Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Review: Dolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtney

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Dolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtneyDolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtney (Revell, 2013)

Cate Kinkaid is a private investigator—assistant PI, she’s quick to point out, which means she’s not allowed to carry a gun. Not that she should need one, since Belmont Investigations doesn’t take cases involving violence. Somebody should tell the criminals that last bit, because Dolled Up to Die is Cate’s second encounter with murder.

Cate wants to find out who killed her client JoJo’s ex-husband before the police decide it was JoJo herself. JoJo designs custom-made, child-sized dolls. She may talk about them as if they’re real, and she may have a donkey for a watchdog, but she’s not a killer… is she?

The Cate Kincaid Files books are cozy mysteries, with interesting characters and more focus on solving the crime than on frightening the reader. Even when Cate’s in danger, the suspense isn’t over-the-top. Cate is lovably impulsive, a bit too sympathetic for her own good, and not so sure of herself, but she’s enjoying this PI gig and she’s still alive to tell about it.

This story has a bit more Christian content than the previous one, because one of the characters professes to be able to discover facts about people’s “past lives” and when she encourages Cate’s boyfriend, Mitch, to try it out, he’s uncomfortable enough that he blurts out his Christian view of the subject in self-defense.

Octavia the deaf cat is back in this book, occasionally trying her paw at assisting the assistant PI. Octavia isn’t as adept as the cats in Lilian Jackson Braun‘s The Cat Who… series, but she occasionally points Cate in a useful direction.

You don’t have to have read the first book, Dying to Read, to enjoy this one, but if you plan to read them both, do it in order to avoid spoilers. New York Times best-selling author Lorena McCourtney is perhaps most widely known for her Ivy Malone series, where “LOL” means “Little Old Lady.” If you like Ivy, or you like mysteries with a bit of humour, check out Cate Kincaid. You can read an excerpt of Dolled up to Die, or view the readers group guide if you’ve already read it, by clicking the links.

[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.]

Review: Undercurrent, by Michelle Griep

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Undercurrent, by Michelle GriepUndercurrent, by Michelle Griep (Risen Books, 2011)

In late-tenth-century Norway, Alarik regains consciousness to discover his cousin bleeding and his brother dead by Alarik’s own blade. With no memory of the fight, Alarik must flee or be executed.

Meanwhile, in the present day, Cassie Larson is a career-oriented professor and linguistics expert shepherding a group of university students on a tour of historic islands in England’s Northumberland Strait—until she falls over the side of the boat and surfaces beside Alarik’s small vessel.

Alarik’s cousin, Ragnar, is their village’s only Christian, who longs to convince his people of his Saviour’s reality and Alarik’s innocence. He’s often ridiculed, and his disfigured face keeps him unmarried, yet he dreams of a woman speaking a strange language, who will love him.

In some ways Undercurrent is a historical romance, filled with rich details of Alarik’s place and time. It’s also a time-travel fish-out-of-water story as a self-sufficient woman of our day learns to function in a primitive, male-dominated Viking society.

I enjoyed the characters, the peek into this period in history, and the occasional humour. Ragnar’s sincerity of faith is a good challenge to present-day Christians who may not feel our roles as ambassadors quite as strongly as he does among his people.

Michelle Griep has a fast-moving writing style that drew me in and made me care about the people and their circumstances. You can learn more about Michelle Griep at her website and her blog, Writer Off the Leash. She’s also the author of Gallimore and A Heart Deceived.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Heaven’s Prey: My Novel

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I’m expecting a book! Yes, I hope for grandchildren when the time’s right, but I’m excited to finally see some of my “imaginary friends” come to life in print (or e-print). Over the next few months, I’ll introduce them to you.

The novel’s called Heaven’s Prey and it’s Christian fiction. Choose NOW Publishing  plans to release it in November.  Here’s the tag line:

A grieving woman is abducted by a dangerous offender—and it may be the answer to her prayers.

It’s about a serial killer’s last chance at redemption—not the gentle inspirational read many associate with the Christian genre. I’ve aimed for a suspense level similar to Brandilyn Collins or Terri Blackstock. Not as intense as Ted Dekker or Steven James.

Like this sort of thing? Great! I hope you’ll read it and spread the word.

Not your cup of tea? No worries! I hope you’ll tell your friends who might enjoy it.

Sign up for my author newsletter for advance news on Heaven’s Prey. Subscribers’ contact information will be kept confidential, and I promise not to overload your in-boxes!  [Sign up here or in the right-hand sidebar.]

I’m excited to be working with Choose NOW Publishing. As well as their new line of issue-driven books for adults and teens, Choose NOW Ministries has a popular radio show/podcast and a website filled with resources for parents and teens, specializing in hot button issues  and empowering teens to make good choices. Stop by and check it out!

