The “Mysterious Manuscript” is certainly a buried treasure, and is written by one of our own Washburn students, Israel Sanchez. He has been at Washburn since the fall of 2012, and is finishing up his last few credits to obtain a mass media degree with an emphasis on contemporary journalism.

In the book, Jim Davis searches for his father, Frank, after he was lost mysteriously searching for a manuscript. Along with his friends, Carlos and Alexandria, and a little help from other resources, Jim makes his way to find out what happened to his father, and whether or not he can finish his work.

The action creates a poignant distress for Jim as he tries to navigate the twists and turns from the clues left for him. In all honesty, it reminded me quite a bit of “National Treasure.”

Sanchez said this novel did involve a lot of research. For example, he had to learn quite a bit about cryptography and its history because it is featured so prominently in the book. Without the research, this book wouldn’t be as potent to the audience, leaving them in awe as the clues are unraveled.

This is Sanchez’s first full novel and he hopes to use the characters he’s created in sequels.

“I’ve always loved adventure novels. I wanted to write something in the action/adventure genre that had all the elements that I love,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said he hoped he was able to accomplish that. He said he had the idea for a year, but was unable to breathe life into the project before taking his Advanced Media Lab class.

“It was certainly a lot more challenging than I thought, and due to the time constraints, I couldn’t perfect the novel as much as I wanted to, but I am proud of it,” Sanchez said.

With an underlying tone of hope and faith in one’s self, this book will keep a smile on your face. The ties of friendship and family are deemed important, and give you reason to get close to and enjoy the characters. It is full of action from cover to cover, and will keep you on your toes. I would recommend picking it up and giving it a chance to take you on an adventure to where the manuscript wants to lead you.