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...
A fun read with a deep message | Posted September-29-2008
Just As I Am is the first book by Virgina Smith. On the surface, it is an endearing book about Mayla, a purple haired, multiple pierced young woman who comes to faith then tries to fit in with experienced Christians.
After a few hilarious twists and turns, she learns that God loves her just as she is, nose ring and all. If that was the only message of this book we would have received our money's worth, but Mayla also demonstrates how easily you can affect others lives just by living your faith.
I strongly recommend this book for unbelievers, new believers, and seasoned Christians alike.
Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear is as fun and quirky as the title suggests. | Posted September-29-2008
Once again we find all the loveable bargain hunters from book one as they arrive in Calamity, Nevada to attend the Invention Expo and the world’s largest garage sale. Ginger, Kindra, Suzanne, and Arleta begin their stay at the Wind-Up Hotel where trouble starts even before they check in. They are plagued by lost luggage, non-existent air conditioning, loss of Ginger’s husband Earl’s booth at the Invention Expo, and a runaway feline.
This is just the beginning of a zany ride for our Bargain Hunters. Kindra meets and falls for Xabier, aka the six foot teddy bear. But does this relationship come to an abrupt end before it can really blossom, when the teddy bear meets his fate at the hand of a mysterious killer? Arleta comes to life for the reader in this book as she begins to question the meaning of life without God, but does she find Him? Ginger once again strives to improve her relationship with Earl, but does she succeed or will her relationship need further honing in the next book?
Couple these struggles with a more complex mystery with many twists and turns, and an unpredictable outcome and you have a winner here. Sharon Dunn has a great humorous writing style and you can always, I mean always, count on her to deliver a quirky, fun, and laughable read. She doesn’t disappoint in this second book. In fact, due to the very creative setting of the story, at the Wind-Up Hotel decorated in retro-children’s toys, where squirrel lovers are plentiful, I enjoyed this book more than the first. As a writer, I admire Dunn’s well-played humor and her creative descriptions along with her eccentric characters. Even the detectives in this story come alive with Dunn’s unique depiction of the pair.
I have always recommended Sharon Dunn as an author not to miss and I’ll stand by that recommendation. If you love a good cozy style mystery, Death of A Six Foot Teddy Bear will not disappoint.
Dunn knows how to write a humorous mystery | Posted September-29-2008
Ginger Salinski, a professed bargain hunter and garage sale maven, readily teaches her penny-pinching skills to a trio of friends. They form a quartet of shoppers that would make any coupon aficionado proud. Apart or together they share their finds with one another in enjoyable gatherings. But the fun takes a nose dive when, Mary Margaret, one of the bargain hunters, winds up dead.
Mary Margaret leaves behind garage sale clues that the Bargain Hunter Network must follow if they have any hope of solving her murder. The police are of no help in the murder investigation so between sales and life struggles, the group sets out to catch a killer.
Laced with humor, even in the face of death, Sharon Dunn’s Death of a Garage Sale Newbie, keeps you reading until the end. Her characters are real and the book is filled with their interpersonal struggles. The Bargain Hunter Network is made of women of various ages and Dunn nails each age with authentic style. Whatever your age, you can easily identify with the characters problems and root for them to work through their issues. I especially enjoyed the contrast of Ginger’s trials with the rest of the group. As the mother figure of the group, she ably helps her friends work through their problems, but hasn’t a clue how to rev up her own marriage.
The plot keeps moving at a steady pace, not too fast to sacrifice character development but not too slow to become boring. Faith messages are woven through the character’s everyday lives.
Dunn has another winner here. If you haven’t read any of her other books, you’ll want to pick those up as well, as Dunn knows how to write a humorous mystery.
A solid read that delves deeply into the character's lives | Posted September-29-2008
Healing Promises, the second book in Amy Wallace's Defender's of Hope series reunites all of our favorite characters from book one, Ransomed Dreams. Though all the characters are present, Healing Promises focuses on FBI Agent Clint Rollins and his oncologist wife, Sara, who struggles when Clint is diagnosed with cancer.
