Tree Swing Reading

Review of From the Belly of the Dragon

Another great book in the "Truth Chasers" series by Mark Mynheir.  I'm still catching up on the series to the CFBA review of the third book a few weeks ago.  This book is the 2nd book in the series and highlights a second officer, the partner of the officer featured in book1 (Rolling Thunder). Agent Tim Porter is divorced and a recovering alcoholic with a college-age daughter, Ruby.  Ruby is searching for something and she thinks she finds it in a group of college students following a charasmatic leader.  Unfortunately, this leader is not what he seems and the students who follow him to his campus end up more in a cult-like setting than a higher learning setting.

Agent Porter and his partner are determined to investigate the leader, who is crafty and evil. Along the way, the agents discover that their challenges in this case are personal and spiritual in nature. 

One again, I really enjoyed the author's style and voice.  It's great reading a police suspense story from someone who is a police officer and knows how to be realistic with his characters and their relationships.  I was hooked on the story from the beginning and stayed up late last night to finish it!

I lookforward to reading the third and final book in this series soon!

Review of Presumed Guilty by James Scott Bell

I picked out this book to bring on a recent trip we made so my husband could have something suspenseful to read on the plane.  He never opened it, but I read it and really enjoyed it.

The premise of the story is famous, successful pastor has a big fall and ends up in jail for murder.  His wife discovers that she really doesn't know her husband anymore and is shocked by his failings.  In spite of his betrayal of her with other women, she is convinced of his innocence and works to prove it while at the same time dealing with her grown son's addictions and PTSD from Iraq.

The story is fast-paced. I read it all in 2 flights home!  It reads like a courtroom suspense novel.

Review of The Restorer

I loved this book!  I'm normally not a big "fantasy" reader, but his was very, very good!  It was like Narnia meets suburbia.  Soccer mom meets Frodo...

I can relate to the mom's sense of listlessness as she wrestles with "finding herself" in the midst of her 4 kids' schedules and the demands of being a mom.  So she goes up in the attic in a special private place built for her by her husband so she can have some time alone.  She ends up in another world!  In that world she fights battles, overcomes weaknesses and strongholds, and learns to love her Lord and her family with a renewed passion. 

Review of Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder is book 1 in "The Truth Chasers" series by Mark Mynheir.  Book three is the CFBA feature this week, but I'm still catching up and just finished book 1! 

I really enjoyed this book!  Maybe because it speaks to dealing with issues from our past that continue to haunt us in our present--even when we are adults and the trauma is from our childhood. Officer John Russell is a normal police officer, but his past suddenly comes up to slap him in the face when he gets an unexpected visitor.  I don't want to say who the visitor is, but it is part of the build up in the story.

At the same time as dealing with his past, Officer Russell's present must be dealt with as well.  He is a assigned a case of a missing boy who disappeared from the foster care system 6 years earlier.  He works with 2 other officers (who will be each featured in the other books in this series) to try to find the missing boy.

Dealing with the pressure of the search for the boy and the unsettled resurfacing of a hidden past nearly drive Officer Russell to extreme outcomes and jeopardize his family's happiness.  Fortunately we have a God who is bigger than our past and the author deftly weaves this message into the story.

A great read for the suspense lover!

Review of The Void

The Void by Mark Mynheir

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

THE VOID
(Multnomah Fiction August 21, 2007)
by

Mark Mynheir

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mark Mynheir is a cop writer. He has authored Rolling Thunder (The Truth Chasers Book One) and From the Belly of the Dragon (The Truth Chasers Book Two).

During his career as a police officer, Mark has worked as a narcotics agent, a S.W.A.T. team member, and a homicide detective. Mark and his wife, Lori, live with their three children in central Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Truth Chasers Book Three

Someone’s trying to play God…and he’s turning Palm Bay into hell.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Agent Robbie Sanchez devotes her life to crime prevention, and it shows: She has no personal life and doesn’t know the meaning of a day off. After all, someone has to be around to clean up the mess crime leaves behind.

So when Officer Brad Worthington is brutally murdered, Agent Sanchez is called to the scene along with Brad’s best friend, Detective Eric Casey. The two turn to Lifetex, the genetics lab near the scene, hoping their elaborate security system might have captured the crime outside.

But what’s going on inside the lab is far worse: a renegade scientist is cloning humans! As Robbie and Eric pursue clues–and a growing attraction–they are caught in a deadly battle as the clones begin to act on their own volition…but this battle threatens to claim more than human life; the clones are vying for human souls.

The Void is nothing short of a page-turner. Mynheir is truly hitting his stride as one of our industry's most notable Christian novelists. This latest book has it all: suspense, humor, intrigue, realistic police action, and one thought-provoking story line.

Creston Mapes
Author of Nobody

Review of Off the Record

After reading two highly suspenseful books in a row, I was a little unprepared for the downshift to a more relaxed pace.  I had a little trouble getting into the story at first and couldn't relate to the "perfect" character of Laurel, the main character.  I did begin to get more drawn in as the story went on and hinted at a "mysterious past" of the main character.  The story itself was pleasant enough and the storyline of journalist falling for politician had an interesting potential.  It was a nice story and made for good Sunday afternoon reading.

Off the Record

Off The Record by Elizabeth White

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

OFF THE RECORD(Zondervan August 15, 2007)by

Elizabeth White

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beth White is the author of Fireworks and Fair Game, as well as the critically acclaimed Texas Gatekeepers serie from Love Inspired Suspense.

In her own words, she appreciate her most valued roles as wife and mom. Beth is also a second-grade Sunday school teacher, church orchestra member (She plays flute), and artist. She loves to read, crochet, sew, go on mission trips and avoid housework.

