The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

Audrey Woods and her husband Pastor Geoff have just been asked to leave their church. They decide to remain in their small town and open a bakery to capitalize on a love of bread baking. As Audrey comes to work early one morning, she collides with a motor scooter in dense fog. Even though it is obvious that the scooter driver has been injured, there is no sign of her. The missing woman’s husband is the town detective and the person that masterminded Audrey and Geoff’s ouster at the church. He is convinced that Audrey has murdered his wife, Julie, and hidden her body. As the police department’s frustration grows at not being able to find Julie, her husband takes matters into his own hands. Audrey must act quickly in order to find Julie and to rescue her husband and son.

This book was a very enjoyable read. The plot moved along and kept me interested. I found the characters to be very real, even though it was obvious that they represented different types of believers in Christ. The author’s message of grace and humility versus legalism and unforgiveness was plain to see. The ending, although it did not completely satisfy my curiosity, left me with hope for the characters. I would highly recommend this book for its writing and the story line. This is my honest opinion and I thank the publisher for this free copy.

Rooms by James Rubart

The main character, Micah Taylor is a very successful software engineer. He has started his own company and lives his life in the fast lane. Completely unexpectedly, his strange Uncle Archie leaves him a mansion overlooking the ocean. This is no ordinary home, however. The rooms of his home reveal what is in his heart. Micah must decide where his true life is—as a software engineer or as a follower of Christ. He is given a rare gift—the ability to see what changes occur as a result of his actions and decisions.

It is an interesting concept that leaves the reader with much to think about. At first the writing style put me off and I was tempted not to finish the book. The author did take quite a bit of time developing the plot, but once I got into the book a bit, I wanted to see how it turned out. The twists in the plot did catch me by surprise and kept me interested. I do wish, however, that the ending had been a little more specific. This book would be a good read for those who like science fiction combined with some romance. The publisher gave me a free copy to read and this is my honest opinion.

Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry

Chris Fabry writes an excellent novel about Truman Wiley and his struggle to be the husband and father his family needs. As a journalist, Truman has traveled extensively and interviewed many news worthy subjects. As a father and husband he has failed his family by gambling away their resources and abandoning them. When he is at his lowest point in his career and his son is dying in the hospital, Tru is offered the opportunity of writing a book about a convicted murderer on death row. This convict, Terrell, has agreed to donate his heart to Tru’s son. As Truman investigates the murder in order to write the book, he begins to uncover evidence which leads him to question Terrell’s conviction. These questions carry him into danger personally and professionally. His decisions may cost either his son’s or Terrell’s life.
I have read a couple of Mr. Fabry’s novels and enjoyed them. This one was no exception. I appreciate his writing style and humor. The characters are well-fleshed out. The plot and Truman’s struggles kept me reading. Even though I was disgusted at Truman’s choices during some of the story, I came to appreciate him for his humanity. I give Mr. Fabry kudos for his treatment of sin and sinners in a way that shows sin for what it is and yet makes readers able to identify with the sinners. I devoured this book in less than three days and highly recommend it. The publisher provided me with this free book and this is my honest review. This book is scheduled for publication in April.

Cuts Like a Knife by Mark Gilroy

This is a debut novel for author Mark Gilroy and I hope that another one will soon follow. His main character, Kristen Conner, is very human and likeable. She does her best to be an excellent police detective for the city of Chicago. She gets called to investigate a murder, which is tied to a serial killer. As the book proceeds, Kristen gets closer to the killer and soon finds herself in danger.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style. The twists and turns kept me involved in the plot. The writing was descriptive but also moved quickly and was not too graphic. The ending was satisfying and yet left me wondering more about Kristen and her family. I would definitely read another book in this series. If readers enjoy mystery and suspense in Christian fiction, this should definitely be on their reading list. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Heart of Ice by Lisa Wiehl

Nicole Hedges, Cassidy Shaw and Allison Pierce are three friends from high school who have recently reunited. Nicole is a FBI agent, Allison is a federal prosecutor and Cassidy is a TV crime reporter. In this book they meet Elizabeth, who is a personal trainer at Cassidy’s gym. As the story develops, the readers learn that Elizabeth is a sociopath who uses people to attain her own selfish goals. The three friends are drawn into a relationship with her while she commits murder to make sure her boyfriend is undistracted by his ex-wife and son. The three friends must stop her, but that proves to be very dangerous.

Lisa Wiehl writes a story that carries the reader along. Even though this was a part of a series about the three main characters, I found it easy to follow. The author left some questions unanswered regarding Nicole, Allison and Cassidy, and I would definitely consider reading the sequel. Readers who enjoy suspense, mystery or crime novels would enjoy this one. Booksneeze provided me a copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.

Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

Immanuel's Veins is Dekker's forray into Vampire literature. I am not a fan of Twilight or the other books, but Dekker uses this genre to make a startling contrast between vampires and Christ. His main character, Toma, is assigned to protect twin sisters in an important aristocratic family. He is torn between duty and his growing love for one of his charges, Lucine. A coven of vampires moves into a nearby castle and Vlad van Valerik, their leader proceeds to court Lucine because Toma cannot seem to declare his love to her. As she becomes more entangled in the affairs at the vampire castle, Toma must rescue her, but how? Dekker connects this story to his previous Circle series and one of the "lost" books makes its way into Toma's hands. Toma must figure out how to use the information in the book to rescue Lucine.

This book is an interesting read and contains Dekker's trademark complex plot. The story weaves elements of the gospel into a new and completly different setting that caused me to think. If you enjoy Dekker's works and vampire fiction, this is the book for you! Personally, vampire literature isn't something I would choose to read, but for Dekker, I made an exception. I found it worth the read.

The Soul Reader by Gerard D. Webster

Ward McNulty has an unusual gift. He can look into a person’s eyes and read their soul. His father, who had the same gift is now dead and Ward cannot forgive the man who has killed him. In order to protect Carrie Hope, the woman he loves, he must investigate the situation which caused his father’s death. This leads him to Culebra, a trained assassin in South America. But Culebra isn’t the man that Ward expects. The book’s ending has some interesting twists, but not all of them are completely unexpected.

I thought this book was easy to read, despite being the second in a series where I hadn’t read the first. It was a bit different from the Christian fiction that I normally read because it featured Catholic believers and talked about saints and the rosary. This did not distract from the story, but seemed to fit nicely given the experience of some of the characters, especially Dona Rosa.

Having read this, the second book in the series, made me curious about what had transpired in the first book. I also wondered if there will be another book featuring Ward. Although it ended with many of the loose ends tied up nicely, I suppose I would read another book of the same main character, especially to see what would become of Ward and Carrie’s relationship. Booksneeze provided my complimentary copy and this is my honest opinion.