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Review: Oak Island Revenge, by Cynthia d’Entremont

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Oak Island Revenge, by Cynthia d'Entremont

Oak Island Revenge, by Cynthia d’Entremont (Nimbus Publishing, 2012)

It’s 1958. Fourteen-year-old Jonah Morgan and his best friend Beaz live on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia (Canada). Nearby Oak Island is forbidden territory, so naturally it’s a rite of passage to row to the island and search for the legendary treasure.

This summer vacation, Jonah and Beaz are set to hit the island, but they’ll be even more secretive about it than most teens. Jonah’s mom is overprotective since his older brother died, and he’s pretty sure Beaz’s mom is abusive.

What they find on the island piles secrets on secrets. Jonah doesn’t want to lie, but he can’t tell the whole truth. When missing 16-year-old Charlotte Barkhouse turns up dead, surely what Jonah knows wouldn’t make a difference. Would it?

His parents and his dead older brother seem perfect, and Jonah can’t measure up no matter how good his intentions. As he wrestles with how much truth to tell and how much to hide, he begins to suspect that everyone has secrets of one sort or another and that life is more complicated than it looks.

Oak Island Revenge is a coming-of-age story that evokes the feel of 1950’s small-town Nova Scotia in a mystery for young adult readers. It’s one of those satisfying novels where all the threads weave in perfect balance to make an organic whole.

Author Cynthia d’Entremont has a fresh, vivid writing style with a satisfying splash of humour. She’s also the author of the award-winning young adult fantasy novel Unlocked.

[Review originally appeared on the Maranatha News site. Review copy provided by the author.]
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A Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock

Fiction by Marcia Lee Laycock

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One Smooth Stone was the best Christian fiction I read in 2007. After a long wait, the sequel is finally out: A Tumbled Stone.

Here’s a refresher on One Smooth Stone, and a link to a review of A Tumbled Stone.

One Smooth Stone is a compelling read about hurt people fumbling toward healing, and about a God who won’t let go.

Marcia Laycock’s writing style is vivid and rich with sensory detail. She draws on her time in the North to evoke a strong sense of place. It would be worth reading just to experience the Yukon setting from our warm living rooms, but she also gives us lifelike characters to root for, suspense, and a puzzle to unravel.

Protagonist Alex Donnelly is a man with secrets, and Marcia Laycock brings them to light slowly, compassionately, and with a defter touch than a debut novelist should have. Alex’s and the other characters’ pain is neither minimized nor exploited, and it’s brought to light in a way that didn’t traumatize this chicken reader.

Hard questions and spiritual issues are treated naturally, with none of the heavy-handed preaching or pat answers found in some Christian novels. The story feels real, and it offers hope.

This is a story for adults, male or female, wounded or whole. You can read the opening chapter of One Smooth Stone here.  [Review copy from my personal library.]

Marcia Lee Laycock is a Canadian writer, speaker and pastor’s wife who lives in Alberta. You can learn more about Marcia and her books (novels and non-fiction) at her website, Vinemarc Communications, and read an interview on the Hot Apple Cider site. A Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock

Laura Davis’ review of A Tumbled Stone at Maranatha News begins like this:

A Tumbled Stone by Marcia Lee Laycock is the much anticipated sequel to One Smooth Stone and it doesn’t disappoint. Laycock is a gifted writer and has written a flawless story that tackles many issues such as teenage pregnancy, abortion, forgiveness and even autism. [Read the full review.]

I haven’t read the novel yet but I’m looking forward to it! Marcia’s books can be ordered through her website or through your regular bookstore.

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Storm Surge, by Rene Gutteridge

Review: Storm Surge, by Rene Gutteridge

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Storm Surge, by Rene GutteridgeStorm Surge, by Rene Gutteridge (Tyndale House, 2005)

FBI Agent Mick Kline is a storm chaser in his spare time. Not that he has much of that these days. The suspect he and his partner have been investigating dies in a suspicious fire, and suddenly his case is tangled with another bureau’s ongoing arson investigation.

The two departments aren’t known for working well together, but a mutual attraction between Mick and his opposite number, Special Agent Libby Lancaster, helps—until she’s sidelined by an injury. Mick’s feelings add another complication: after years of being single, there are now three women on his radar.

At the same time, Mick is receiving anonymous notes that point to a long-ago crime and suggest that a man on Death Row may be as innocent as he claims. Mick needs to uncover the truth before the execution.