Review: Captured by Moonlight, by Christine Lindsay

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Captured by Moonlight, by Christine LindsayCaptured by Moonlight, by Christine Lindsay (WhiteFire Publishing, 2013)

Captured by Moonlight is the second book in Christine Lindsay’s India-based Twilight of the British Raj series. Readers who enjoyed book one, Shadowed in Silk, will be glad to get hold of book two, and if you missed the first one you can jump in here.

Shadowed in Silk was predominantly Abby’s story although it did introduce Laine Harkness and Eshana, the heroines of Captured by Moonlight. Abby doesn’t play a significant part in this novel, but readers who count her a friend will appreciate seeing what’s going on in her life now.

The series is set in the early 1920s as the British rule in India is faltering and as Gandhi’s teachings are gaining hold. Historical figures are occasionally mentioned, but the central characters are fictional. Captured by Moonlight opens with Laine and Eshana rescuing (the authorities call it stealing) a pregnant Hindu temple prostitute who’s only 14. They’ve done this once before, but this time they’re seen.

Laine, a military nurse, could face disciplinary action. Eshana, a Christian who was once Hindu, could face much worse, especially if her family gets hold of her. To them she’s an offense: according to tradition, as a widow she should be hidden away, garbed in white and with a shaved head, not running a Christian mission.

Laine and Eshana leave the city of Amritsar in a hurry, Laine to work with two missionaries doing cholera research in Madras and Eshana to deliver the recovering temple prostitute to another mission where the girl will have a chance to gain an education and a happier life.

Both women encounter people they would have avoided at all costs: Laine meets her former fiancé, Adam, who broke off their relationship during the war. Eshana meets her uncle, who imprisons her. When Eshana’s friends realize she’s missing, Doctor Jai Kaur leaves Amritsar to search for her. He’s a devout Sikh, and she’s a Christian, each seeking God as they understand Him and each wishing the other could see God their way so they could be together.

Eshana is physically a prisoner, and her struggles to encourage herself in her faith are authentic and inspiring. I love how she dances her praises in her tiny room. Adam is a self-imposed prisoner on his estate with his former army troop, trying to keep his ongoing feelings for Laine at bay. Eshana longs for release, but Adam clings to his “cage”. Both will need help to walk into freedom.

The romances of Laine and Adam, Eshana and Jai, play out against a lush and dramatic setting involving tigers, cholera, monsoons, poisonous snakes and the after-effects of war. Captured by Moonlight is a richly detailed and evocative read, and I look forward to the third installment in the series, Veiled at Midnight, releasing in 2014.

You can read an excerpt from Captured by Moonlight or learn more about award-winning Christian author Christine Lindsay by clicking the links in this sentence. You can also find Christine Lindsay at her Facebook page.

[Review copy from my personal library.]
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Review: Mask, by Kerry Nietz

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cover art: Mask, by Kerry NietzMask, by Kerry Nietz (Marcher Lord Press, 2013)

In an unspecified year in Earth’s future, after natural disasters and the breakup of the United States, the country of PacNorth includes at least part of Washington State. Overpopulation is a global problem, and in PacNorth it’s controlled by popular vote. Rack up enough negative votes against you, and you’re tagged “incon” (inconvenient) and you disappear.

Radial Crane may be the one who “collects” you, but you won’t know it’s him behind the mask.

He’s good at what he does, and we see that in the opening pages. He obeys orders and asks no questions. Until it becomes personal. Until he does the unforgivable and rescues an incon he’s supposed to collect. And until he begins to find out what’s really happening behind the scenes.

The novel is written in the present tense, with a stream of consciousness feel as Radial tells us what he sees as he moves through this disturbing future world. I enjoyed the immediacy of it, and the puzzle of trying to figure out what was going on. Some of the technology sounds fantastic, and some is better left un-invented.

From the cues Radial gives as he moves through what used to be Seattle, I think readers who know the present-day city will be able to recognize key landmarks. If I ever get to visit, I’ll want to go through the book again first.

The three novels in Kerry Nietz’s DarkTrench Saga have each been finalists for EPIC awards, with book 3, Freeheads, winning an EPIC 2013 eBook Award in the Science Fiction category.

Mask looks destined to follow that pattern. The ending hints at a possible sequel, but the final pages offer a sample chapter of his next novel, which looks like a step away from the dystopian Earth theme: Amish Vampires in Space. I kid you not. The author’s note says “because someone had to do it.” And because Kerry Neitz is that someone and I like his writing style, I expect I’ll give it a shot.

