Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Review: Burning Justice, by Helena Smrcek

Burning Justice, by Helena Smrcek (EverWind Press, 2015)

Nora Martin’s dream is to establish the Beacon of Hope residence as an alternative to prison or forced military service for young men who’ve been arrested. She has the government approval and the funding, but suddenly she may not have the farmhouse she leased from a church in rural Indiana.

The church assumed care of the property when its owner died. How could they have forgotten to notify the man’s heir? What else have the locals “forgotten” to mention? One thing’s sure, they know how to hold grudges.

Most of those grudges are aimed at Jake Schwartz, the farm’s heir, who arrives unexpectedly on leave from the military. Jake tells Nora and her FBI friend Alicia to stay out of his troubles, even when things escalate to violence.

How can Nora do that, when she’s in danger of losing her ministry? And how can she admit her attraction to Jake, when she takes her Mennonite pacifist beliefs seriously? For that matter, how did Jake, another Mennonite, end up in the Navy?

Burning Justice is set in the real town of French Lick, Indiana, and many of the settings sound like real places. Nora and Jake are both what I’d call expatriate Mennonites, keeping their faith but cut off from traditional communities. Jake, who looks to have compromised his beliefs, is more connected to God than Nora, who’s crushed by guilt over advice she gave in her previous career as a social worker.

Favourite lines:

Sometimes we are our own biggest obstacles in our walk toward God’s will. (Miriam, a young Mennonite mother, to Nora, Kindle location 2436)

For some reason, you seem to think that by clutching the steering wheel, you can change the direction of the road. (Jake to Nora, Kindle location 3100)

My only issue with this novel is the ending. It provides a satisfying fictional wrap-up, but in the real world I think the characters would be setting themselves up for trouble. I can’t give more details without giving spoilers, but I wouldn’t want an impressionable reader to follow this example.

Burning Justice is the first book in the Alicia Yu series. This is Nora’s story, but Alicia is an intriguing support character. I look forward to seeing what action she gets into in the next books: Glitter of Sorrow and Color of Money.

Helena Smrcek’s debut novel is a fast read laced with danger and romance and steeped in small-town secrets. For more about the author, visit her Goodreads page, and to read a sample chapter, visit her website. Burning Justice is currently free for Kobo. Amazon and the other online retailers will follow shortly.

[Advance review copy provided by the author.]

Review: The King James Murders, by Linda Hall

The King James Murders, by Linda Hall (Linda Hall, 2015)

Teri Blake-Addison is a former cop turned private investigator. When she accepts an assignment to locate a missing woman, she has no idea how closely it will tie in with the case that made her quit the police force: the one the media dubbed “The King James Murders.”

The missing woman, Kim Shock, is the sister of Barry Shock, who murdered four teenage girls before killing himself. Kim had moved on from her brother’s death, and become a lawyer. Kim’s friend, Glynis, hasn’t heard from her since she went away with a man she met online.

While Teri investigates, Glynis is falling for the leader of an online ministry. Readers can see how manipulative he is, but Glynis sees only what she wants to see.

Along with a well-constructed mystery, we have the story of Glynis: will she pierce the deception, and will she discover her potential or draw even further into her online world? We also have Teri, her older husband, and her struggle to find a place in his world.

I always enjoy Linda Hall’s mysteries. Her characters and descriptions make them feel real. The King James Murders is an updated version of her previous novel, Chat Room, reflecting the changes to online communication since the first version was published in 2003.

This is book 2 in the Teri Blake-Addison Mysteries series. Book 1 is Steal Away, and while you don’t need to read it to appreciate The King James Murders, it’s also a good read.

Linda Hall is an award-winning author whose novels often feature a connection to the sea. She has written a number of Christian suspense stories and has recently published a mainstream mystery, Night Watch, book 1 in the Em Ridge Mystery series. For more about Linda Hall and her novels, visit writerhall.com.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: Inner Sanctum, by Darlene Oakley

Inner Sanctum, by Darlene Oakley (Lanico Media House, 2014)

In the mid 2100’s, with a global war raging, underground cities were established as refuges. The plan was to assess the inhabitants’ health at the 50-year mark and then seal them in until those on the surface considered it safe to bring them back.

