Category Archives: Reviews

Review: McShannon’s Chance, by Jennie Marsland

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McShannon’s Chance, by Jennie Marsland (Bluewood Publishing, 2009)

Beth Underhill is an independent-spirited young woman who wants to make her own choices in an era and society where that’s not done. She grew up in a wealthy family, accustomed to luxury. Now she’s an orphan, dependant on her relatives’ support. Her cousin expects to arrange a marriage for her, but if she can’t marry for love she’ll marry for business—and she’ll set it up herself.

The novel opens with the stagecoach depositing Beth in the small community of Wallace Flats, Colorado Territory, in 1870, as a mail-order bride.

Trey McShannon, her new husband, raises cattle and thoroughbred horses on property outside of town. It’s like living in the middle of nowhere, but Beth loves the horses, and the raw landscape is perfect for her watercolour paintings. And she discovers depths to Trey that attract her.

Trey fought in the American civil war—on the opposite side to his friends—and carries both physical and emotional scars. He wanted a wife to help with the workload, but he didn’t expect someone as beautiful and ladylike as Beth. How can he dare to believe she’ll stay?

Jennie Marsland has done an excellent job with her characters. I kept turning pages to read more about Beth and Trey as they learned how to coexist and began to fall for one another. The supporting characters are well done too, and there’s an interesting subplot between Trey and the town’s new sheriff.

McShannon’s Chance is satisfying as a western novel and historical romance. I did skip a bit here and there: it’s no surprise that a married couple would be physically intimate, but I’m not comfortable reading about it. What I saw wasn’t offensive, just very private and I felt like an intruder. This is a mainstream-market novel, and perhaps more sensual details are expected (maybe one reason I don’t read them too often?). It also has some moderate profanity, if that’s an issue for you.

Having said that, I look forward to reading the sequel. McShannon’s Heart is expected to release by year-end, and it’s the story of Trey’s sister, Rochelle. It’s set in the same time period in the Yorkshire Dales, England. You can read excerpts of both novels by following this link to Jennie Marsland’s books.

Canadian author Jennie Marsland connects to readers through her website, Hearts Through History, and through her blog, A Chat with Jennie Marsland. McShannon’s Chance is available in print and as an ebook.

[Review copy purchased from the author.]

CD Review: Born Again, by the newsboys

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Born Again, by the newsboys (Inpop Records, 2010)

You know how when you love an album there’s always the fear that the next one won’t hit that same sweet spot? Either the artist(s) or you will have gone in a different direction? Or maybe that one album was a fluke connection with you?

I loved In The Hands of God. I bonded with the music on that album, and it blessed me spiritually in so many ways. I knew it wasn’t a one-time connection with the newsboys’ music, though, because some of their previous songs have reached me the same way.

Along comes Born Again, not only a new album but featuring a new lead, Michael Tait. And although I’d understood that former lead Peter Furler was going to stay part of the writing team, I don’t see much evidence of it this time around.

Thanks to some clever marketing strategy from the band, fans had plenty of opportunities to hear some of the new tracks far enough in advance of the album release that we had a good feel of what to anticipate.

I jumped at the chance to pre-order the CD, thus scoring some track downloads back in the spring. And the single, “Born Again,” had a lot of airplay.

After a lot of time listening to the full CD (including the digital-only bonus songs I had to download separately), I’m ready to add my comments to the mix.

Short version: love it.

Longer version: may still love In the Hands of God a bit more, but that’s just me.

Born Again has it all. Musically the songs range from the driving beat of the title track and “One Shot” to the gentler rhythm of “Running to You” and “I’ll Be”. There’s even some rap in the redone “Jesus Freak”.

And the lyrics that pull it all together. The songs are singable; some are fun and some are healing, and there’s an amazing amount of Scriptural truth. It may not be straight from an official version of the Bible, but it’s there in songs like “Escape” and “Build Us Back”.

Some of the lyrics I couldn’t get, and even with the lyric sheet I have questions. (What does “now you’re in the in-low” mean?)

