Tag Archives: book reviews

Review: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer

Orange book cover with no images. Simple text: John Mark Comer; The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (the word hurry is scratched out); Foreword by John Ortberg

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer (WaterBrook, 2019)

Subtitle: “How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World”

“The problem isn’t when you have a lot to do; it’s when you have too much to do and the only way to keep the quota up is to hurry.” (p, 21)

Can you relate? In this book, author John Mark Comer invites us to discover “what the way of Jesus has to say to the epidemic of hurry.” (p. 76)

He’s approaching the topic from a Christian perspective. However, there’s plenty of valuable content about the problem—and possible solutions—for people of other faiths or no faith.

Meticulously researched, quoting multiple sources and studies, the book is highly readable. Look at the endnotes too. Sometimes they expand on quoted material, and sometimes they’re funny. I found some other books I hope to read later.

There’s a link at the end to a digital workbook called How to Unhurry, which comes with brief teaching videos.

For me, this is a gateway book leading into his newer book, Practicing the Way, which I’m hoping will further expand on the principles I’ve just read.

Highly recommended. Thought provoking. And with practical suggestions on how to implement the practices of “Silence and Solitude, Sabbath, Simplicity, and Slowing.” Not everything will feel applicable, but if we gain only one or two things it will be a journey worth taking.

John Mark Comer is a teacher, speaker, and bestselling author with a refreshing delivery of longstanding truths we need to hear. For more about him and his work, including links to podcasts, his blog, and his newsletter signup, visit johnmarkcomer.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Stumped, by Emily James

Book cover with a maple leaf. Main image is a suitcase with a bloody handprint, sitting in a pool of blood. Text" Maple Syrup Mysteries; Stumped; Emily James.

Stumped, by Emily James (Stronghold Books, 2020)

She left high-pressure city life behind and is now part-owner of a maple syrup farm in Michigan and a partner in a small-town law firm. She’s also a wife and expectant mother—and an amateur sleuth with a knack for digging out the truth.

There weren’t supposed to be any new cases for Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes-Cavanagh to tackle before her baby’s birth. But when a man shows up at her office covered in blood, with no idea what happened, she knows he’s going to need a defense attorney.

Nicole only represents innocent clients. How can she be sure he’s telling the truth?

And how did we get to 13 books in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series? I’ve enjoyed them all.

This series is written for a mainstream audience. As such, although Nicole and her husband are Christians there’s not an overt faith thread. In this novel, I appreciated watching her wrestle with one of the murder suspects being a priest.

She can’t dismiss the possibility of his guilt, but she doesn’t want to be one of those people who look at church scandals and automatically assume the worst. Because of her faith—and her experience with believers who sometimes do wrong but who often are simply misunderstood—she’s glad to be the one pursuing this investigation because she can approach it with more sensitivity.  

Stumped is a strong ending to an engaging series. The Maple Syrup Mysteries are cleverly plotted, the characters have depth, and there’s enough quirky humour to make me smile.

I’d encourage anyone new to the series to start at the beginning and follow the characters and their relationships. You can get a free ebook copy of the prequel, Sapped, at the author’s website by signing up for her newsletter. Here’s the link: authoremilyjames.com/book/sapped.

Emily James is also the author of the Cupcake Truck Mysteries and the Cat and Mouse Whodunits. There’s at least one other author with the same name, so to see more about this Emily James and her work, it’s best to visit her website at authoremilyjames.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Picks from 2024

Goodreads tells me I read 59 books in 2024.

Calendar, 2024, books. Text: My Year in Books 15,935 pages read, 59 books read. Image of Janet Sketchley.
Image credit: Goodreads. Click to view full details on Goodreads.

From those 59 books in 2024, here are my top picks:

Book of the year, fiction: Born of Gilded Mountains, by Amanda Dykes

Book of the year, nonfiction: Abiding in Christ, by Andrew Murray

Christian living: Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, by Tyler Staton; God Has a Name, by John Mark Comer, Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer, by David G. Benner

Fantasy: The Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson

Favourite re-read (fiction): The End of the Magi, by Patrick Carr; The Scent of Water, by Elizabeth Goudge

Favourite re-read (non-fiction): Practicing His Presence, by Frank Laubach and Brother Lawrence (Gene Edwards, editor)

Heartwarming reads: The Divine Proverb of Streusel, by Sara Brunsvold

Mystery/suspense: Queen of Hearts, by Heather Day Gilbert; The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny

Nova Scotia fiction: The Bad Reputations, by Karen V. Robichaud

Science fiction: The Icarus Job, by Timothy Zahn

To see what I loved most about my top three picks, see my entry at Shepherd.com.

