Elijah's Coin by Steve O'Brien

Article first published as Book Review: Elijah's Coin by Steve O'Brien on Blogcritics.

Every day we make choices. Sometimes they are good choices and take us forward, but often they are not. There are times that if we only knew what would happen in regards to a particular decision, we might have made a different choice.

Thomas Wagner made a conscious choice to steal. He decided to break into an old time retail house, just to see if he could. He had grown up without his mother, murdered when he was a child; a day never went by that he did not miss her. One day he would find out the story on her murder and he would find the man responsible, but that would be some time in the future, and could not stand in his way now. This was his choice and he would see it through.

Once in the building he hears something, someone else is there. Who could it be, was it possible there was a security guard. Thomas continues to try to stay hidden, hoping only to reach the door without incident, but he is found. The odd thing was that the man who found him was dressed as a rent-a-cop but did not appear to want to take him in. After talking with Thomas for a time, he told him that he was there to help him learn a lesson. He introduced himself as Elijah King.

Before he knew it, Elijah had him agreeing to the lesson. Thomas was spellbound by the message he was hearing and by the people that Elijah had helped. Elijah handed him a special coin after his second lesson, letting him know that he would meet the following night. Showing for the lesson, Elijah was not there and when Thomas panicked thinking something may have happened to him, he found himself on the wrong side of the law. This time the officers called the owner of the building and found out there had never been a night watchman, and no one knew a man named Elijah King. Thomas was extremely worried.

This is a wonderful story, a form of pay it forward.In Elijah's Coin, Steve O'Brien has sent a message of hope and love. It is fun and well told, an extremely fast-paced story, filled with possibilities. Engaged by the story from the beginning I found the characters, especially Elijah King to be very charismatic. Each of the personalities that Thomas met as he searched for Elijah became a part of his learning process, but a part of his inner circle as well. Each member of this group received a coin, a special coin, making them all a part of Elijah's inner circle as well.

I would recommend this book for any one that is looking to learn about hope. Written with thoughtful prose and wit, it would make a wonderful book for a reading group or book club.

Rating 5/5
Elizah's Coin

This book was recieved from the Cadence Group. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.