Michael Tait’s voice gives a way different sound than Peter Furler’s, yet the overall feel of the music is the same and still great. Newsboys, new or old, have my vote for favourite band. To learn more about them, visit the newsboys’ website. You can listen to sample tracks at the newsboys’ MySpace page or the newsboys’ Facebook page.

With Born Again, I’m glad “the boys are back for a second act”.

Review: Becoming Lucy, by Martha Rogers

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Becoming Lucy, by Martha Rogers (Realms, 2010)

When seventeen-year-old Lucinda Bishop’s parents are killed in a carriage accident, she must move west to live on her aunt and uncle’s ranch. The year is 1896, and the developing territory of Oklahoma is much different than the wealthy area of Boston she’s known as home.

Lucinda will come into her inheritance on her 18th birthday, but leaving Boston may not be enough to protect her from another uncle, who wants the money for himself and who may not stop at murder.

Life on the ranch brings many adjustments, and one of the strengths of the novel is in its portrayal of ranch life in that period of time and space. The narrative never stops to dump information, but we experience the setting through Lucinda’s eyes.

The title comes from her struggle with how much to embrace this new life. To belong in a culture where everything is less formal, including people’s names, can she trade Lucinda for Lucy without losing herself?

Aunt Mellie, Uncle Ben and the cousins are loving, faith-filled people who embrace Lucinda as her own. She’s a proper young lady, obedient to her elders and possessing a faith that seems to not have doubts. She’s strong, though, and determined to adapt to all that life has thrown at her.

Novels being what they are, life throws more at her before we reach the end. A deep attraction sparks between her and one of Uncle Ben’s handsome cowboys, Jake. But Jake doesn’t share her faith, and she knows that means she can’t encourage his attention. On his part, Jake doesn’t dare entangle himself. He’s on the run from the law.

This is a gentle prairie romance with characters who are for the most part kind people. The plot is well-woven and the setting rings true.

Becoming Lucy is Martha Rogers’ first novel. You can watch the book trailer for Becoming Lucy here. The next two in the Winds Across the Prairie series are Morning for Dove and Finding Becky (releasing September 2010). You can learn more about Martha Rogers at her website.

[book source: public library]

Review: So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore

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So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore (Tyndale House Publishers, 2010)

“Insecurity among women is epidemic, but it is not incurable. Don’t expect it to go away quietly, however. We’re going to have to let truth scream louder to our souls than the lies that have infected us.” (p. xiii)

Drawing on her own experience and the responses of over 1,000 women (and men!), and using Scripture as a key weapon, Beth Moore has given us a book that equips us to change. So Long Insecurity is about empowering women to find their security in God.

One surprising point that comes up early in the book is the idea that it may not just be self-doubt that cripples us—we may be doubting God.

How? By doubting what He says about us. He says He loves us, and that He values us. But do we secretly think we know better, that if He really knew us completely He’d discover He’s been wrong?

The book exposes insecurity for what it is—a lie from the enemy of our souls—and takes a good look at the things that may have let it flourish in our lives.

There may be parts you relate to and parts you don’t, depending on your own personal experience. Insecurity manifests itself in various ways, and some women may be surprised to discover this is what’s been hindering them.

Prayer and Scripture form the basis of our defence against our individual default patterns of insecurity. One key verse is from Proverbs 31:25, where it declares “She is clothed with strength and dignity.”

Our God-given right to dignity—and our responsibility not to give that away when something threatens us—is central to maintaining our security. No, dignity is not something we can earn. It’s a gift from our God, and we need to hold it tight.

We also need to trust God. Beth says, “Whenever you get hit by a wave of insecurity, the wind driving it is always fear” (p. 320).She reminds us to consciously choose to trust God without conditions.

Not to say, “I’ll trust You as long as You don’t let my fear come true.” To decide that even if what we fear happens, we will trust Him to look after us.

If we must picture the worst-case scenario, we need to remember that God will be in it too. He won’t vanish in a puff of surprise and leave us fending for ourselves.

So Long Insecurity isn’t a quick-fix, one-time deal, because the triggers to insecurity are all around us. But it is a practical resource to help us reclaim our security and to arm us with what we need to guard ourselves.