You can learn more about the author at nietz.com and read interviews with him at The Barn Door Book Loft and at Trish Perry’s blog.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: The Good Girl, by Christy Barritt

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cover art: The Good GirlThe Good Girl, by Christy Barritt (WhiteFire Publishing, 2013)

I wouldn’t have picked this one up based on the title, but as a fan of Christy Barritt’s Squeaky Clean Mystery Series, I know her non-Love-Inspired novels include some off-the-wall-but-lovable characters and more than a splash of humour. The Good Girl does not disappoint.

Tara Lancaster is a 20-something woman who essentially runs away from her Florida home to dog-sit for her sister in Minnesota. Their father is a high-profile preacher, and while her sister inspired his book The Wayward Daughter, Tara has spent her life learning—and living by—”the rules.” She’s not legalistic in a judgmental way, but she’s had this idea that living the “perfect” Christian life will keep her safe, earn approval and blessing, and be the right thing to do. And that if her thoughts don’t always line up with the externals, that’s okay.

Tara had the textbook Christian life and was a role model for her generation, until false allegations stripped away her job and her marriage. Now she’s ashamed, disgraced, and not sure what she thinks about this God who may not even exist.

Hiding out at her sister’s sounds ideal until she arrives to find a menacing note—pinned by a knife—in the kitchen. The house may be haunted, but good Christians don’t believe in ghosts, do they? Or there may be a more human explanation, but that’s still pretty scary. On the plus side, she meets a helpful and charming neighbour, Cooper. And her sister’s friend Candy adopts her for the duration. Candy is the main quirky character in the book, and she’s genuine despite her look-at-me exterior.

Tara’s an over-thinker, wounded and perhaps a bit neurotic, but she makes a good narrator for the story. With all that’s going on in the house to scare her, and with her rebounding from “Good Girl rules” to redefine her life, she doesn’t always make the right choices. But she’s on the way to finding herself and maybe even finding another chance at life, faith and love. If whoever’s trying to scare her to death doesn’t succeed.

Here’s a link to an excerpt from The Good Girl—check out the snappy, first-person writing style. Or visit award-winning suspense and mystery author Christy Barritt’s website to learn more about her series and stand-alone novels. Her newest novel, Home Before Dark, released in April 2013.

[Review copy from my personal library.]
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Review: Stress Test, by Richard Mabry

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Stress Test cover artStress Test, by Richard Mabry (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

On his final night of hospital duty before taking up a less stressful medical teaching position that might allow him to marry and settle down, Dr. Matt Newman is kidnapped and barely escapes with his life. Waking up as a patient with a head injury is bad enough, but as he’s trying to piece together what happened to him, his car is found… with a dead body lying on top of Matt’s own wallet.

Suddenly the police think he’s a villain instead of a victim, his prospective fiancée cuts him off, and his new boss can’t finish the hiring process. And there’s still someone out there who wants him dead.

Matt is a likeable man doing his best to figure out what’s going on and to stay alive. His lawyer, Sandra Murray, just broke off a relationship with another doctor because he didn’t share her faith. Matt’s faith has been on hold for quite a while, but there’s something about the attack and false accusations that get him praying again. Sandra and Matt sense a growing attraction that they need to resist until he’s cleared of charges—or arrested.

Most scenes are from Matt’s or Sandra’s point of view, but we also see what’s going on with Matt’s enemies, even though we’re not really sure who’s calling the shots. And there are shots being called, sometimes literally. Matt’s the victim of a complex conspiracy that isn’t fully clear until the story ends.

Stress Test reads like a medical tv drama, with enough facts to flavour the atmosphere but not to bog down the story. I found the opening abduction scene intense enough to not read at bedtime, but the rest of the book carries more of a “mystery” suspense level than that of a thriller.

Award-winning author Richard Mabry is a retired M.D. and his knowledge adds a layer of realism to the hospital scenes—whether Matt is working or being a patient. You can learn more about Richard Mabry and his novels at his website, and you can read a preview of Stress Test at the Thomas Nelson site (scroll down the page). To read an interview with Richard Mabry, visit A Christian Writer’s World.

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[Review copy provided free from the publisher through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze® book review bloggers program in exchange for an unbiased review.]

Review: Though Mountains Fall, by Dale Cramer

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Though Mountains Fall cover artThough Mountains Fall, by Dale Cramer (Bethany House, 2013)

Caleb Bender has done what he believed God wanted: transplanted his family to Paradise Valley, Mexico, to establish an Amish community free from governmental interference. Other families have followed him, and after three years, the population is over 100, including many children.

They’ve survived illness and bandits, and their farms are thriving, but they live in the shadow of violence. And unless they can convince a Bishop to join them, Caleb knows the community will fold.