Some of these books were produced in 2024, some previously. Pop a note into the comments with your own favourites?

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Review: Born of Gilded Mountains, by Amanda Dykes

Born of Gilded Mountains, by Amanda Dykes (Bethany House, 2024)

To open an Amanda Dykes story is to step into an exquisitely crafted tale of diverse, well-crafted characters that is at once poignantly real while evoking wonder and a feel-good ending.

Born of Gilded Mountains is a historical novel of friendship, loss, loyalty, and resilience set in a small town in the mountains of Colorado.

Schoolgirl pen pals Marybeth Spatts and Rusty Bright forge a deep bond that shapes the rest of their lives. Through their letters, each encourages the other through some dark, painful times. And Rusty leaves Marybeth with a challenge to solve a mysterious puzzle.

It’s a split-time novel, with the girls’ childhood letters interspersed with the “present” (1948) as Marybeth (now known as Mercy Windsor, famous but disgraced movie star) attempts to pursue Rusty’s quest. There are also snippets from a reporter claiming to be writing Mercy’s biography, from a stage play, and other scenes and “documents” from the past.

The inclusion of such various elements initially made it difficult for me to latch onto the story, but I knew from the author’s previous works that it would be well worth my effort. (It was.)

Everything comes together to make one cohesive whole in the end. And I loved the book. As well as the ending, I loved the hope-giving theme of light in the darkness.

“…knowing it came after a tragedy too great for any person to bear… it’s a daily reminder that light will break into our darkness.” [Ellen, in chapter 9, about a beautiful sight she’s just shown Mercy.]

The narrative is lyrical, Rusty in particular is an irrepressible delight, and there’s humour to balance the hardship. While there may be romance, there are other characters who are single by choice.

Mercy/Marybeth asks Rusty, “…didn’t God create each and every story—singleness and marriage alike—with just as much care and meaning?” [Chapter 23]

And I have to call out the fun moment of seeing characters mentioned from one of the author’s previous novels. No spoilers—you’ll have to find it for yourself.

Amanda Dykes is an Christy Award Book of the Year winner. Her previous novels are Whose Waves These Are, Set the Stars Alight, Yours is the Night, and All the Lost Places. She’s also written a number of novellas and short fiction. For more about the author and her work, visit amandadykes.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Prayers of a Stranger, by Davis Bunn

Prayers of a Stranger: A Christmas Journey, by Davis Bunn (Thomas Nelson, 2012)

Amanda and Chris have lived the past year grieving the loss of their baby, each carrying job stress, and slowly growing apart. An unexpected request for Amanda to accompany an older neighbour to Israel before Christmas may be the catalyst to change everything.

This faith-filled story brings heartfelt family drama, new friendships, answered prayer, and a chance for readers to vicariously visit the Wailing Wall, Bethlehem, and a few other sites in and near Jerusalem.

Davis Bunn excels at bringing exotic settings to life, as well as creating characters we can care about. I did find this one a bit passive in much of the narrative, but the story drew me to keep reading. Definitely a feel-good Christmas read.

Davis Bunn is a prolific writer of Christian and clean general-market fiction spanning heartwarming contemporary to historical to thriller to fantasy and techno-thriller (sometimes under his pen name, Thomas Locke). For more about the author and his books, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Davis_Bunn.

[Review copy from the public library via the Hoopla app.]

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Review: Knight Brew, by Heather Day Gilbert

Knight Brew, by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press, 2024)

The annual Renaissance Faire is on, and Macy Hatfield and her brother, Bo, are onsite in full costume, running a booth for the Barks & Beans Café. She’s a Viking, and he’s a kilt-wearing Scot.

The fairground hosts knights, fairies, and all kinds of mediaeval characters. Macy’s looking forward to taking in the attractions with her boyfriend, Titan—until they witness a fatal jousting match.

The dead “knight” had more enemies than friends, which will make it hard to find his killer. While the protective men in her life want to keep Macy from investigating, she can’t help trying to find a few clues for the police. After all, she’s a friendly person and people talk to her. What could possibly go wrong?

At the same time, she’s dealing with unexpected conflict among the café staff—and the possibility that one of them may be accused of the murder.   