Beth lives in Mobile with her minister husband, and is currently on staff at First Baptist Church of North Mobile (fondly known as NoMo), in Saraland, Alabama.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Ambition is on a collision course with a secret from the past.

Judge Laurel Kincade, a rising political star, is announcing her candidacy for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Her aristocratic Old South family, led by her judge grandfather, beams as she takes the podium. Then her eyes light on a reporter in the crowd…and suddenly her past becomes a threat to her future.

Journalist Cole McGaughan, religion reporter for the New York Daily Journal, has received an intriguing call from an old friend. Private investigator Matt Hogan has come across a tip…that Laurel's impeccable reputation might be a facade. Matt suggests that Cole dig up the dirt on the lovely judge in order to snag his dream job as one of the Journal's elite political reporters.

There's just one problem: Cole's history is entangles with Laurel's and he must decide if the story that could make his career is worth the price he'd have to pay.

A sensational scoop becomes a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Can Laurel and Cole find forgiveness and turn their hidden past into a hopeful future...while keeping their feelings off the record?

My Review:

After reading two highly suspenseful books in a row, I was a little unprepared for the downshift to a more relaxed pace.  I had a little trouble getting into the story at first and couldn't relate to the "perfect" character of Laurel, the main character.  I did begin to get more drawn in as the story went on and hinted at a "mysterious past" of the main character.  The story itself was pleasant enough and the storyline of journalist falling for politician had an interesting potential.  It was a nice story and made for good Sunday afternoon reading.

Black or White Chronicles: Book 1

I haven't gotten a chance to read the book from my previous post.  I'm still catching up on the series. I did read the fist book in the series:  Black or White now called Abiding Darkness.  I really liked it!  The author, John Aubrey Anderson, has a wonderful way of writing.  He gets the reader to see things without having to spell it out completely.  He implies things and lets the reader really get it.  The writing matches the setting with the southern rolling, almost musical way of speaking.

I also felt the impact of his story.  The few glimpses at the demons and angels working behind the scenes to impact the outcome were meaningful but not overdone.  I wish I could know the characters, especially Mose and Pip and Missy and learn from them and their constant devotion to making God known and knowing God.  Again, I enjoyed how the dialogue was impactful without being too obvious.  The characters had learn things and it was like the reader gets to learn things by listening in.

It was suspenseful and powerful.  I recommend it.

Review of And if I Die

And if I Die by John Aubry Anderson

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

AND IF I DIE

(Faithwords August 2007)
by

John Aubrey Anderson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John grew up in Mississippi cotton country. After graduating from Mississippi State, he received an Air Force commission and has recently retired after flying twenty-eight years for a major airline. He lives in Texas with his wife, Nan.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

AND IF I DIE is the third book in the Black and White Chronicles. The first was Abiding Darkness (August, 2006), the second was Wedgewood Grey (February, 2007).

In 1945, a spirit voice told Mr. A. J. Mason to “Be ready.”

In 1960, the spirit drew near and said the same words to the same man. “Be ready.”

On both occasions Mason ended up in bloody battles with the forces of evil. On both occasions, he saved the life of a young girl named Missy Parker. And on both occasions good people died.

It’s 1968.Missy Parker has been married to Dr. Patrick Patterson for nine years; they live in Denton, Texas. Missy plays tennis and golf; Pat is chairman of the philosophy department at North Texas State University.

Mose Washington, a black man Missy refers to as her almost-daddy, is hiding behind a new name—Mose Mann. Mose and the young black man who poses as his grandson have spent eight years successfully evading the FBI, a murderous congresswoman, and creatures from the demonic realm. They now live in Pilot Hill, Texas—fifteen miles from Pat and Missy. Mose is committing the autumn of his life to the pursuit of the knowledge of God and the protection of his “grandson”. His “grandson” is interested in honing his skills as a bull rider.

Close friends see portents of danger in events of the early summer and converge on Pilot Hill to warn the two black men that yet another confrontation with malevolent beings may be looming.

In the pre-dawn hours, on the second day of the North Texas Rodeo, the voice of an invisible being speaks to Missy Parker Patterson. The voice warns her that it is now she, not A. J. Mason, who has been chosen as the person who needs to “Be ready” . . . and Missy doesn’t want the job.

Review of Return to Me

Return To Me

by Robin Lee Hatcher

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

RETURN TO ME byRobin Lee Hatcher

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin is the author of over fifty novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by Library Journal.

Winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, two RITA Awards for Best Inspirational Romance, and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Robin, who is also one of our CFBA members, lives in Boise, Idaho.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Discouraged and destitute, her dreams shattered, Roxy Burke is going home. But what lies beyond the front door?

Rejection...or a bright future?

A lot has changed since Roxy Burke escaped small town life to become a Nashville star. Her former boyfriend Wyatt has found Christ and plans to become a minister. Her sister Elena, who comforted Wyatt when Roxy ran away, is now his fiancee. Her father Jonathan, a successful businessman, is heartbroken over the estrangement of Roxy from the family.

Now Roxy...her inheritance from her grandmother squandered, her hopes of stardom dashed...finds her way home...not by choice but because it's her only option. Her father's love and forgiveness surprise her, but her very presence throws the contented Burke family into turmoil, filling Roxy with guilt and shame.

Elena is shocked to discover doubt and resentment in her heart after her father's easy acceptance of Roxy into the family circle. Wyatt wrestles with doubts about marrying Elena. And Roxy struggles to accept forgiveness. Isn't she more deserving of rejection? As the story of the prodigal plays out, each member of the Burke family must search for and accept God's grace.