. The mystery man is no simple treasure thief; he is a covert operator for the Mossad, Israel’s elite intelligence agency.

But, Jake and his investigator, Mike Lang, are no less committed to solving the murders of Senator Daniel Simmons and his wife.Their instincts are piqued when information leads them to the writings of an ancient Hebrew mystic and the lore behind an iconic relic of Medieval Spain lost in 1715 when a hurricane wrecked a Spanish treasure fleet off the Florida coast.

But those findings are less bizarre than their uncovering of an Israeli army faction intent on realizing a dream of a “Greater Israel.” Discovering the identity of the mysterious leader of “The Group of 40” becomes more than a quest to solve a murder investigation. Jake and Mike hope to prevent South Florida from becoming a war zone, and the fuse that could light the powder keg that is the Middle East.

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Since June of 2011, Jake Sullivan has taken readers on adventures from Miami to Key West, from Havana to the Middle East, and most recently, sailing through the Virgin Islands…

Dealing with corrupt politicians, criminal masterminds, assassins, the old and new Havana Mob, rogue military factions, and revenge-seeking tycoons, Jake and his best friend, Mike Lang, have encountered twists, turn, tricks and plots… always keeping their readers guessing and providing endings that surprise and satisfy.

His latest releases for the series, books four and five, are  A Pirate Looks at 40 andOne Particular Harbor. A Son of a Son of a Sailor is coming in Spring 2015.

And to catch up on the series author Chip Bell has released an eBook titled The Trilogy,  a chance for new readers to obtain the first three adventures in this series for only $3.99, to meet Jake Sullivan, Mike Lang, and a great cast of ever-changing characters… and to become part of the legion of fans who find thrills, suspense, humor, and the tropics an unbeatable combination.

The Jake Sullivan Series is must-read for fans of political thrillers and quick and dirty action novels.

Find out more about both novels at:  http://www.chipbellauthor.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chip BellCharles L. “Chip” Bell, Jr., lives in the City of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Linda, is the father of two daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, and is a practicing attorney specializing in personal injury litigation, with his main office in Arnold, Pennsylvania.

Born on February 23, 1950, in Harrison Township, Pennsylvania, he grew up in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Tarentum High School in 1968, attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, from 1968 to 1972, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. He served in the United States Army from 1972 to 1974, attended Duquesne University School of Law from 1975 to 1979, and graduated Cum Laude. He practiced law as a personal injury trial attorney with the law firm of Rosenberg, Sewak, Pizzi and Bell from 1979 to 2002, and thereafter as a sole practitioner up to and including the present date.

He is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association) and has served on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association from 1988 to 1990. He is also a member of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and served on the Board of Governors in 1988. He is a founder and past president of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

He is the author of the Jake Sullivan series of novels, the first of which, Come Monday, was published in June of 2011, and the second, Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season, in October 2011. His third novel, Havana Daydreamin’, was released in April 2012. His fourth novel, A Pirate Looks at Forty has just been published as of June 2, 2014.

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GIVEAWAY

I have 1 (one) ecopy of A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell for the giveaway. International. Entry is easy peasy. Simple leave your email and answer the question:

Do you have a favorite Jimmy Buffett song, or exotic island locale?

Giveaway runs March 24 – April 3, 2015.

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7 thoughts on “Pirates & Treasures ~ A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell ~ Review & Giveaway

  1. Pingback: Pirates & Treasures ~ A Pirate Looks at Forty by Chip Bell ~ Review & Giveaway | sherryfundin

    • Yeah, I kinda like that one too. LOL And I agree with your tropical island choice. I have been around the Carribbean a bit and loved everywhere I went. There was plenty of sun, sand and palm trees for us beach and water lovers. Good luck, Laura.

  2. Pingback: One Particular Harbor by Chip Bell - fundinmentalfundinmental

  3. Pingback: An Exotic Island & Murder ~ One Particular Harbor by Chip Bell | sherryfundin

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