There’s at least one point in this story that could be terrifying. For Macy it is, but I appreciate how the author maintains the lighter tone readers expect from the series. It happens, it’s over fast, and I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my sleep later.

The Barks & Beans mystery series wins on a number of levels: engaging characters with developing relationships, small-town coffee shop, non-graphic crimes, and plenty of dogs. My favourite supporting role character is definitely Coal.

Knight Brew is book 9 in the series. You could start here and not feel lost, but you may prefer to start at the beginning (No Filter) and read all the way through.

Award-winning author Heather Day Gilbert writes clean cozy mysteries, romantic and psychological suspense, and Viking historicals. For more about the author, visit heatherdaygilbert.com. Signing up for her newsletter will get you a free Barks and Beans ebook, House Blend.

[Book provided by the publisher with no obligation to write a review. My opinions are my own.]

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Review: God Has a Name, by John Mark Comer

Book cover: black with book title and author name in white text.

God Has a Name, by John Mark Comer (Zondervan, 2017)

Why is it important to know that God has a name other than “God”? That He revealed His name to Moses and to the people He had chosen?

Lots of people talk about God… with lots of variations on who they think He is. So His name, as revealed in the Bible, tells us who we’re talking about. So to quote the prologue, “The question at the heart of this book [is]: Who is God?” And the answer is important, because the prologue also asserts that “We become like what we worship.”

So this is a book for Christians (others are welcome too) where we can check our ideas about God against what He says about Himself, with a view to learning to follow in His ways. There’s a lot of misinformation about God floating loose in society, and we’re not immune to absorbing some of it. That’s why we need books like this one.

In six chapters, God Has a Name dives deep (yet accessibly) into the text of Exodus 34:4-7, where God told Moses His name: Yahweh, often rendered in our Bibles as “The LORD.”

Lest that sound heavy or dry, let me say I love the friendly, conversational tone. This is not your great-grandparents’ stilted theology text. It’s deeply researched, drawing from many contemporary and long-past writers, and the occasional Hebrew word does pop up, but I found the delivery refreshing.

We can (and should) read this Bible passage on our own, prayerfully spending regular time in the Scriptures. There’s much more to it than I’ve ever dug up on my own, though, and I’m grateful for John Mark Comer’s teaching on it.

Each chapter begins with a portion of the passage. The pattern is to: 1) explore the original language, 2) look at where the passage shows up elsewhere in the Bible (it’s quoted or referenced so many times!), 3) look at how Jesus reveals this Exodus-Named God in the New Testament, and 4) “think about what who God is means for who we are” (prologue) and how that might reshape us.

I found this book invigorating, and I definitely need to read it again. Highly recommended! You can read the first chapter online here. Or for a taste of the full contents, check out the author’s God Has a Name sermon series at Bridgetown Church, Oregon. Just click the name of each installment to listen.

New York Times bestselling author John Mark Comer is currently based in Los Angeles, working with Practicing the Way (check the site for spiritual formation resources). To learn more about the author and his ministry, visit johnmarkcomer.com. Scroll down far enough, and you’ll find various podcast options as well as his books.

[Review copy from the public library via Hoopla Digital.]

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Review: A Collection of Lies, by Connie Berry

Book cover: a stately English country home, drifting mist, and mossy rocks.

A Collection of Lies, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books, 2024)

An antique dress, purportedly worn by a murderess in years past. Some simple historical research in wintry Devon. What could possibly go wrong?

American antiques expert Kate Hamilton and her new husband, English Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, chose to spend part of their honeymoon attempting to authenticate a bloodstained old dress for a village museum’s crime exhibit.

Their last mystery nearly killed them… and left them arriving bruised and late to their own wedding. Kate fervently hopes this assignment will be safe, academic, and successful—and that Tom will decide to leave the police force and its dangers to take on the role of a private investigator.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but the village, the characters, and the food drew me in. I’ve enjoyed the Kate Hamilton mystery series (well worth starting with book 1, A Dream of Death).

Kate is clever, brave, and kind. She’s knowledgeable about antiques and possesses an indefinable instinct that occasionally reacts to the presence of a significant artifact—in the case of the dress, with the impression of a kneeling woman and the phrase, “So much blood!” Not the sort of thing she can share with her facts-oriented police officer husband.

First there’s a near-miss shooting. And ongoing threats. Then there’s a murder. Can this possibly relate to an old dress, or is something else afoot? Clues are scarce, lies are abundant, and everyone seems to have something to hide.