The book charges out of the gate with scenes featuring Clint, Michael, and Steven hard at work in the Crimes Against Children Unit at the FBI. As in Ransomed Dreams, the suspense plot in Healing Promise revolves around finding missing children, but this time we have a serial killer on the loose. One who loves to share his thinking and deeds with the readers in a very realistic way.
Healing Promises is a solid read that delves deeply into the characters' personal lives and their struggle with trusting God to care for them. Wallace brings us a powerful message that we all can relate to as we battle on a daily basis with the many challenging blows we face.
In Healing Promises, Wallace has followed many of the writing techniques employed by good writers. The most notable, is to make your characters suffer and when you think they've had enough, make them suffer more. Wallace takes the characters in this book to their breaking point and then ups the ante, much as God seems to do in our lives. Wallace has done a thorough job of researching cancer treatments and provides the readers with just the right amount of information to make them understand the tremendous struggle involved in surviving this disease, but not too much to overpower the story.
Though this is a suspense novel, as it has the missing children theme woven through out and has very realistic scenes that delve into the killer’s motivations, I found it to be equally or more so a contemporary novel featuring faith, love, loss, and relationship struggles. The suspense plot moves the story forward, but it's the characters that make this book well worth the read. So if you're looking for a rush to the finish action packed suspense book this isn't the story for you, but if you want to combine suspense and savor a little romance and a lot of personal life struggles along the way, pick up Healing Promises.
If you love romantic suspense, Ransomed Dreams is a must read. | Posted September-29-2008
Grab a box of tissues before you sit down to read the debut romantic suspense novel, Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace. By page sixteen I had a tissue in one hand and the book in the other, my eyes riveted to the pages. In the opening chapters Wallace touches that tender place that parents hope never to tread. As Gracie Lang watches, her husband and two darling little children are killed in an automobile accident. We then pick up the story two years later where Gracie has healed as much as a parent could from that kind of loss. She is ready to move forward, which includes following a romantic interest in FBI agent Steven Kessler who heads up the Crimes Against Children Unit.
But before Gracie can heal as God would have us all do in our pain, she has to fully let go of the past. She thinks finding the hit and run driver who killed her family will do that for her. She hires a private investigator to dig into the accident and bring the killer to justice. Only then does Gracie think she’ll find closure. The PI’s sleuthing resurfaces all of Gracie’s dormant emotions and propels her into a run for her own life. Still, she must move toward, forgiving the driver if she hopes to be whole again.
Agent Kessler fights a similar struggle with forgiveness. His demons, an ex-wife who has a devilish agenda of her own and his failure to save the lives of abducted children, keep Stephen from pursuing the relationship he desires with Gracie. Ransomed Dreams shows us his and Gracie’s clear struggle to love again through forgiving those who have hurt them, a process only possible through God’s forgiveness.
This romantic suspense moves along well. Wallace provides a good balance between action, romance, and personal growth. From page one, Gracie gains our love and sympathy from the loss of her children, but as we read on, she gains our respect for courage in the face of a seemingly insurmountable loss. We can apply her struggle to our everyday fight to let God take over our lives and heal our hurts.
Virginia Smith lives up to her newly won title of Writer of the Year (Mount Herman Writer's Conference) in Stuck In The Middle. | Posted September-29-2008
Stuck In The Middle is an aptly named book revolving around Joan Sanderson, whose life has been put on hold to make sure her Grandma is properly cared for, who is wedged between sisters that Joan thinks are far more gregarious and personable than she is, and who is stuck in a superficial relationship with God. Stuck, that is, until a handsome, single doctor with an intensely personal relationship with God rents the house next-door and involuntarily drags Joan out of her rut.
As Joan struggles to break free, the reader is blessed with the genuine interactions between sisters, and family as a whole that Smith has woven into the story line so well. The dialogue is strong and realistic, the situations true to life and sometimes quite comical, and Joan, though a dejected character in many ways, is likeable and one you route for right from the beginning.