Around 400 years after its founding, Aurora Cassle and her childhood friend, Den Maron, hold responsible positions in the underground city of Egerton. Aurora’s discovery that the population is declining in numbers and in health coincides with the finding of the forgotten door to the surface.

The mayor insists all citizens must remain in Egerton. Aurora and Den lead those who defy him through the doorway. Aurora’s and Den’s marriages have both ended by this point, and their childhood attraction revives during their early days on the surface.

I found the plot an interesting concept, very well thought-out and researched, especially in terms of how a colony could survive and what medical effects could manifest over generations. The first half of the novel takes place underground, the second on what the people begin to call New World Earth. It’s interesting to watch them rediscover, rebuild and work together.

In terms of story delivery, I couldn’t really engage with the characters. Everything felt a bit distant, except for a few disturbingly sensual encounters between Aurora and Den in the second half. That said, Inner Sanctum is a clean read, and there’s a Judeo-Christian faith element in the latter part as Aurora discovers records of the Old World Earth religions and finds parallels between the Egertonians’ journey and the Israelites of the Old Testament.

I love the cover.

Inner Sanctum is Canadian author Darlene Oakley’s first novel, although she has a long track record behind the scenes as an editor. For more about the author, visit Dar’s Corrections.

[Review copy provided by the publisher.]

Review: Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert

Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press, 2015)

Despite her troubled past, Tess is thriving in the close-knit Spencer family. She’s a feisty, straight-talking (and straight-shooting) wife and mother, trying to supplement the family income. She’s not looking for trouble, but trouble finds her – this time in the form of skeletons found buried at the spa where she works. Newer deaths suggest the killer isn’t finished yet.

Tess nearly lost her life the last time she investigated a mystery, and with a young daughter, she’d rather stifle her curiosity and stay safe. Unfortunately, her boss needs her on-site, and the investigating detective asks her to be his eyes on the scene. He promises to do all he can to keep her safe – and then advises her to conceal carry a gun just in case.

This is a satisfying novel, where plot, characters and setting blend into a compelling read. Heather Day Gilbert knows how to keep readers turning pages. Tess is one of those rare-to-me characters I’d like to have as a real-life friend.

Most chapters open with a letter from a disturbing man to the child he left behind, who he’d trained in bow-hunting. If the man was the original killer, are the new deaths a second-generation event? His letters refer to Buddhism and various philosophers, but don’t let that put you off.

Set in the mountains of West Virginia, Trial by Twelve is a clean read, featuring Tess and her family as Christian characters but without the strong spiritual theme that is sometimes expected in Christian fiction. Here is Tess’ most overt thought on faith, comparing herself to her mentor, Miranda:

“I feel so inadequate in the face of her faith, but I know she’d tell me we each grow at our own speed and the point is to be growing.” [Kindle location 3072]

And an example of her sense of humour, which means no disrespect to the church prayer chain:

“Quite a few people have police scanners in these parts, to keep up with the local news. It’s a lot faster than the newspaper, but maybe not quite as lickety-split as the prayer chain.” [Kindle location 3001]

Trial by Twelve is book two in the A Murder in the Mountains series. I’m not sure if it’s stronger than book one, Miranda Warning (which I very much enjoyed) or if I feel that way because I’m getting know the characters better. Either way, bring on book three!

Heather Day Gilbert is also the author of the acclaimed Viking historical novel, God’s Daughter. A sequel, Forest Child, is in the works. For more about the author and her books, visit heatherdaygilbert.com. To read sample chapters from Trial by Twelve, click here.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: Buried Secrets, by Irene Hannon

Buried Secrets, by Irene Hannon (Revell, 2015)

The discovery of skeletal remains on a construction site unites a small-town police chief and a county detective in a search for justice. Lisa Grant and Mac MacGregor have both stepped into lower-stress roles to find balance in their lives… and maybe to carve out enough time to find someone to settle down with. Romantic sparks fly at their first meeting, but the case must come first.

Thanks to the opening scene, readers know how the body arrived where it did – and who’s to blame. This is the only part of the book written in the first person, and since it wasn’t to disguise the identity of the character, I’d have preferred to see it in third-person he/she like the rest of the story.