I appreciated the solid reliance on Scripture, and the focus verses and short prayers that are perfect to write down and carry with us. There’s also a slightly longer prayer we can use each morning to keep our defences up.

Working through this book has changed me. I’m not yet where I want to be, but I’m closer. And I have the tools to get there. Whether you’re deeply or only mildly insecure, or if you want to understand an insecure woman in your life, I recommend reading So Long Insecurity. Check out the first chapter of So Long Insecurity here.

Beth Moore is a popular Bible teacher and author. You can watch an interview with Beth Moore about So Long Insecurity here, or learn more about the book here. Or click here to visit the So Long Insecurity website.

[Book from my personal library—and while I may lend it to you, I want it back!]

Review: The Constantine Conspiracy

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The Constantine Conspiracy, by Gary E. Parker (Revell, 2010)

Wealthy, freewheeling bachelor Rick Carson’s annual retreat with his father turns into disaster when the elder Carson is found dead. Only a skilled assassin could have penetrated their security system, so the evidence points to an inside job—perhaps to Rick himself.

The Carson ranch backs onto a national park, and Ranger Shannon Bridge is dispatched to the site until the police can arrive.

Rick can’t risk being detained as a suspect. Instinct tells him if he doesn’t find his father’s killer fast, nobody ever will. He flees out the back door as the police knock on the front.

Believing him to be innocent, Shannon lets him go and offers her help if he’ll trust her.

Meanwhile, at various points across the US, individuals hired by a man matching the assassin’s description commit often-violent social activism, each one claiming to do it in the name of Jesus.

Rick and Shannon are players caught up in a conspiracy of powerful allies united against what they perceive as their greatest threat: Christianity.

The plot is cleverly constructed, and with a subject matter that could come from present-day headlines it should attract plenty of readers.

I prefer a deeper third-person point of view, where the reader develops a stronger emotional connection to the characters. Gary E. Parker uses a distant third-person narration, or perhaps it’s a masterfully-done omniscient. It feels more impersonal, but it’s probably an attribute of the conspiracy-intrigue genre.

The actions and settings work well in the “show-don’t-tell” convention, but to me the thoughts and emotions felt “told, not shown”. Instead of reading that Rick or Shannon was unsure, curious etc, I wanted to see it in their speech and actions.

The novel does have some very strong lines, like the description of Shannon moving “like a woman accustomed to going places and not afraid to arrive.” (page 106)

What bothered me most was the frequent dangling of hidden information. When we meet Shannon we’re told she has a deeper mission behind the park ranger role: a mission she doesn’t know when will begin or end, and one she fears and yet hopes for.

It would have worked better to let us meet her as a ranger and discover the rest on a need-to-know basis.

Readers should be intrigued by the hints instead of resentful about being kept out of the know. Shannon is the biggest example of this, but even minor bits of information feel like jealously-guarded things instead of like nuggets doled out as needed.

I also had trouble with the Carter ranch’s high-tech voice-recognition controls. It’s great to have a computer that turns on your lights and preheats your shower on command, but how does it know when you want your words transmitted over the intercom—and to whom—and when you’re having a private conversation?

The spiritual thread is done well. Shannon takes her Christianity seriously, and Rick has been brought up to hold it in contempt. As the attraction between them grows, the faith issue seems insurmountable. Unlike some novels, the author treats both characters’ views with respect and makes no attempt to force Rick into a quick conversion so the couple can get married on the final page.

After a wild ride, the novel comes to a satisfying finish that leaves room for a sequel. Suffice to say there’s still a significant threat to Rick’s and Shannon’s lives, and they reach a tentative truce on the faith issue. If you like conspiracy theories and fast-paced intrigue, this one’s for you.

American author Gary E. Parker is multi-published in fiction and non-fiction. You can read the first chapter of The Constantine Conspiracy here.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Review: Majesty in Motion, by Stewart Brown

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Majesty in Motion: Creating an Encouragement Culture in all Your Relationships, by Stewart Brown, D. Min. (Word Alive Press, 2009)

I suppose while Jesus lived in Palestine in human form, those around Him truly saw the majesty of God in motion. Until He comes again, Christians have the responsibility of modeling God to those around us. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us, but too many times we fail.