There’s much more to this novel, and including flashbacks to the Vietnam War and to the trial that convicted a possibly innocent man of murder. It builds to a life-or-death climax in the heart of a hurricane.

Storm Surge is the third in Rene Gutteridge’s Storm series, and is heavily influenced by Mick’s experiences in the first two novels, Splitting Storm and Storm Gathering. Leave it to me to unintentionally start a series at the end, but everything a new reader needs to know is provided. Mick is an enjoyable character, and I’d like to go back and read the first two novels even though I now have major spoiler information.

The Tyndale House website says Storm Surge is out of print, although there are still copies available through cbd.com. The novel is also available as an ebook.

Besides the Storm series, Rene Gutteridge has written the popular Boo series and other novels. Her first novel, Ghost Writer, releases as a reprint in June 2012.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Forlorn River, by Zane Grey

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Forlorn River by Zane GreyForlorn River, by Zane Grey (first published by Harper & Brothers, 1927)

In the old west, Ben Ide is a wild horse hunter in Northern California. Cut off from his family because his father disapproves, 20-year-old Ben shares his homestead with two other cast-offs: his partner, who won’t speak of his past and goes by the nickname “Nevada,” and a Native American called “Modoc” (after his people).

Nevada and Modoc are fiercely loyal to Ben because he’s been kind to them, and their skills make the difference in the adventure of Forlorn River. It seems the only others who think well of Ben are his sister, Hettie, and his childhood sweetheart, Ina Blaine. And the sheriff, although rumours are flying that Ben’s a cattle rustler.

Ben’s and Ina’s fathers have recently struck it rich, and the money has gone to their heads. A shady character named Setter has worked his way into their dealings and turned them against one another. Now he wants to discredit Ben and steal his land, and he has his eye on Ina.

Forlorn River was first published in 1927, and although there’s a lot of action, the writing style makes it a gentle read. Zane Grey was a storyteller, far different from the current advice to “show, don’t tell.” His omniscient, distant point of view means the reader doesn’t engage as deeply into the story. Emotionally intense stories tire me (and sometimes frighten me away), and this one is a safe, solid read.

I was surprised by the amount of mild profanity in the novel. Not that I think people’s language was any cleaner back then, but since the book presents violence and sexuality in a restrained way with nothing explicit, the language really stands out.

Because it’s an older work, don’t look for political correctness in the wording. Modoc is a caricature in the way he speaks, and even good-hearted Ben makes some casual comments that would cause serious offense today.

Although the narrative is at times wordy, something about the story drew me in and I enjoyed it. The ending satisfies, and leads directly into the sequel, “Nevada.” Guess whose story that tells?

The Zane Grey Inc. site lists the author’s books and tells about his life.

[Review copy from the public library via inter-library loan.]

Review: Shine, by the Newsboys (book)

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Shine: the bookShine, by Newsboys (Whitaker House, 2002)

The Newsboys are my favourite band, and their music both blesses and entertains me. So when I saw their book, Shine, I had to pick it up.

Like their song of the same name, Shine is subtitled “make them wonder what you’ve got.” It’s a book that challenges Christians to do just that. Each section includes song lyrics, relevant quotes, and personal anecdotes from the Newsboys (at the time of this book: Peter Furler, Phil Joel, Jody Davis, Jeff Frankenstein and Duncan Phillips).

Most importantly, it includes solid thinking and teaching on key issues. Section titles are Where’s the Light?, Living in an Upside-Down Kingdom, Knowledge of the Glory, The Fruit of the Light, Light for the Land of Shadow, and Appetite for Eternity.

There are journal pages at the end, each with a question designed for prayerful reflection. There’s also a list of further reading material, both contemporary and classic.

I was a little afraid the book would turn out to be entertainment hype. Then I started reading, hit words like ‘postmodern’ and feared it would get too deep and philosophical. Wrong again. It refocused and encouraged me, especially the section on the Kingdom.

Like the band’s more serious songs, it takes an honest look at life in our culture and at ways we as Christians haven’t got it all together yet. And like their more fun, off-the-wall songs, it’s packaged in one of the funkiest covers I’ve seen.

You can see the cover art with this review, but there’s more. This is a textured cover; the black sinks in and the white is raised. And still more: this book cover glows in the dark. The white is bright, and there are faint green crests and designs. It was my bedtime reading, and at first I wondered where this glow was coming from after I’d put it down and turned out the light.