Lisa was working impossible hours as a homicide detective on a big-city force, trying to keep ahead of certain male officers whose jealousy made them want sabotage her career. She loves her new job and still struggles to avoid the trap of over-work. Her diabetes makes it even more vital that she take proper care of her health. Mac is a former Navy SEAL who saw one too many of his friends die. He got out while he still had the chance to build a life and start a family. He still worries about his younger brothers, both in high-danger military roles.

They work well together professionally, and they’re both longing to see what might happen personally when this case wraps up. The main question for the moment is, can they identify the victim – and the killer – and find proof before the past drags danger into the present?

Fast-paced, tense but not traumatic, Buried Secrets is a satisfying read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Men of Valor series. Irene Hannon is a multi-published, award-winning author of romantic suspense and contemporary suspense. For more about the author and her books, visit her website: irenehannon.com. Or follow this link to read an excerpt from Buried Secrets and see the discussion questions that accompany the book: Buried Secrets.

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

The Long and Winding (Writing) Road

Guest posting again today at The Borrowed Book: come and look back with me at some of the challenges and joys of writing the Redemption’s Edge series so far: The Long and Winding (Writing) Road. Perhaps you can relate.

Review: No One to Trust, by Lynette Eason

No One to Trust, by Lynette Eason (Revell, 2014)

Summer Abernathy wakes up one morning to find her husband missing, three men in her home intent on finding him, and the life she’s been living based on a lie. Which Kyle Abernathy did she marry? The computer programmer she met in line at the bank? Or the one who was apparently using that image as a cover? (From the publisher’s website)

Kyle Abernathy is really David Hackett, living undercover in hopes the Witness Security program can keep him alive long enough to testify at a high-profile trial that’s only months away now. The mob wasn’t supposed to find him – never supposed to threaten Summer.

No One to Trust is a fast-paced thriller as Kyle/David and Summer try to outrun their enemies and to discover if one of the US Marshalls helping them is secretly feeding updates to the other side. Their safety comes down to the skills David learned in the military and to the help of his most trusted friends.

Complicating the story is the broken trust between Summer and David – when the one thing Summer told him in the beginning is that she couldn’t handle lies because of her past. Now her whole marriage is based on a lie, but she can’t leave him because his enemies have become hers.

The full identity of Ron, one of David’s friends, isn’t explained, and I hope this means he’ll show up in his own story. Or perhaps he has in a previous novel.

Lynette Eason has crafted a taut suspense novel with an ordinary heroine and some chilling antagonists. David has changed a lot during his time as Kyle. For one thing, he’s become a Christian. For another, he’s truly fallen in love with the woman he married for cover. Now, if he lives, it looks like he’ll lose her because of his lies.

Moments of the story pushed fairly close to the edge of my comfort level, but never passed it. No One to Trust is a good read that you won’t want to put down.

Lynette Eason www.lynetteeason.com is a bestselling author of Christian romantic suspense. To read an excerpt of No One to Trust, Hidden Identity #1, visit the publisher’s website. The next novel in the Hidden Identity series is Nowhere to Turn.

[Review copy from the public library.]

Review: Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt

Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt (Howard Books, 2012)

Twins Carlene and Darlene celebrate their 50^th birthday during this story, and younger sister Nolie is in her forties. Each woman’s life has been shaped by past hurt, whether inflicted or received, intended or imagined. And as the back cover says, “If these three sisters don’t change direction, they’ll end up where they’re going.”

Angela Hunt does an amazing job of bring three very different and yet believable sisters to life, and while there may be moments you want to shake some sense into each one of them, you’ll appreciate each one as well.

The story is set in a sprawling home near the fictional town of Peculiar, Florida. As Nolie says about small towns: “there’s not much to do, but plenty of people to talk about you when you do it.” [p. 288]

Five Miles South of Peculiar is an engaging read. While we may not have the same secrets, longings or hurts that the three sisters carry, it may help us see areas in our own lives where change would be healthy. And isn’t it encouraging to know we’re not “stuck” as long as we’re still alive?

The novel’s secondary characters include two Leonberger dogs, a large breed I’d never heard of. (My spellcheck hadn’t heard of them either, but Google has.)

Angela Hunt is a Christy Award-winning author and sought-after writing teacher who writes both contemporary and historical women’s fiction. Her current series is the Dangerous Beauty series about women from the Bible: Esther, Bathsheba and Delilah. Read her story of how she came to write Five Miles South of Peculiar on her website.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Giveaway & Author Interview: Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare, with her novel, Beast of Stratton

Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming, Renee Blare started writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to Laramie and she’s been counting pills ever since. While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and her husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.