In Majesty in Motion, Stewart Brown has provided a helpful, practical resource to overcome that failure. The encouragement culture he calls us to isn’t one of superficial compliments, but a lifestyle of building others up toward their God-given potential. It’s rooted and strengthened in prayer.

Seeing others as God sees them, affirming their value and investing time in their lives, is to treat them as Jesus would—to display God’s majesty in motion.

Stewart writes,

To be encouraged is to experience the transformative power of God, which gives you the courage to be and act according to God’s eternal purpose for your life.” (p. xiv)

As such, we need both to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to encourage others in Him.

This type of encouragement is intentional. It comes from prayerful intimacy with God and an awareness of the needs of others. And as the title makes clear, it’s about relationships, not religion or human effort.

The book asserts that encouragement has three parts: strengthening the heart, coming alongside to help, and inspiring to move forward:

Real, authentic encouragement—the attitude and heart that reflects the greatness of God through the warm, caring filter of God’s grace—is meant to be constantly active in the lives of every follower of Jesus.” (p. 19)

If we accept encouragement as our mission, we need to be equipped to deliver it. Part two of Majesty in Motion highlights three vital elements that God’s encouragers must develop: joy, patience, and an imitation of Jesus’ example.

As well as looking at the life of encouragement and the foundation required in each Christian’s life, the book also addresses the intentionality and the practice of encouragement. We have the why and the how, with practical details and clear examples. Each chapter comes with questions and suggestions for individuals and groups, and there are appendices of extra material for encouragement partners and church greeters.

There is a huge amount of truth packed into this 200-page book, and it’s easy to digest and understand. Application will take work and personal discipline, but the benefits are worth the cost.

I was personally challenged by the repeated call for a solid, personal confidence in God. It makes perfect sense: if you’re not securely trusting God in your own spirit, how can you help others? We must first learn to encourage ourselves in God, like an airline passenger donning her own oxygen mask before helping the child beside her.

David’s friend Jonathan helped him find strength in God when he was in danger from King Saul. Later, by himself David found strength in God when his men were ready to turn on him. Both are needed.

Majesty in Motion sets high goals that are achievable with diligence, and challenges readers to make that effort. It’s on my list of books that I wish every Christian could read.

Stewart Brown, D. Min, is a Canadian pastor, speaker and author currently serving in Alberta. Majesty in Motion follows the theme of his popular speaking engagements. Click here to read more about Majesty in Motion.  You can check out Stewart’s recent interview on 100 Huntley Street (Stewart Brown interview, 1/2 and Stewart Brown interview 2/2) or visit his website, One Heart Ministries, to learn more about his ministry.

Majesty in Motion won a 2010 Canadian Christian Writing Award (for work published in 2009) in the Book: Relationship category, and was a finalist in the Book: Christian Living category.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Practice By Practice, by Kathleen Gibson

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Practice by Practice: the art of everyday faith, by Kathleen Gibson (Word Alive Press, 2010)

Practice by Practice is the first compilation of Kathleen Gibson’s slice-of-life inspirational newspaper column, “Sunny Side Up”. Other volumes will follow, in a series titled The Preacher and Me. (Kathleen is a clergy wife.)

This delightful gift book came from Kathleen’s winning non-fiction manuscript in the 2009 Word Alive Press publishing contest.  Packaged as a 5×7-inch hardback with restful cover and interior design, Practice by Practice would make an ideal “thank you” to a friend or hostess—or a treat for yourself.

Each selection is 3-4 pages long, ideal for a quick pick-me-up. Kathleen’s insights are down to earth and practical, and her language flows gently. She writes about worry, marriage, forgiveness, patience, trust—a host of areas where we can all relate.

