Christian fiction on art and forgiveness and second chances

Driftwoood Tides by Gina Holmes

Driftwood artist Holton Creary’s life is shattered.  His wife is dead and he feels he is to blame.  He descends into alcoholism and is in danger of losing everything he once loved.  His assistant Tess stays by his side, but she is powerless to help him.

A few hours away, Libby Slater struggles against her socialite mother to take back control of her upcoming wedding to Rob.  While getting some genetic counseling, she discovers that she is related to neither of her parents and her mother reveals that she has been adopted by her mother and father, and then abandoned by her father.  The adoption paperwork leads her to Holton Creary, the husband of her birth mother.

She tracks down Holton and passes herself off as a summer intern.  While she is there, she wants to learn as much as she can about her birth mother, without telling Holton who she really is.  She watches as his alcoholism spirals out of control and works with Tess to save him from himself.

Author Gina Holmes explores issues of life, love, forgiveness and second chances.  Her flawed characters grow and change as the story progresses. The story’s plot leaves the reader guessing what will happen next.  Her message of hope and possible change inspire the reader.  The artist’s vocation of one of her main characters gives the story depth and adds important details to her characters’ personalities.  I found this story kept my interest and the conclusion was unexpected and yet satisfying.  I would recommend this book to my fellow readers of Christian fiction.

Surprising Biblical Fiction on Bathsheba

Bathsheba by Angela Hunt

This novel is part of Hunt’s Dangerous Beauty Novels, which include Esther, Bathsheba and the upcoming one on Delilah.  Hunt is careful to handle one of the most delicate challenges in writing about Bible characters:  keeping her story true to the scriptural account, but filling in details with logical feelings, conversations and settings.  To my way of thinking, a Bible story novelization can be dangerous to read because it can put ideas or motives into the reader’s heart that are  not in line with scripture.  It seems that Hunt has avoided that pitfall with a plethora of research, which she includes in the references.

I found this book to be very engaging.  Even though I knew the story, it was the details that the author added that kept me reading.  I was fascinated by the motivation she gave the characters, especially Michal, David and Nathan.  And for the most part they were logical.

The book changed my opinion of Bathsheba as a woman of the Bible.  I credit Hunt with doing the research that allowed me to see Bathsheba in a new light.  The way that Bathsheba dealt with her lot in life was very encouraging.  She is a good example of growing in trust in God and allowing Him to be sovereign, even in life’s most difficult moments. 

This book is definitely worth the read.  I think that readers will be encouraged by the story of how God used a woman in a way she would not have expected. Be prepared to think about Bathsheba in a totally new light. This review is my honest opinion.  I received a free copy from Bethany House publishers.

 

Authentic crime suspense fiction

The Bones Will Speak by Carrie Stuart Parks

In this authentic novel, Parks continues the story of her heroine, Gwen Marcey.  Gwen stumbles into a murder investigation by finding a girl who has been tortured and temporarily abandoned.  The eerie thing about the victim is that she so closely resembles Marcey’s own daughter.  After putting some clues together, Gwen realizes that she is being stalked by a serial killer who is somehow related to the Christian identity movement.  Can she outwit the killer to save many lives including her daughter’s and her own?

The things I most enjoyed about this book were the flawed but unassuming main character, the unique job she held, and her courage.  The way Parks teased the reader along kept me guessing until the killer was revealed.  The ending of the book was rollercoaster fast and just as suspenseful.  Those readers who enjoy crime fiction with lots of suspense will find this book keeps them awake late into the night.  I really enjoyed it.

Well-written fiction

The Color of Water in July by Nora Carroll

Nora Carroll weaves a tale of Jess and her grandmother Mamie, which spans their lifetimes and their visits to the family cottage.  After Mamie’s death, Jess thinks that she is done with the cottage.  When she makes a trip back to Pine Lake at Wequetona Club, to get the cottage up for sale, she stumbles across letters that reveal pieces of the secrets of her family.  As she remembers her summers at the cottage, she realizes that she is disappointed with her life and wonders what would happen if things had been different.  The visit changes her in ways that she cannot imagine.