All in all, another fun installment in the Kate Hamilton mystery series (A Collection of Lies is book 5). I hope there are more to come.

To learn about author Connie Berry and her work, visit connieberry.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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The Making of an Ordinary Saint, by Nathan Foster

Book cover: a mountain behind the title, caution tape through the title, and the subtitle "My journey from frustration to joy with the spiritual disciplines" stretches along a road toward the mountaintop.

The Making of an Ordinary Saint, by Nathan Foster (Baker Books, 2014)

If you’re looking for an instructional book on practicing the spiritual disciplines, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for a memoir of an ordinary layperson trying to get closer to his God and grow in his faith, The Making of an Ordinary Saint is a good choice.

It’s a candid look at one man’s search to follow the spiritual practices modelled by Jesus and in so doing to lose the frustration that seems to be taking over his life.

Each chapter shares his attempts to focus on a different discipline, introduced by a brief explanation of that discipline. He’s honest about the struggles, the failures, the benefits, and the costs. He also includes a few “interlude” chapters warning of potential hazards. (Hazards to spiritual disciplines? Oh, yes. For example, can you say “pride”?)

Subtitled “My journey from frustration to joy with the spiritual disciplines,” this book includes a foreword and reflections by Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline (and father of Nathan Foster).

I found the original Celebration of Discipline inspiring. Truth told: Most of what I read remained head knowledge instead of moving into my daily walk with the Lord. That’s not the book’s fault, and now that the spiritual disciplines are again on my mind I hope to be more intentional about them.

I was slow to engage with this book because the author’s frustration came through so clearly that I started feeling it too. Negative emotions transfer too easily. But his story drew me in, and his journey reminded me of the hope the disciplines offer of closeness with God.

This is not a book that will leave “regular” readers feeling they’ll never measure up. But it gives glimpses of reward that make the cost well worth paying.

One of the things Nathan Foster learned, something I think so many of us need to internalize, is this:

“… a clear and deep knowing of God’s love for me has been the key remedy I needed to untangle many of the problems I faced. …I have come to believe that God’s love is the central message of Christianity, that living the kingdom life must be born out of an active response to a deep knowing of one’s place as a much-loved daughter or son of the Author of Life.” (p. 66)

I’m grateful for the chance to read The Making of an Ordinary Saint, and I highly recommend it to anyone desiring a closer relationship with God. We would do well to follow it up with Celebration of Discipline and with some of the resources at Practicing the Way, the ministry related to the book by John Mark Comer. (I’ve only listened to some of their material to date and haven’t yet read the book. What I’m hearing is resonating.)

Nathan Foster is an author, professor, and the host of Life With God: A Renovaré Podcast.

[Review copy from my household library.]

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Review: The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller

Book cover: basically it's the title and author's name. There's also a key, and in the letters of the word "to" there's the silhouette of a bird in the letter "o".

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller (Simon & Schuster, 2024)

Twenty years ago, tragedy and betrayal wrenched Freya Lockwood out of the career she loved: hunting stolen antiques and restoring them to their rightful owners. Now, when her estranged mentor dies and the police see nothing suspicious, Freya accepts her aunt’s plea to investigate. Not for the dead man’s sake but for Aunt Carole, who loved them both.

Returning to the English village where Aunt Carole raised her, Freya discovers that Arthur anticipated his death. He left enough clues to draw the two women into a hunt for truth—a truth his letter promises will reveal to Freya what really happened in the past.

As the title suggests, antiques (real and fake) abound. As Freya is drawn into the present mystery, she also finds closure for the past. She’s a 40-something empty-nester with a miserable ex who’s selling her home out from under her, so we can’t call this a coming-of-age story. I’ll call it a rebirth story, a second chance at the career she loved.

I like how each chapter begins with a quote from the dead man, Arthur. Even though he’s dead, his influence is everywhere. I’m not so much a fan of having Freya’s scenes in first person and the peeks into other people’s heads in third person. Some of those peeks felt a lot like overt explaining instead of organically revealing information. Back to the positives: Carole is a former actress who’s not above adding drama to a scene. And Bella is a character who takes on dimensions as the story progresses and who I suspect will return in the next book. There’s a potential love interest who may return as well.

Fans of Connie Berry’s Kate Hamilton mysteries will appreciate this book, which clearly sets up for a sequel. (The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea is expected to release in 2025.)

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder is C.L. Miller’s first novel, drawing on her family history in the world of antiques. To learn about the author and her work, visit clmillerauthor.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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