Nestled against the Black Hills with her husband, crazy old dog and ornery cat, she serves the community of northeastern Wyoming as a pharmacist and pens her Christian stories, keeping them interesting with action and intrigue, of course. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media [see links at the end of this interview].

Janet: Welcome, Renee, and thanks for taking time to join us. I love your tag line: “Christian fiction… where the wild meets the Forgiven.” How did you choose it?

Renee: Hi Janet, thanks for having me. I searched for a tag line to match my writing for quite a long time. I wrestled with a few… truth, faith… they flew around the keyboard until I decided to center on my stories. Within every tale’s a wild component… whether nature or man… which must be confronted. The Forgiven represents the body of Christ and may be the tool by which this task is accomplished, if not the end result of the journey.

Janet: Your website says you write “about Christians struggling along the hard journeys of their lives.” For me, these are the best kind of stories, because the lessons the characters learn are lessons I likely need as well. Do you start with what you want to “teach” the character and shape the story from there, or do you start with the character and his/her circumstances?

Renee: It’s funny. I don’t think about lessons or plots when I think about a new book. My ideas for a new novel flash like a movie in my dreams at night. I wake up at two or three o’clock in the morning and jot them down. The major character’s inner conflict and occupation is where I usually start… as well as the setting. For some reason, the setting’s very important to me. It always has been.

Janet: Your novel, Beast of Stratton, released in March, and one commenter to this post will receive a free ebook copy. Congratulations! Is this your first published novel? If so, how have things changed now?

Renee: I’ve always been busy. Between my family, job, and writing, I have very little time for relaxation. Add the release and promotion… well, you get the picture.

Janet: Tell us a bit about Beast of Stratton. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it sounds like there might be a “Beauty and the Beast” connection.

Renee: Yes, there definitely is a Beauty and the Beast connection. Although contemporary and a romantic suspense, Beast of Stratton’s inspired by the fairy tale.

Janet: On the cover, I see the lion looks like it’s chasing Aimee. Where did the story idea come from? And do you have a favourite character?

Renee: My crit group, Rough Diamond Writers had the ingenious idea to write novellas based on fairy tales. Everyone selected one and wrote a story. I chose Beauty and the Beast (my favorite, of course).

As for the story behind the story, I’d planned a romance with a touch of suspense. Nothing too drastic… after all, it was a novella. Before I knew it, the story morphed into a different book… a mystery.

Miles became a wounded veteran, an element which stems from my personal experience with veterans and a desire to convey their struggle behind the scenes. I couldn’t sugar-coat the trauma of war. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), Suicide, Migraine, physical injuries… they’re all addressed one way or another… some more in-depth than others. (Note: The migraine depicted in this book’s based on one of my own headaches, although the recovery is not.)

My favorite character would have to be the little old lady toward the end of the story. This woman’s wisdom is amazing!

Janet: I’ll watch for her when I’m reading! What do you want readers to take away when they’re done?

Renee: Beast of Stratton’s a suspenseful, mysterious, but thoughtful book. I would like people to remember God’s providence. He will provide… even when we think He’s not listening, doesn’t care, or has forgotten we exist.

I also would hope they remember freedom isn’t free. It comes at a cost… blood.

Janet: Definitely truths to remember! You have another novel releasing soon. Is it a sequel, or something entirely different?

Renee: Yes! I do have another book coming out July 10^th. It’s called To Soar on Eagle’s Wings, and it’s the first of my series, the Snowy Range Chronicles. I’m really excited about it.

The fictitious town of Timber Springs is home to the Fitzgerald family. With their father, the local pastor, the Fitzgeralds struggle to come to terms with the unexpected death of their mother while life continues… on the Snowy Range.

Here’s a little bit about Book One, To Soar on Eagle’s Wings:

Spring’s in the air. While the sun shines in Timber Springs, snow falls on the Snowy Range, and trouble’s brewing in the meadows. The area’s new game warden, Steve Mitchell, finds a moose mired in a bog and launches his first wildlife investigation of the season. Then the trouble follows him… straight to town.

