Scream
by
Mark Stone thinks his biggest problem is finding a way to reconcile with his estranged wife. That is until he hears screams during a phone conversation with his friend. Not the ear piercing high mewls...
Blood Brothers
by
Blood Brothers is Rick Acker’s sequel to Deadman’s Rule where attorney Ben Corbin finds himself in the middle of a high stakes battle between brothers Karl and Gunnar Bjornsen. Once partners in Bjornsen...
By Reason Of Insanity
by
By Reason of Insanity opens with a series of kidnappings and murders in Virginia Beach where Catherine O’Rourke, reporter for The Tidewater Times, captivates her audience with breaking information...
In Shadows at the Window, Linda Hall has done it again – wrapped interesting, real, and flawed characters with a compelling mystery and a refreshing romance. | Posted January-08-2009
When Shadows at the Window opens, Lilly Johnson seems to have it all. She’s content in her job at a music store, enjoys teaching music lessons, is at home singing in the worship band at church, and is thrilled over a pending engagement to youth minister, Greg Whitten. Yes, everything in her current world is swimming along nicely. It’s Lilly’s past that threatens to pull her under and drown out her present.
Lilly is horribly ashamed of the things she’s done in the past and was happy to leave that life behind. A life she thought would remain hidden. But Lilly is in for a shocking surprise as her past rises up and threatens to smother the good with a blanket of ugliness. Not only smother Lilly, but take Greg down with her.
Greg is clueless about Lilly’s secrets and simply wants to marry her. When emails begin arriving with incriminating pictures of Lilly, her world collapses. She must find out who is sending these emails and discover what they hope to gain from exposing her. And if it is possible, reclaim the world she lived in before it was rocked to the core.
Shadows at the Window is an aptly titled story of past failures and future consequences. The subject of this story could be dark and heavy but Hall does a wonderful job of not letting that happen. She reminds us that our past is our past and once we accept Jesus as our savior, we are new creatures in Christ and the past cannot harm us. That no matter what we’ve done, we have a fresh beginning with God.
I’ve always thought one of Hall’s many writing strengths lies in her characters. She pens real people with struggles you and I might find in life. She tosses these characters into mysteries so compelling that you want to keep reading until the very end. Shadows at the Windows is no exception to this and is a race to the end read. I urge you to buy your copy today so you too can see why Linda Hall is and remains one of my favorite authors.
Do you like shopping? Like jewelry? Like a chick-lit voice in your novels? Then you’ll love Priced To Move by Ginny Aiken. | Posted January-08-2009
Priced To Move opens with gemologist, Andrea Adams hard at work for a less than thankful boss in New York’s Diamond District. Though Andrea loves her field of work, she’s struggling to find a sense of satisfaction in her current job. When her wacky Aunt Weeby breaks her leg, Andrea jumps on the opportunity to quit her job and move back to Louisville, Kentucky to care for her ailing aunt.
Before Aunt Weeby leaves the hospital, Andie is offered a job as the jewelry host on the Shop Til U Drop, S.T.U.D., television shopping network where she is paired with a hunky but completely clueless about gems co-host, Max Matthews. Max is so clueless about gems that he torments Andie on the first taping of the show when he drops a princess cut diamond as easily as he’d drop a football.
Andie considers this first day as a Shop Til U Drop co-host a complete and utter disaster, but the audience loves the chemistry between the pair. Andie, shocked at the audience’s reaction, retrieves the precious diamond and rushes out of the building, but she doesn’t get far. In the parking lot, Andrea realizes she doesn’t need the responsibility and riskes involved in babysitting a three-carat treasure. Andie returns the diamond to the show’s vault and this is where the mystery in the book begins as she discovers a dead body.
At this point, the story picks up pace as Andie and Max travel to Myanmar to visit the country’s mines and find themselves wrapped up in a mystery that leads to the solution of the murder. Priced To Move is contemporary and fun with a mystery to boot. It is not a rapid race to the finish suspense book but one written in a chick lit manner with a lot of introspection and self-discovery on the part of the main character. The supporting cast is quirky and odd, at times lending a cozy mystery feel to the book as well.
Phillips’ writing is straightforward and the story fast moving. | Posted January-08-2009
Tommy Cucinelle still has the ponytail, has the memories of a life gone off track, but has also accepted Jesus in his life and is living as a redeemed man. At least he thinks so, until the day his pastor asks him to turn back time. To apply principles Tommy learned as a gang member, finding people who don’t want to found, and search for a missing person. Nancy Callahan, church secretary disappears and no one close to her knows why. Was her disappearance innocent—merely a move to another location or had she met with foul play? That’s what Tommy is charged with finding out for Pastor Ross and soon for Nancy’s sister Stacey as well.