I found her thoughts on worry refreshing. We all know we shouldn’t worry, but for many of us it’s a lifetime challenge. Kathleen looks back at a life spent practicing faith as an antidote to worry and discovers:

“Like salt on ice, that worry has acted on the way I practice faith. It’s motivated me to dig deeper, trust more, pray harder, search God’s word more keenly. In the end, the well-practiced faith… has always trumped my worry and turned it into trust.” (p. 10)

Kathleen’s prose is rich and evocative. See if this excerpt doesn’t relax you:

“The Waskesiu River ambled along beside us, riffling over rocks, gathering in still pools, murmuring around sharp bends. Sedge grasses swayed above boulders swaddled in orange lichen. And golden-eyed ducks dipped and dived for plankton and whatever other edibles wait below the glistening surface of a river.” (p. 17)

Kathleen’s “Sunny Side Up” column is featured in Yorkton This Week, and you can read the current instalments by clicking the link. (There’s even a spot to subscribe to “Sunny Side Up“, for those of us who perpetually forget to return to websites we want to read.) It’s good to have these older columns available in print to new eyes as well as to seasoned readers.

To learn more about Canadian author Kathleen Gibson, visit SIMPLY LIFE with Kathleen Gibson. Kathleen is also the author of West Nile Diary: One Couple’s Triumph Over a Deadly Disease. In addition to her column and other writing, Kathleen blogs occasionally at Ramblings.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Forget Me Not, by Vicki Hinze

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Forget Me Not, by Vicki Hinze (WaterBrook-Multnomah, 2010)

She’s been running from her enemies for three years. As the story opens, readers don’t know her name, but we see her attacked by two separate groups in New Orleans.

When she wakes, bruised and abandoned, in Florida, she can’t remember her identity. Her only clue is a card in her pocket with Crossroads Crisis Center on one side and the name “Susan” written on the other.

She’s taken to Crossroads, and that’s when things get complicated.

The mystery woman looks like Crossroads’ director Ben Brandt’s murdered wife—whose name was Susan, and whose cross this woman found in her pocket and is now wearing.

As upset as Ben  is, he realizes that he and this stranger must work together for her safety as well as to find the answers he desperately needs.

With so many unknowns, and what looked like a complex cast of villains, I found it hard to get my head around the book at first. I kept reading out of concern for the heroine and because I trusted veteran author Vicki Hinze to deliver a suspenseful novel that would bring all the pieces together in the end.

The pieces do come together, and the network of villains is indeed complex. “Susan” and Ben are strong, complex characters. She doesn’t know who she is, but she’s sure Whose she is. He knows his identity but walked away from faith when his wife and son were killed. And in the midst of the danger and unknowns, they may be falling in love.

Vicki Hinze has written 23 novels and 3 non-fiction books in the general market. Forget Me Not is her first “faith-affirming romantic thriller, and she handily earns a spot at the top of my suspense list with Brandilyn Collins. Her next novel in the Crossroads Crisis Center series is Deadly Ties, coming February, 2011.

You can read the first chapter of Forget Me Not,  and learn more about award-winning author Vicki Hinze at her website. Check out an in-depth interview with Vicki Hinze at Nora St. Laurent’s Finding Hope Through Fiction blog.

Here’s the book trailer for Forget Me Not: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi9bXuLk_Fw]

[review copy borrowed from the public library]

Review: On Thin Ice, by Linda Hall

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On Thin Ice, by Linda Hall (Love Inspired, 2010)

Megan Brooks and Alec Black were in deeply love as teens, planning an early wedding because of a surprise pregnancy. Tragedy struck, they each made hard choices, and they haven’t seen one another since.

Until now.

As the 20th anniversary of their ill-fated wedding date approaches, members of the wedding party begin dying under suspicious circumstances.

Megan fears she’s next, so she tracks Alec to his home in Whisper Lake Crossing, Maine. As hard as it is to see him again, she knows they need to work together to save their lives. Dare she hope they can also rekindle their relationship, or will Alec still put his family first?

As always, Linda Hall delivers a novel with well-developed characters: individuals who have known pain and who, by the story’s end, may be surprised by hope. Also as always, she provides a villain who’s disturbingly real.

Because Love Inspired books are shorter than some, she doesn’t have room to delve as thoroughly into the secondary characters and plotlines as she otherwise would. It’s still a satisfying read, and short enough to finish in an evening. It’s set in snowy February, but for me it made the perfect antidote to a hot summer evening.