The author skillfully takes the readers between the events of Jess’ life and Mamie’s life.  She slowly reveals the secrets and allows the reader to understand both Jess and Mamie.  Carroll’s writing pulls the reader into the story and causes the reader to long for Jess to be able to find what she has lost.

I very much enjoyed this story and the author’s ability to forge a tale spanning 90 years.  She kept my attention by strategically revealing the family’s secrets.  The ending was satisfying, even though not entirely a surprise.  I highly recommend this book.   

Christian romantic suspense

Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon

A summer joy ride leaves three college students scrambling to cover up a horrible secret.  24 years later, Chief of police Lisa Grant opens the cold case to solve the mystery of the unearthed, unidentified skeleton in her small town of Carson, Missouri.  She joins forces with the very handsome Detective Mac McGregor.  As the cold case heats up, so do the sparks between them.  When the suspects begin dying in accidents, Lisa has no idea that the killer has targeted her next.  Can Mac save her?

Buried Secrets is a great example of romantic suspense.  The author makes it clear from the outset that Lisa and Mac will end up together.  The suspense kicks in about half-way through the book when the killer strikes.  It took me a while to get hooked by the book.  There were a couple of twists that kept me wondering, but the ending was not a surprise.  An astute reader can sense that the author is poised to continue the story of the McGregor family, so fans will want to read the next book.   It was a satisfactory read.

Muslim conversion story

Hiding in the Light by Rifqa Bary

Rifqa Bary wrote this book to give an accurate account of her personal experiences within her family and community.  In 2009-2010 her story broke in national and international media and intrigued many people.  I wanted to read her book to find out her side of the story.

She traces her story back to the day, when as a child, she sensed the Lord’s presence in a remarkable way.  As she becomes increasingly discontent with Islam, God continues to work in her life to call her to Himself.  During high school, she becomes a follower of Jesus and knows that she must hide this fact from her family.  One day, the unthinkable happens and her faith is discovered.  To save her life, she runs away.  But her struggle is only beginning.

I enjoyed Rifqa’s faith and how she trusted God to help her.  Her story is inspiring and enlightening.  It is invaluable to help us understand and reach out to our Muslim neighbors and converts.  I was thankful to have the opportunity to read her book.

 

 

Riveting historical fiction within present day fiction

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate

Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her restaurant from a hostile takeover.  She hopes to rescue her business by selling her newly inherited, but dilapidated hotel, The Excelsior.  She travels from her home in Michigan to the outer banks of North Carolina to quickly settle her inheritance and hopefully turn a quick profit.  But her problems are not easily nor quickly solved.  She must deal with her estranged stepfather and the tenants who are determined to rescue the once-elegant building.  She stumbles across some family heirlooms that tell a fascinating love story.  Will these artifacts hold the key to her understanding her rather eccentric maternal grandmother?  Will they enable her to find a way to save the floundering restaurant?

This was the best book I have read in a long time.  I heartily recommend it.  Author Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves two tales, one of the present and one in the past, of Whitney and her ancestors.  Both storylines kept my attention.  I was fascinated by the tales of her ancestor Alice’s adventures as part of the federal writers program.  I was also kept on edge by the developing relationships Whitney had with her step-father, one of the building’s tenants and a real estate developer.

Lisa’s style is very easy to read and flows smoothly.  There are several different sub-plots, which add to the suspense of the story.  Of course, the ending has a real twist that I never saw coming.  Readers of Christian fiction, who enjoy non-preachy but riveting stories will really enjoy this book!

Great children's book on dyslexia

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Ally Nickerson has dyslexia, but no one knows that she cannot read.  Ally can’t figure out why she can’t learn like the other kids.  Going to school every day is torture.  It is the same no matter where her military family moves.  She hides from life in her “mind movies” and copes by escaping from her problems in her very imaginative mind.  Her classmates make fun of her for being dumb.  Her teacher thinks she is lazy and sends her often to the principal’s office.  Her mother is called and Ally vows to do better.

Everything changes when she gets a new teacher.  Mr. Daniels appreciates her creativity and realizes she can’t read and finally figures out she has dyslexia.  With his help and encouragement, she begins to blossom.

I loved this book.  It gives hope to hopeless students like Ally.  Kudos to Mr. Daniels and the many teachers he represents.  I would heartily recommend that school libraries and classroom libraries add this bok to their shelves.