Tommy surges ahead to locate Nancy, no matter the cost. His longtime friend and former gang member, Tay pledges his support and hangs in there even when the search leads to a local Wiccan church. Even when they learn that the Wiccan group is planning a child sacrifice devoted to Molech, a pagan god. The hunt becomes personal when the group abducts Stacey and when Tommy begins to suspect his pastor’s involvement.
Author Thomas Phillips has created a unique character in Tommy Cucinelle. Tommy is full of flaws and questions. He’s lived a hard life and though he’s become a Christian he is still paying for his past and holding on to the intense pain his memories evoke. He keeps his feelings bottled up and keeps most people at arms length. In The Molech Prophecy, we watch Tommy change, learn to open up and let go of his pain. In all of this we find a believable character faced with a challenge that will test the strength of his faith.
Phillips’ writing is straightforward and the story fast moving. The plot is believable and keeps you reading until it is resolved. The faith elements in the story are natural and totally in keeping with the character’s personalities and past experiences. I read a galley issue so the story may have changed since I read it, but all in all this is a strong first effort for the debut author.
One of my top picks for 2008 | Posted January-08-2009
I have never really struggled to write a review before, but then I’ve never read a book like Fallen before. The plot is simple, really. Jim, the chairman of his church, sees their Pastor Dave in a Mercedes with a strange woman. Jim must decide if he should confront Dave with the impropriety of the action or trust that Dave would never knowingly do the wrong thing. Jim agonizes over the decision, waffling between confronting Dave or letting it go, letting the decision consume him.
It is right here, at this simple point, that I was hooked.
Why, you ask? How could such a simple idea hook me? Because the very struggle that Jim embarks on is sadly a struggle lacking in our churches today. But you say again, why? Why would I want to find a struggle in the church? Because sin doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It doesn’t pass over our churches. Our very nature as sinful beings guarantees that sin is present everywhere we go, but not all men or women in positions of authority in today’s churches are willing to hold their Pastor or each other accountable for their sins. It is easier to assume that the Pastor’s heart is good, that he has the best interest of his flock motivating his decisions than to think he might have sinned. And in the case of Fallen, not only sinned but very cleverly and decidedly covered it up.
Author Matthew Raley, does an excellent job of bringing this issue before us in an entertaining format. The book reads fast and moves quickly even though most of the book is spent in dialogue between Jim and Dave, with little action to drive the pace. It is in this dialogue, that Raley gives the reader a chance to grasp the incredible personal cost that Jim faces as he moves forward in this battle to reveal Dave’s sin. It also gives the reader a chance to witness a strong commitment to doing the right thing, but a commitment that in the end becomes all powerful and takes over Jim’s best intentions and reveals Jim’s sins as well. It’s what Jim does when he realizes that he too has sinned that brings this story full circle. That I will not tell you, as I’ve spoiled enough of the story already.
In my reviews, I recommend many Christian fiction titles because they are well written and enjoyable to read. Many have minimal lessons to be learned but further the spread of the Gospel by encouraging those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus to simply pick up the book and maybe begin asking questions. Then there are a few that cause me to really delve into my Christian walk and examine my heart. Fallen is such a book. I found the theme of sin in our church to be so true to what I know exists in today’s churches, that at times I had to put it down, yet it was so compelling that I had to pick it back up and finish it.
What more could you want from a Christian book? Pick up a copy today, you won’t be disappointed.
This is a well crafted story that you won’t want to miss | Posted January-08-2009
If you love solving crossword puzzles then pick up Fatal Deduction by Gayle Roper as puzzles keep this mystery going.
As the story opens, we find twin sisters Libby and Tori Burton moving into their Aunt Stella’s old Philadelphia home. Aunt Stella has required the estranged twins to live together for six months in order to inherit the home and the aunt’s sizeable estate. Not a problem for most twins who are often in sync with one another, but Tori and Libby have very little in common and frequently find themselves in turmoil, often as a result of Libby's faith and Tori's lack there of.
Tori is right at home in the big city but Libby along with her daughter Chloe are more at home in the suburbs. Imagine Libby’s fright when on the first morning in the house, she stumbles across a dead body on their doorstep. A dead body holding a crossword puzzle that implicates her twin in the murder. Though not a fan of her sister or her lifestyle, Libby pockets the clue to protect Tori from a murder accusation. And keeps protecting her as more puzzles arrive in interesting ways.
Drew Canfield—neighbor, Ben Franklin scholar, father to teenager daughter Jenna and the stories love interest—partners with Libby and the pair works thorugh serious life issues all the while moving forward on solving the interesting crossword puzzle mystery. Not only does a special relationship develop between Drew and Libby but Jenna and Chloe become fast friends, too.
Though classified as a suspense book and there is a suspense plot as the main story, I found Fatal Deduction to focus more on interpersonal relationships artfully depicted by Roper. Roper attacks issues like divorce, parenting, family betrayal and underhanded attempts to buy affection of an impressionable teen.