Rachel Fitzgerald’s on Spring Break. Or at least she’s trying. Between paperwork, harassing phone calls, and her family, she may as well have stayed in her classroom. So much for relaxation. A ‘chance’ meeting with her brother’s old roommate offers her weary soul a shred of hope, but she discovers love, like life, isn’t easy.

He talks with the wisdom of the Lord but rejects the future. She wants to soar with the eagles but walks alone. And trusting God proves more of a challenge than ever before…

Janet: Sounds intriguing. What got you started writing?

Renee: My husband. That sounds a little strange but it’s true. I’ve written poetry and short stories since junior high school, but a novel? No way. One day about five years ago, I bought a “Christian” book off Amazon, and threw it into my cybernetic trash bin almost immediately. I was livid. The language didn’t make me half as mad as the sex. Christian, my foot. I raised the roof with my temper tantrum and burned my husband’s ear (at least he can only hear out of one.) Of course, now that I’ve calmed down, I like to pretend it was a marketing error.

Anyhoo, James (my husband) looked at me, listened, and nodded a few times from his easy chair, and told me to write my own. I did. 🙂

Janet: Good for him, and good for you! You’re an active blogger, too. How do you balance that with your fiction?

Renee: Very carefully. I have to manage my time in order to get it all done, that’s for sure.

Janet: Are you a morning person or a night owl? And what’s your favourite season?

Renee: I love the morning. I wake up in a good mood and full of chatter, much to my husband’s displeasure. (He’s NOT a morning person.) I’ve learned how to be a night owl when I need to be though. I have to be careful to get my sleep for health reasons… my migraines can be a literal nightmare.

Janet: What do you like to do to recharge?

Author Renee Blare

Renee: I love to relax on the side of a lake with a good book with my line in the water. Half the time I don’t even pay attention to the thing, but the fresh air and sun’s awesome. Give me a beach, and I’m in heaven.

Janet: That lake is beautiful. I’m surprised how similar the landscape looks to Nova Scotia, although we don’t usually see rocks that amazing in the water. Thanks for visiting today, Renee, and may these two novels releasing this year be the start of many more.

Ebook giveaway of Beast of Stratton: to enter, leave a comment below. If you like, you can tell us what fairy tale you’d like to see rewritten as contemporary fiction. Draw ends at midnight, April 17, and I’ll choose one commenter’s name at random. (Offer void where prohibited by law.) [And our winner is Mary Preston!]

About the Book:

He appears the beast but she sees his heart.

Architect Aimee Hart, determined to locate her father, infiltrates Miles Stratton’s engineering firm as a secretary. Her presence wrenches the shaggy, wounded man from his penthouse, and the quest begins.

He’s been betrayed by his best friend. Miles would rather hide than help, especially his daughter. But it isn’t over. Someone’s trying to destroy Stratton Industrial. A war veteran, he knows how to defend his own, the Beast of Stratton can do it again.

Find Renee online:

Website: reneeblare.com
Renee’s Inspirational Moments: reneeblare.wordpress.com (inspirational posts, interviews & reviews)
The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction: diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Tumblr: The Journey
Amazon Author Page

Review: Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry

Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

Dr. Carrie Markham’s freshly-healed heart is broken when her new fiancé turns out to be a man on the run, living under an assumed identity. Adam tells her his testimony put a powerful man in jail, but the man’s friends have been hunting him ever since.

Can she believe him? Does she want to? Or is it possible that the attacks are really directed at Carrie herself? Something’s definitely suspicious in the clinic where she works. Or is a former patient – or the family of a patient who died – holding a grudge?

Heart Failure is an intriguing mystery, with a nice play on the “heart” angle: Carrie is a heart doctor, her romance with Adam is an affair of the heart, and the courage of her heart may fail in the face of the unexpected danger.

An interesting sub-plot looks at a form of survivor guilt: Carrie can’t stop blaming herself for her husband’s heart-related death. It wasn’t foreseeable, but this is her field. Couldn’t she have noticed?

I enjoyed the novel. The one thing that bothered me was Adam’s insistence of sneaking through back alleys to Carrie’s house, so he wouldn’t lead his enemies to her. The enemies (are they his, or hers?) know where she works and could easily follow her home at any time.

Dr. Richard L. Mabry writes medical romantic suspense, and you can learn more about him and his books at rmabry.com. You can read the opening chapters of Heart Failure here.