Classic Easter Selections

Easter Stories, Classic Tales for the Holy Season

This book, a compilation by Miriam LeBlanc, contains 27 different selections regarding the theme of Easter.  Contributing authors include C. S. Lewis, Leo Tolstoy, Oscar Wilde, Elizabeth Goudge, and Anton Chekhov with others.

I was anticipating the book as a great preparation for Easter.  In that way, it did not disappoint.  I thoroughly enjoyed many of the selections, but found others to be a bit frustrating if they were part of a larger work, where the context was necessary to fully enjoy the selection.

As a lower elementary teacher, I think most younger elementary children would not appreciate these stories, and I would recommend them for middle school or high school students and above.  I can see much use for this book in a home school setting, where some elements of the stories could be more easily discussed or explained.

I loved the idea of classic tales for Easter, and found some selections that I really enjoyed.  I would recommend this book for older readers especially. 

I received this free copy from the publisher, http://www.plough.com/en/ebooks/e/easter-stories, and this is my honest review.

Chris Fabry Wisdom of Solom

The Song by Chris Fabry

 

Musician Jed King was searching for something—and he found it in Rose, the girl of his dreams.  The song that comes pouring out of him on their honeymoon propels him into the limelight.  He travels to sing The Song while Rose stays behind to raise their son.  The distance between them increases and Jed must decide between the commitment he has made to Rose or his growing attraction to Shelby, his musical co-star who pursues him with a passion.

Chris Fabry, one of my favorite authors, crafted this story based on the movie by the same name, which was based on the Song of Solomon.  Jed, Rose and Shelby flesh out principles that King Solomon wrote about in Ecclesiates and some of the story in the Song of Solomon.

Although there were no plot twists like most of Fabry’s books, it is worth the read.  It lends itself well to a book club discussion or a couples’ study.  In fact, my free copy from the publisher came with a discussion guide and a couple’s five –day devotion in the back.

If you are seeking a typical Chris Fabry novel, you might want to look elsewhere.  If you are looking for a modern-day portrayal of the applied wisdom of Solomon with some good marriage principles embedded, this is the book for you!     

Billly Coffey Mattingly Supernatural Suspense

In the Heart of the Dark Wood by Billy Coffey

Eleven year old Allie Granderson desperately misses her mother who was swept away five hundred forty-two days ago in The Storm of small town Mattingly.  She still believes her mother is alive (only her pink tennis shoe was found) and continues to wear the cheap, plastic toy compass her mother gave her before she disappeared.  It no longer works, but Allie can’t bear to be without it.  Then without explanation the compass begins to work in a magical way.  Allie is convinced that it will direct her to her mother and she convinces her best friend Zach to follow her as it directs them into the heart of the dark woods. 

Coffey’s writing flows, carrying the reader along.  He has a reader-friendly mix of description and action, and the plot of this book is palpable with tension.  I found myself wondering if they would ever escape alive.  I enjoyed his characters and find myself still pondering Zach and Allie and their life after the story.  The conclusion was satisfying and answered many of my questions.  I would heartily recommend this book and any of his others to readers who enjoy southern fiction and reading about small town life.

Southern Crimes Series book 3 romantic/suspense

Hidden Agenda by Lisa Harris

 

Michael Hunt, an undercover agent in the Mexican drug cartel has just hours to live.  He is shackled, questioned, beaten and left on a remote island resort of the man who wants him dead.  Another agent has been killed before his eyes.  He doesn’t know what the cartel has learned about his true identity and has no chance of escaping a certain death—until he is rescued by Ivan and Olivia Hamilton, the children of the cartel leader.  Even if Michael, Ivan and Olivia manage to escape from the island, there is no guarantee they will survive.  They may be tracked down and killed at any point by Olivia and Ivan’s father or one of his henchmen.  Olivia and Ivan are just now learning that their much absent father is not the business man they thought he was.  What other lies have they been told by their late mother and why?

Harris writes a fast-paced, “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” suspense with a rather predictable romance intertwined.  The pace, as well as the questions the storyline continued to raise kept me reading.