This alone would have made the book an enjoyable read, but Smith along with entertaining the reader reinforces the need for a personal relationship with God. She takes Joan, a Christian who has had a superficial relationship with God into discovering how to connect on a deeper level. Smith also does an excellent job of portraying the fear that Joan’s sisters have of the kind of Christian Joan wants to become simply because they don’t understand it.
Stuck In The Middle is not different than many other Christian fiction titles in that is has a spiritual message. But often, that message is dealt with in heavy handed and stilted way. Not Stuck In The Middle. This is the sort of book that while you read it you find yourself pleasantly entertained, seriously not wanting to put the book down even when you should be doing other things, and in the end you are surprised when you come away with a strong spiritual message.
Stuck In The Middle has something for everyone—romance, shopping, dating advice, sibling rivalry, family and spiritual relationships, and real life issues like caring for elderly family members all wrapped up in an entertaining package. Pick it up, today. You won’t be disappointed.
The quirky, unpredictable Mayla returns | Posted September-29-2008
Sincerely Mayla is Virginia Smith’s follow up to Just As I Am, where we first met Mayla Strong a young and very unconventional character and watched her come to faith. Sincerely Mayla brings us this lovable character as endearing as she was in book one, though a bit tamed in her appearance, sporting fewer piercings and less colorful hair.
In the thick of winter, Mayla finds herself unemployed, on the outs with Pastor Paul who Mayla discovers she has feelings for, and the proud owner of a pet that she finds in the middle of a storm. When faced with these disasters does Mayla do what every unemployed, lovesick, pet owning woman should do? No, of course, not. This is Mayla we’re talking about here. She sets off for Orlando, not to visit the big mouse, but to reconnect with her grandmother and get away from her problems. But poor, Mayla. Her problems hop on the plane or zip through emails and the telephone to make her vacation anything but restful.
As an avowed suspense and mystery lover, I rarely make time for novels outside of this genre. Virginia Smith’s books are one of the few exceptions. Smith does such a wonderful job of character development. She provides the reader with a unique cast doing battle with everyday issues and marries this with the struggle to live within their faith. Wrap all of this up with humor and a fun plot and you have one must read after another.
Sincerely Mayla certainly fits this mold and is another Smith winner. Through Mayla’s innocence we see the world from a different perspective. We watch her struggle with her new faith and think about how we live out our own faith. Her innocence coupled with the basic desire to do the right thing makes Mayla a very loveable character. She faces the same life issues we all face and the reader can deeply empathize with Mayla forming a strong bond with her. Don’t miss Sincerely Mayla or any other Virginia Smith novel. Buy one today, you won’t be disappointed.
A wonderful, lighthearted suspense story | Posted September-29-2008
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood the morning Santa Rita’s Mayor Madison Glenn drives into City Hall’s parking lot. Eager to get started in the job she’d held for two years and still thrives on, Maddy isn’t prepared for the lime green Gremlin that stops her cold. Gremlin car that is, parked in her reserved spot with a dead body inside.
In town that usually sees only a few murders in one year, the body in the Gremlin signals the beginning of a murder spree, all connected to the city. Maddy, amidst running the city and campaigning for a congressional seat, helps Detective Judson West find the killer. And if this doesn’t keep her busy enough, Maddy saves time to follow her budding feelings for him.
Alton Gansky’s character Maddy Glenn is well developed and completely believable. In the book, her friend Nat accuses her of being unique in many ways—witty, intelligent, driven, committed, and selfless. This is near the end of the book, and as you read Nat’s comments you realize that Gansky was successful in portraying Maddy as all of those things. From the beginning you can admire her spunk, her wit, and her desire to control a free wielding tongue to let her emerging faith control her life instead. She inspires Christians who struggle with new faith and helps them see how to develop coping skills through tenacity and daily Bible study.
The plot is strong and moves along at a solid pace. Gansky’s dialogue is strong and realistic. His characters are quirky and memorable while realistic. All in all, I found this a lighthearted read that kept me turning the pages at night. I would very much recommend this title and plan to go back and read, The Incumbent, the first in the series. And Alton, if you read this I hope you plan another Maddy selection. Come on, Alton. We need to know if she ends up with the guy and which one she chooses.