A story like this one, filled with dysfunctional families and the problems caused by their behavior, could be overpowered by the issues, but Fatal Deduction doesn’t bog down in heavy character studies. The story moves along at a fast pace and keeps your interest until the very end, keeping you rooting for the characters as they work through their struggles. This is a well crafted story that you won’t want to miss.
By Reason of Insanity is a thriller by all definitions of a thriller including a big plot that keeps going until a more than satisfying conclusion | Posted January-08-2009
By Reason of Insanity opens with a series of kidnappings and murders in Virginia Beach where Catherine O’Rourke, reporter for The Tidewater Times, captivates her audience with breaking information that no other news or media outlet has. Her source, one Jamacus Webb, police detective, working on the cases. Cat basks in her celebrity until she is hauled into court and commanded to reveal the identity of her source or go to jail. Cat protects her source and chooses jail.
In jail, Cat suddenly starts having visions—creepy, terrifying visions that detail the recent murders. Murders committed by The Avenger of Blood. Through these visions, Cat comes upon information that only the killer could know. After telling Jamarcus about the visions, she becomes a prime suspect in the case and is soon arrested. Though incarcerated, she can somewhat understands the arrest as it’s hard even for her to believe she has seen these visions.
What Cat can’t understand and has no explanation for is the forensic evidence that is produced, corroborating her guilt. She seeks legal representation from capable local attorney Marc Boland, but this case is too big for one attorney. Enter Las Vegas attorney, Quinn Newberg whose specialty is the insanity defense. A defense that Quinn thinks fits this case just fine, as he doesn’t begin to believe in Cat’s visions. This begins a twisting, turning ride to the conclusion, where The Avenger of Blood is finally revealed. And this is where I stop telling you about the plot before I give away a nice juicy tidbit that you’ll want to find for yourself. You’ll have to trust me when I tell you that the ending is not only very unexpected, but very creative, as well.
By Reason of Insanity is a thriller by all definitions of a thriller including a big plot that keeps going until a more than satisfying conclusion. The reader is presented with a nightmare through Cat’s incarceration and struggle to defend herself. Cat faces a problem bigger than she is and one that could happen to all of us. The story is filled with unexpected surprises that keep the reader on the edge of their seat as they wait to see what happens to Cat. This would be enough to make By Reason of Insanity a thriller, but Singer provides a sub-plot for attorney Quinn Newberg that rivals Cat’s struggles. Though Quinn is not faced with time behind bars like Cat, he is responsible for keeping his sister from being incarcerated and his niece from losing all hope. Couple this with unexplained visions by Cat and you have a plot that races right to the shocking conclusion.
Singer does an excellent job of starting with drama and ratcheting up the tension and turmoil in Cat’s and Quinn’s life as the book advances. This author really knows how to make his characters suffer. Though an attorney, Singer does not overpower the story with excessive courtroom scenes, but delves into the characters’ personal struggles. At the same time, Singer gives the reader an insight into the use of the insanity defense in today’s judicial system. If you are in a mood for a legal thriller, that goes beyond the courtroom and delves into the intense personal struggles and life-changing events of the characters, you will definitely want to pick up By Reason of Insanity.
Blood Brothers plot is larger than life with many twists and turns to keep the story moving. | Posted January-08-2009
Blood Brothers is Rick Acker’s sequel to Deadman’s Rule where attorney Ben Corbin finds himself in the middle of a high stakes battle between brothers Karl and Gunnar Bjornsen. Once partners in Bjornsen Pharmaceuticals, the brothers have split, leaving Karl in charge of the company with Gunnar desiring to reclaim the helm.
As Blood Brother’s opens, the company is ending animal trials and seeking FDA approval of a revolutionary new drug, a neural stimulant that increases strength and intelligence. A drug that could change the very face of the world, especially if it were to end up in the wrong hands. The brother’s fight for the company and rights to the drug results in lawsuits and a very believable legal battle where Gunnar is represented by Ben Corbin.
Blood Brothers plot is larger than life with many twists and turns to keep the story moving. This story is filled with secrets, cover ups, accounting irregularities, and murder. This action is coupled with personal struggles of the large cast of characters and the story spans the globe as it unravels.
The plot of Blood Brothers is large and ambitious. The story moves along rapidly and realistically introduces the reader to the very interesting world of pharmaceuticals. Though I found the scenes with the test animals gruesome, they helped to bring to light the practices of drug testing. Acker does a fine job of making his characters not only face huge challenges in the business world, but he gives each of them genuine interpersonal struggles as well. The legal jargon and courtroom scenes were well written, drawing the reader into the trial and giving them a front row seat to cheer for a positive outcome.
Creston Mapes’ Nobody scores a homerun for the originality of plot, unique characters, and Hudson Ambrose’s vivid faith journey | Posted September-29-2008
In the first exquisite chapter Mapes grips the reader, pulls them into the book, and doesn’t release them until the final page. AND once he lets you go, he leaves you with questions about your own life that keeps you thinking long after the book is closed.
