"The Runaway Prophet" follows the story of Rory Justice who is asked by his dying father to deliver a letter to an FBI colleague in Las Vegas. His father believes that terrorists have planted a bomb in one of the casinos with the intent to wipe out Sin City. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rory is reluctant to carry out his father's wishes and tries to avoid returning to Vegas after a bad experience ten years earlier. However, circumstances finally lead him back to the city he loathes and he finds himself in a race to find the bomb before it is too late.

Rory was an unlikeable character which made the reading of this novel difficult. When I don't have a connection with the main protagonist, I don't care what happens to them, so reaching the last page was a struggle. I found Rory to be self-absorbed and judgemental.

The book had the potential to be a moving, action-packed read but it fell short of the mark. The writing was simplistic, the dialogue stilted and there was a decided lack of emotion. Some moments defied belief and left me shaking my head. The author tried with this novel but some things needed improving to make "The Runaway Prophet "an entertaining story. ( )

This is a modern day retelling of the biblical story of Jonah. Rory Justice, an ad executive, is asked by his dying father to deliver a letter to the sheriff of Las Vegas. The letter claims that a disastrous event is going to happen. This letter sets in motion a series of events that change Rory's life. Rory is very judgemental, but has a good heart.
I found the story to be slow at times, and constantly teaching a lesson. (I suppose that is to be expected when it is a retelling of a bible story). I didn't like how the Muslims were being portrayed as the bad guys and that the main character felt that his wife made his son gay. There were some redeeming passages at the end of the book between some of the Muslim people and Rory, but too little, in my opinion.

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Title: The Runaway Prophet
Author: Michele Chynoweth
Pages: 308
Year: 2016
Publisher: Morgan James Fiction
My rating is 4 stars out of 5.
Ever read the book of Jonah in the Old Testament? Jonah is a reluctant kind of a prophet who God told to go to a certain city and preach a message of repentance. Jonah ran away from his assignment and God used a storm at sea to get his attention. Jonah was swallowed by a whale and stayed there three days until he was literally thrown up onto a shore. Yes, I agree, gross. However, the point being Jonah repented and went to complete the assignment God gave him. Read the book of Jonah and you’ll quickly see there are other issues in Jonah’s heart.
Now what Michele Chynoweth did was take that story and place it in modern times. What would a Jonah type story look like in today’s world? Well, what is crafted by the author is a spell-binding tale of a young man receiving instructions from his dying father, but he isn’t all that thrilled to obey directions. Readers will follow Rory Justice as he too has to come to terms with his assignment, but it takes a whole lot of suffering for his heart to be willing. Rory isn’t just afraid of what he has to do; it’s the repercussions that really take his breath away!
The story grabbed my attention with danger, tension, romance, and a message of God’s love, forgiveness and hope. I found it interesting that one of the minor characters turns out to be gay. He doesn’t engage in sexual encounters, but instead decides to remain chaste for his life. The tale though mainly focuses on how Rory must constantly make choices, be honest about the state of his heart and draw near to God.
I read this story pretty quickly as it just brought to modern day the way we can at times be like Jonah and yet God will continue to love us, calling us to Himself.
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