Shine is available through the Whitaker House site, the Amazon sites, and Christianbook.com (English and Spanish – the English is also available as an ebook but you’d lose the cool cover). It doesn’t seem to have received the attention it deserves, and I’m glad I found a copy in my local Christian bookstore (thanks, Miracles!).

To see what the Newsboys are up to now (current band members: Michael Tait, Jody Davis, Jeff Frankenstein and Duncan Phillips) visit the official Newsboys website. For an overview of the history of the band, see the Wikipedia Newsboys page.

Other reviews of Shine (the book): Deus Nobiscum, Kiwi Reviews.

 [Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Gone to Ground, by Brandilyn Collins

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Gone to Ground, by Brandilyn CollinsGone to Ground, by Brandilyn Collins (B&H Publishing Group, 2012)

Amaryllis, Mississippi, is like any other small town. Except for the serial killer.

Gone to Ground opens with an excerpt from the (fictional) Pulitzer-prize-winning article on the first five killings, by local-born journalist Trent Williams. Portions of the article appear throughout the novel to give readers more background.

When a sixth victim is found, three Amaryllis women know who killed her. They each have evidence. They’re each afraid to go to the police. And each one would name a different man.

Brandilyn Collins gives us three vibrant, believable characters: Cherrie Mae is a widow who cleans houses, and she’s getting up in years; Tully is barely 20 and pregnant, with an abusive husband; Deena operates a hairdressing salon and used to be married to one of Amaryllis’ police officers.

The three women take turns telling the story, each one in first person. That doesn’t usually work for me but it does in this story because each of the three has a distinct voice.

Chapter headers tell us who’s sharing this part of the narrative, but I always knew even if I forgot to look. Cherrie Mae, Tully and Deena have similar southern accents, but they’re each so focused on what they know (or fear they know) that it’s easy to tell who’s talking by what they’re talking (and thinking) about.

One thing they agree on: the police chief may be more interested in making an arrest than in getting the right man. Unless they can solve the mystery and present proof he can’t ignore.

Best-selling suspense author Brandilyn Collins is one of my favourites in the genre, and I look forward to each new release. Gone to Ground is a satisfying read with a well-crafted plot and appealing characters. I especially liked Cherrie Mae.

Visit Brandilyn Collins’ website to view a trailer for the novel and read an excerpt.

Other reviews of Gone to Ground: TitleTrakk.com, Reading with Monie, The Suspense Zone (spoiler alert), Book Reviews from an Avid Reader and The Random Thoughts of Crazy Mandy.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Shades of Truth, by Sandra Orchard

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Shades of TruthShades of Truth, by Sandra Orchard (Love Inspired, 2012)

Kim Corbett works with her brother Darryl at Hope Manor, the youth detention centre founded by their dying father. This is a Christian facility, and it’s recently lost the government funding required to keep in operation. Kim’s so desperate to get the funding back, she won’t say anything that could bring bad press—even if it means keeping quiet when a former resident nearly runs her down.

Ethan Reed was recruited from Toronto’s city police to go undercover at the centre as a new employee. One of the workers is setting the youth up as drug dealers when they get out. And at least one of the small town’s own officers is likely involved.

This is a rough assignment for Ethan, because he’s a former young offender himself. His past lets him bond with the kids, but it brings back a lot of pain he thought he’d already dealt with. Falling for Kim doesn’t make things any easier when he’s convinced himself he doesn’t deserve love and happiness.

Shades of Truth is the second novel in Sandra Orchard’s Undercover Cops series, set in the same town of Miller’s Bay, and readers of the first book will recognize Kim’s friend Ginny, the previous heroine.

It’s a fast-paced read, with believable characters. I like how we get to see the young offenders as real people and not just trouble-waiting-for-a-way-to-happen, and how we see Kim and Ethan each struggling with their own areas of growth.

Shades of Truth will be on-shelf in stores for early March 2012, so now’s the time to get your copy the easy way. If you miss it there, it’ll still be available online in print and ebook formats.

Canadian author Sandra Orchard’s next Love Inspired novel will be Critical Condition, releasing October 2012. You can visit her website, and be sure to check out the fun “extras” for readers of Deep Cover. Sandra blogs at Conversations About Characters, and there’s an interesting interview with Sandra at Fiction Finder and another at Canadian Christians Who Write.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley

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I Am Half-Sick of ShadowsI Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley (Doubleday, 2011)

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is the latest instalment in the life of 11-year-old chemical mastermind Flavia de Luce and her somewhat dysfunctional family in 1950’s England. Where Flavia is, death seems bound to follow, and her detective skills both aid and irritate the local police.