In Nobody, Hudson Ambrose beat report for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in search of a blockbuster story, races to a potential shooting he’s heard about on the scanner. When he arrives, Hud finds the homeless Chester Holte slumped on a city bench, his lifeblood draining into the very streets he’s inhabited. The police are slow to respond allowing Hud the time he needs to wrestle with proper protocol and throw it to the wind—delving into Chester’s pockets and finding a key along with a bank book touting a $689,800 balance.
It’s at this pivotal moment when you realize Hud’s struggle is your own, one you have fought many times—sometimes winning, sometimes losing—but yours nonetheless and it is the moment that Mapes dares you turn away. Of course you can’t, you’re hooked, and you have to read on.
Through creative and exciting plot twists we follow Hud on his journey to solve the mystery of why wealthy Chester Holte is homeless. On this journey Mapes explores the underbelly of Las Vegas’ homeless population, bringing us a new understanding of the homeless situation and opening our eyes to God’s love for everyone, no matter their situation.
If this isn’t enough, Mapes also gives us Holly, Hud’s love interest, who serves as an example of someone who’s been through tough times and come out the other side with an enduring faith that compels her to share Jesus’ love with others. She’d truly an example for all of us.
Eric Wilson has crafted a pair of books that belong on every discerning reader’s must read list. | Posted September-29-2008
In A Shred of Truth, we once again find Aramis Black at home in his Nashville coffee shop with his brother Johnny Ray fast climbing the ladder to country music fame. The mystery takes off from the first chapter when Johnny Ray is abducted and the initials AX are slashed into his back.
Aramis wants to protect his brother. Wants to discover the identity of the sicko cutter. Wants to settle into the comfort of his motto, Live by the sword, die by the sword, that brought him through his tumultuous past before he gave his life to God. But now, the motto only serves to complicate matters. Does he revert to the security of his motto and seek vengeance or does he follow the faith that tells him to lay back and let Detective Meade handle the investigation?
Aramis struggles admirably with the decision, but when the threats become personal the motto wins out and he is thrust into a hunt that has all the elements of a keep-you-reading-when-you-should-be-sleeping mystery. If Wilson’s fast pacing and superb prose don’t firmly affix the book in your hands until the last page, his revelation of a mid-book surprise guarantees you’ll read until the satisfying ending.
When I finished Eric Wilson’s last novel, The Best of Evil, I thought it would be difficult for Wilson to top that book. As I said in my review of The Best of Evil, Wilson’s prose was outstanding, his characters deep, his pace fast moving but full of life’s meaning that connects us with the characters, and his dialogue genuine. The same is true of A Shred of Truth, but Wilson has provided an even more compelling mystery in this one.
And, as in his last book, Aramis Black’s struggle with his faith, with doing the right thing staring him in the face and failing to do it, rings true to the reader. Through his balance of credible dialogue and internal exposition, Wilson reveals Aramis’ strife and helps the reader recognize and better understand the battle with the same force in their own life.
Be sure to buy A Shred of Truth, but before you do, I’d like to encourage you to read The Best of Evil. Though A Shred of Truth is written as a stand alone and you don’t need to read book one to enjoy and understand book 2, once you read A Shred of Truth you will be compelled to go out and buy The Best of Evil. So why not maximize your experience and read the books in the order they were written? Either way, Eric Wilson has crafted a pair of books that belong on every discerning reader’s must read list.
Eric Wilson’s prose is outstanding, his characters deep and his pace fast moving | Posted September-29-2008
As a writer it’s not often that I’m captivated by an author’s writing style yet so drawn into the plot of a book that I forget to savor the writer’s gift. The Best of Evil is one of those books. Eric Wilson’s prose is outstanding, his characters deep, his pace fast moving but full of life’s meaning that connects us with the characters, and his dialogue genuine.
In The Best of Evil we join Aramis Black after he’s left behind a troubled past and moved to
Nashville to live with his brother to embark on a fresh start. At least he thought his past was
history. When a man is ruthlessly gunned down in his coffee shop, Aramis is drawn down a
path that resurrects his mother’s murder, brings to life a longstanding mystery, and holds a visit
from old enemies. While searching for clues, Aramis is challenged with letting go of his
anger to forgive those who have hurt him and learning to live his newfound faith.
From the first page I wanted to get to know Aramis Black. He’s lived a hard life, yet he remains optimistic and continues to look for a better life. We want to see if he is successful in living his faith in the real world; see if he can forgive hurts that seemingly are too big to get past. As we follow the story, ultimately we see ourselves and find encouragement in his perseverance.
Through this character, author Eric Wilson shows us no matter our past, no matter our
mistakes, God forgives us and anything is possible.
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