Satire at its best! | Posted September-29-2008
News flash! Jesus returns on October 17th, at 5:51am, so says Reverend Daniel Glory of The Last Church of God's Imminent Will.
In an announcement to the planners of Tribulation House, a state of the art evangelistic outreach, the Reverend sets his church members on a path of no return speeding toward Jesus’ return. Most notably, member Mark Hogan splits his focus in the last days between his Christian desire to reach out to others through Tribulation House and scheming to acquire a boat, the 2008 Bayliner 192. He justifies his worldly desire for the boat he’s always wanted with the opportunity to minister to lost souls while cruising on the local lakes. Mark is certain that this is exactly what Jesus would do. That is, until Mark inadvertently kills Reverend Glory.
Through out the book, inept mob enforcers, Ross Cleaver and Bill Lamb, engage in nefarious activities aimed at separating The Last Church of God's Imminent Will from their land so their mobster boss can profit, while detectives Charlie Pasch and Tom Griggs close in on them. The paths of all these characters come together in a hilarious search for Reverend Glory’s killer.
This is the first book by Chris Well that I have read and after reading I would definitely seek out his prior novels. His humor, satire at its best, fills the pages of Tribulation House. His characters are real, quirky, and often laugh out loud funny. I especially enjoyed the interaction between the gangsters, Ross Cleaver and Bill Lamb. They were so visual through Well’s stellar dialogue, that I could easily visualize a hit movie with the pair in starring roles.
The story moved along at a fast clip, with short chapters and quick dialogue. The plot was very involved and at times, I had to slow down and put a few pieces together, but it was worth the time to do so.
Gilded in satire, Well takes a punch at religious misunderstandings and end times prophesies. He reveals Biblical truth in an entertaining and easy to read style. If you are fond of humor mixed with a fast paced story, you’ll love Tribulation House.
Brandt Dodson hits another homerun | Posted September-29-2008
Ever since I read, The Lost Sheep I have become a huge Brandt Dobson fan. When I heard his next title, White Soul was a stand-alone title, not the next book in the Colton Parker Series, I have to admit I was disappointed. I loved the gritty PI feel to this series and the surprising strongly woven spiritual message that was so perfectly written by Dodson that I couldn’t wait for another look into the life of Colton Parker.
So, with this in mind, I picked up White Soul, hoping at the very least I would like the book. And did I ever. Totally different from Colton Parker, in White Soul we meet DEA agent Ron Ortega as he goes deep undercover in the drug scene in Miami. When Ortega blips onto one of the biggest dealer’s radar, Ortega takes advantage of the situation to move deeper into the organization with one goal, to take down the drug kingpin.
Ortega, though he had to leave his pregnant wife at home in Chicago, decides to extend his stay in Miami to continue on this assignment. After all, his goal is to achieve success for his family—to make a name for himself in the DEA, where he will then be able to earn the kind of money he needs to care for his wife and unborn child.
All this sounds simple, really. Go undercover, catch the bad guy and head back home to the little woman. And this is how Ortega enters into the job. But he soon begins to believe that not everything before him is black and white. There are grays, very tempting grays. A beautiful woman, Rolex watch, money and more money, and a lifestyle that puts the quality of life he provides for his wife to shame. Oh and one more thing, the big one the item that could drag any man into the gray zone, a fabulous car.
Ortega’s deep internal struggle, deciding to do the right thing or the easy thing, is wrapped up in a rapid moving, high stakes, action packed story, that surprises you over and over again with the plot twists. I could easily see this book on the big screen with shoot outs, car chases, and the excessive lifestyle of the drug dealers, And then there’s the ending, oh yes, you must get to the ending, where another big bombshell awaits you.
If this isn’t enough to satisfy, Dodson once again brings the main character’s spiritual struggle to a powerful conclusion without an overt, preachy scene.
Have I mentioned that I like this book!! You will, too. Buy it TODAY!
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