This time, a film crew leases the de Luce ancestral home and the family will be celebrating a quiet Christmas sequestered in their rooms. At least the intrusion shouldn’t interfere with Flavia’s plan to prove (or disprove) the existence of St. Nick.

The equipment and cast arrive in the middle of an escalating snow storm. Add in an impromptu performance for the local community which brings in half the town, turn the storm into a blizzard that traps everyone in the mansion, let Flavia discover a dead body, and you have a delicious murder mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie’s house-party type murders.

Oh, I think Dame Agatha would have liked Flavia! Hercule Poirot definitely would have enjoyed making her acquaintance.

This is book four in the series and although each title stands alone, there are ongoing relational threads. Flavia and her widowed father may be becoming a bit closer. She thinks her older sisters hate her, but one admits that’s not the problem – so what is?

Flavia makes a delightful narrator, with her child’s perspective and her propensity to view everything in terms of chemical compounds and poison. At one point she’s commiserating with her father’s faithful manservant-cum-gardener, Dogger, about forgetting things, and she says:

“Why, just yesterday I had a thimbleful of arsenic in my hand, and I put it down somewhere. I can’t for the life of me think what I could have done with it.”

“I found it in the butter dish,” Dogger said. “I took the liberty of setting it out for the mice in the coach house.” [p. 81, Doubleday Canada hardcover edition]

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is a delightful addition to the series, every bit as enjoyable as the book that started it all, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Expect a good ‘Golden Age’ mystery, but also expect intriguing and understated relationships where all is not as it seems. And expect Flavia to make you smile.

For more about internationally bestselling Canadian author Alan Bradley and his novels, see the official Flavia de Luce website. I’m pleased to see there’ll be another Flavia novel in early 2013. You can read an excerpt of I Am Half-Sick of Shadows on the Doubleday Canada site.

[Review copy borrowed from the public library.]

Review: Crossfire, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

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cover artCrossfire, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (Penguin Books, 2011)

The British army is Capt. Thomas Forsyth’s life. When he loses a foot to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, he reluctantly returns to live with his mother and step-father, with whom he’s never gotten along.

Thomas’ mother Josephine is an established trainer of race horses and a woman of strong opinions. He’s surprised to discover she’s also being blackmailed and is in danger of losing her business.

Perhaps because his injury is making him re-think his life, Thomas discovers he actually cares about Josephine and her husband Derek. Plus, there’s the principle of the thing: why should the blackmailer get away with his/her scheme?

Crossfire delivers everything readers have come to expect from a Dick Francis novel, in classic style. The soldier’s perspective adds something new. Despite some heavy-duty profanity in the beginning (after all, the man had his foot blown off) the language wasn’t too bad throughout. There was a small amount of sexual content.

Dick Francis died in 2010, and his son Felix is carrying on the tradition with typical Francis style. Crossfire is one of four novels the two co-wrote, and Felix Francis has written Gamble as his first “solo Dick Francis novel.” You can read a sample of Crossfire on the authors’ website.

[Book from my personal library.]

Review: Medical Error, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

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Medical Error, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Abingdon Press, 2010)

Dr. Anna McIntyre is a respected ER surgeon in a Dallas hospital—until she becomes the victim of identity theft. Someone is prescribing narcotics under her ID, maxing out her credit cards, and more. And when her team loses a patient through what looks like medical error, she may be in for a malpractice suit too.

The hospital gives her a two-week “vacation” while their legal experts scramble. Faced with hostile investigators, Anna decides to find the truth and clear her own name. Following up on the autopsy of her dead patient introduces her to Dr. Nick Valentine, and attractive pathologist who wants to help—and soon wants to be more than friends.

Medical Error is a fast read that kept me awake past my bedtime to finish it. And that doesn’t happen often. I liked Anna, Nick and the others, and was sure I’d spotted the villain early on. Naturally, I was wrong.

The novel includes enough medical details for realism, but not enough to make my eyes glaze over. And it’s certainly got me thinking about identity theft and precautions I should take.

Medical Error was a finalist in the 2011 Carol Awards. You can read a sample chapter of Medical Error and learn more about Richard Mabry and his books.

This is the second novel in the Prescription for Trouble series. Different main characters let each title stand alone. I’ll definitely be checking out the other two. Dr. Mabry has also written the non-fiction Tender Scar. 

[Book from my personal library. Amazon link is an affiliate link from the author’s website, with no benefit to me.]