Caleb’s own world is folding. He’s already buried a son in Mexico, and now he’s losing a daughter. When she marries outside the Amish community, he’ll have to count her as dead to his family. Grief, and doubt that he heard God right in the first place about pioneering this settlement, threaten his peace.

Against this backdrop, Though Mountains Fall shares the story of two of Caleb’s daughters, Miriam and Rachel, and the men they love. And their sisterly bond that will stand “though mountains fall”.

Dale Cramer is an excellent writer, and this novel is no exception. The fact that I enjoyed it less than the previous two in the series has to do with there being less adventure and more relationship dynamics. Plus, the story itself required a darker tone or Caleb would never have faced his personal crisis. The ending warmed my heart, though.

This is the third and final book in the Daughters of Caleb Bender series, but readers who want to follow the family into the next generation can pick up Dale Cramer’s earlier novel, Levi’s Will. For more about Christy Award winner Dale Cramer and his books, visit DaleCramer.com. You can also read an excerpt of Though Mountains Fall.

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

Review: The Halcyon Dislocation, by Peter Kazmaier

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The Halcyon Dislocation The Halcyon Dislocation, by Peter Kazmaier (Word Alive Press, Second Edition, 2012)

Dave Schuster is an engineering student at Halcyon University, located off the coast of North Carolina. His uncle is the University Chancellor but they don’t cross paths often—until a physics experiment gone wrong rips the entire island out of our current space-time and plants it on another planet.

The theory is that the experiment shifted them—dislocated them—within time to a parallel Earth. The immediate goal: survival until the equipment can be rebuilt for an attempt to reverse the process. Well, survival and exploration. After all, there’s a whole new world out there, and Halcyon’s resources won’t last the months it may take to get home.

The Halcyon Dislocation follows the classic science fiction storyline of humans on a strange, new world. I appreciated Dave’s mention of my favourite Jules Verne novel, The Mysterious Island, and although there are similarities (they’re stranded, the land seems uninhabited but full of potential, they survive by adapting and inventing) this is a far different plot.

Without giving too much away, I can say that the explorers encounter remnants of a past civilization which developed differently from that of our own Earth. This alternate Earth has enough in common with ours to make it easy for readers to imagine, with key differences in plant and animal life that provide the richness of a foreign planet.

The novel also explores how human society might look if controlled solely by an intellectual, rationalist approach. Dave’s friend Al is perhaps the only spiritually-healthy Christian influence we meet, and he comes under extra attack from the leaders, who label him mentally ill because he claims to communicate with God.

The Halcyon Dislocation delivers a mix of action, danger, intrigue, philosophical and religious discussion, and even a bit of romance. It’s a long book, which is often a plus in the science fiction genre, and Dave and his friends certainly experience enough variety in the course of the story that there’s no risk of the reader asking “Are we done yet?”

Building on his background in scientific research and as a university professor, Peter Kazmaier writes “fiction at the intersection of adventure, science, faith and philosophy.” The Halcyon Dislocation is Book 1 of The Halcyon Cycle, and it sets up nicely for a sequel. Dr. Kazmaier’s most recent book is Questioning Your Way to Faith, which takes place on the  Halcyon campus before the Dislocation. You can learn more about the author and his books at PeterKazmaier.com.

[Review copy provided by the author.]
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Review: Freeheads, by Kerry Nietz

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Freeheads by Kerry NietzFreeheads, by Kerry Nietz (Marcher Lord Press, 2011)

Freeheads is the final book in the Dark Trench Saga. (Links to my previous reviews: A Star Curiously Singing and The Superlative Stream)

The novel opens with Sandfly and HardCandy en route back to Earth, where Sandfly knows he must somehow share what he’s learned about the true God with the people they left behind. But there are—surprise!—complications. Will he make it home, or will he get diverted again from his path? How can he speak, and who will listen?

I enjoy the characters, especially Sandfly, HardCandy and DarkTrench, and it’s good to reconnect with some people from their past. This story is all in Sandfly’s point of view except for an opening recap where Trench has a turn at narration. (I know Trench is “only” a ship, but there’s enough AI and personality in him to make him likeable.)

Freeheads is a fun read and a good end to the series, perhaps my favourite book of the three. As the situation got more and more complicated, I kept wondering how the author would write his way out of it, but of course he did, in a way that surprised and satisfied me.

The Dark Trench Saga books have been well-received with nominations and awards, and Freeheads won an EPIC 2013 eBook Award in the Science Fiction category. Kerry Nietz has a new novel out now, Mask, which I’ll be reviewing shortly. You can learn more about the author at nietz.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]