The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L. Cole

This Friday I have the opportunity to review the second book in this series by Frank Cole, so I thought I had better read the first book, just to get up to speed!  =]

From the book:  Amber's favorite teacher, Dorothy Holcomb, is missing, and it's up to Amber and her archaeology  classmates to rescue their teacher and recover the ancient artifact Dorothy's trying to protect.  But with codes to crack, clues to follow, and more danger at every turn, this mission may be more than four teenagers can handle - not to mention the fact that they're being chased by an evil organization that will stop at nothing to claim the artifact for itself.

From Heather:  From the start, this book looks right up my alley!  I love books about archaeology and mysteries and clues and adventure!  The book starts with the following line: "Two flashlight beams cut through the darkness of the museum, leaving me no choice but to drop down below the stone sarcophagus."  From that moment, it's adventure after adventure for Amber and Trendon and Lisa and Joseph.  Their teacher sends them a coded message and they learn that she is in trouble.  So they set off to help her, and run into some really bad guys on the way.

I really did like this book.  I liked the adventure and the different places that the author takes you to in his writing.  He has done a wonderful job of keeping the pace moving and making you want to find out what comes next.   I really liked Trendon as the computer geek, and while Amber wasn't my favorite character, she was smart and adventurous and determined to find the artifact.  (I would have liked a little bit of a relationship between the two of them, but sadly, no.)  I also liked the biblical tie-ins to the story, some interesting, imaginative ideas that were fun to consider.  It's an all around good, clean, fun read.

There were a few nit-picky things that I struggled with throughout the book, but those seem to have worked themselves out in the second book (which I will review on Friday!)  Some of the action is a little intense, so I think the age recommendation is 14 and up.  That sounds about right.  =]   Check back on Friday and read the review of the next book in the series, The Guardians of Elijah's Fire!