On Thin Ice is the second instalment in the Whisper Lake series, and I enjoyed recognizing characters from the first book, Storm Warning. Book three, Critical Impact, comes out in October 2010.

Linda Hall is a multi-published, award-winning Canadian suspense author. To learn more about her and her books, visit writerhall.com. 

[Book source: my personal library]
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Review: Back on Murder, by J. Mark Bertrand

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Back on Murder: A Roland March Mystery, by J. Mark Bertrand (Bethany House, 2010)

Roland March was a good detective, but now he’s on the way out. Something happened—a bad case, a personal tragedy, perhaps both—and he stopped trying.

His chief reluctantly assigns him to a gangland murder: one last chance, and one March discovers he desperately wants to take.

His superiors want him gone. He’s told to drop his brilliant hunch. Everything he tries only makes things worse. And it’s September, time for his wife’s annual depression.

Back on Murder is a fantastic read. Author J. Mark Bertrand nails the detective’s voice in this first-person novel. His descriptions are fresh, vivid, unique.

This is some of what March sees as he studies the first crime scene:

“The couch cushions blossom white with gunshots, exposed foam bursting from the wounds…. Evidence markers, chalk lines. imposing scientific regularity over the shell casings, the dropped firearms, the fallen bodies.” (page 12)

Here, March is arguing with his wife, Charlotte:

“We’re not yelling at each other. Not quite. But it’s a hissing little knife fight of a conversation, no dodging or parrying, just attack, attack, attack.” (page 42)

First person works for me as a mystery reader—whatever the sleuth or detective learns, I learn as well. Sometimes I can even piece a few clues together before he or she does, although not so much in this case.

But the novel is written in the present tense, a major turn-off for me. This is a fast-paced story, and once I was into it, my brain converted the action descriptions to past tense (that’s what it thinks is normal after 40+ years of reading). Then it would trip on a present-tense verb and throw me off the story’s rollercoaster. Not fun.

In the midst of assimilating the whole present-tense-fast-action thing, on page one I found a description of the murder victim: unique and well-written, but referring to his “wife-beater”. While I usually feel the political-correctness enforcers go overboard, this one should maybe have been stopped.

I was surprised a) that it was there, and b) that all readers would be expected to know the words mean a sleeveless, scooped-neck undershirt. If you didn’t know, I doubt you’d figure it out from context. You’d just be thinking about the dead guy having beaten his wife. This dead guy may not even have had a wife, so that’s a bad distraction from what he did have: enemies.

It’s hard for crime novels to have happy endings when they’re about death. March’s case resolves in a mostly satisfactory manner from his perspective. For readers, it a good ending. Our questions have been answered, some justice has been dealt, and there’s an open-ended issue that promises us future plots. Professionally, things are looking up for March. On a personal level, he and Charlotte are making progress.

March is a non-Christian protagonist for both Christian and general market police procedural lovers. Readers wanting a conversion scene for March need to look elsewhere. It wouldn’t be a realistic step for him at this point, but perhaps in a future novel. I found his non-faith gave him the opportunity to let Christians see how others may perceive us. He isn’t intentionally nasty, but he doesn’t get it. We all know people like that, and we need to understand them and to help them understand us.

J. Mark Bertrand is the co-author (with Deeanne Gist) of the romantic suspense, Beguiled. Back on Murder is so tightly-written that I can’t believe it’s his first solo novel.

Take a few minutes to read an excerpt from Back on Murder.  And there’s an interesting Q&A with J. Mark Bertrand that promises:

“With the fallout from Back on Murder, and some new secrets coming to light, March’s next case might be the most disturbing he’s ever faced. The next book in the Roland March series, Pattern of Wounds, is schedule for release in Summer 2011.” [Read the full Q&A here.]

J. Mark Bertrand’s website is Back on Murder. Why write the novel in first-person, present-tense, with a non-Christian protagonist who’s somewhat of an anti-hero? In a guest-blogging post at best-selling suspense novelist Brandilyn Collins’ Forensics and Faith blog, he claims, “The Story Made Me Do It”.

I like Roland March, and I’m glad he’s back on murder. Present-tense narrative or no, I’ll be waiting to read Pattern of Wounds.

[Review source: Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]