The characters were revealed more by their actions than thoughts, as an action-packed story would demand, but I found myself not missing them too much when the book ended, which is one of the true tests of character development for me.  However, I might have felt differently had this not been the first book I read of this series.  That being said, the author did convey pertinent information regarding the plot of the preceding books so that even if the characters were new to me, I knew the important pieces of their pasts.

The plot left enough questions unanswered regarding Michael and his family, Olivia and Ivan, that I would probably read a sequel.  Readers will probably enjoy the whole series—especially those who like romantic suspense.

 

Unusual fiction/fantasy

Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen

In an accidental exchange of backpacks on a flight, Clara’s life takes a surprising turn.  She must find her bag and in the process meets Elias Phinn, a wonderful, confusing, creative, gentle, demanding schizophrenic.  He captures her imagination and persuades her to join him in his quest to find the Light keeper.  He somehow knows her past and her Great Undoing, which has sent her running away from her family.  In order to find out what Elias knows and how, she goes with him, but soon discovers that there are two Eliases.  She hopes to help him complete his quest, to destroy the Light keeper and in the end to unite her two Eliases.  Along the way she must come to terms with his past and hers and how the quest     will either heal or destroy the both of them.

Friesen writes an unusual story.   I found the story line a bit confusing at times, finding it difficult to reconcile some of the details with reality.  However, I couldn’t give up on the book.  I found it fascinating to try and figure out what Clara’s Great Undoing was and why Elias needed to find the Light keeper.  The supporting characters made the  story that much more interesting and was another factor in keeping me reading, although again, there were many details regarding them that seemed rather unrealistic.

I found the story’s ending to be satisfying and looking back on the book, saw the pattern of redemption, which I wouldn’t have predicted.  The fact that this book was listed as a children’s book concerned me a bit.  As an elementary teacher, I would not recommend this book to my students and would have preferred to see it listed as a young adult fiction.  It contains some thematic elements that younger children may find confusing.  I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it to a high school student.  I received a free copy from the publisher and this is my honest review.

 

 

Seek and Hide, Haven Seekers Book 1 by Amanda G. Stevens

Marcus Brenner lives in a time when Christianity is outlawed.  The MPC (Michigan Philosophical Constabulary) hunts down Christians to “re-educate” them.  Despite the danger, Marcus feels obligated to warn and protect his fellow Christians.  His unwitting informant is Jason Mayweather, an MPC who drinks too much and mentions that he has a warrant for two of Marcus’ friends.  Although he does his best, Marcus can’t prevent them from being arrested.  His failure to save them makes him more determined to help their friend Aubrey and her infant son.  Will he be able to help Aubrey regain custody of her son Elliott and keep out of the reach of the MPC?  Can Marcus rescue Elliott and still protect those he loves?

These questions are answered in Seek and Hide.  The characters are well-developed and yet have very real flaws, which cause them to depend on their relationship with God.  The plot moves quickly and keeps the reader involved.  Because this is speculative fiction, the reader feels tension between what is and what could happen in the future.  The reader who enjoys suspense with a fast-paced plot and some very human characters will enjoy this book.

Scuba Diving Mystery

Submerged by Dani Pettrey, Alaskan Courage Series #1

Bailey Craig has left small town Yancey, Alaska and vowed never to return.  Too many regrets and difficult memories haunt her there.  But when her only living relative dies in a plane crash there, she has no choice but to return for the funeral.  She plans to avoid everyone, especially her high school love interest, Cole McKenna, stay just long enough to settle her aunt’s affairs and then leave.  However, the mystery surrounding her aunt’s death and Cole’s need of her help, convince her to stay awhile longer.

Cole’s family owns the town’s dive shop and search and rescue operation.  His family helped find the submerged plane where her aunt died.  As the clues pile up, it begins to look like her aunt was murdered.  Cole and Bailey must decide if they can overcome past hurts to solve the mystery of her aunt’s death.

This book is the first in Pettrey’s Alaskan Courage series.  Although the story had enough plot twists to keep me reading, it was pretty easy to predict how Cole and Bailey would react.  I thought they were a bit too perfect, despite their flawed pasts.  The element of diving and finding a sunken treasure more than made up the characters’ predictability.  I also enjoyed learning about Alaska’s Russian history.  All in all, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read.