Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Review: The Soul Saver, by Dineen Miller

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The Soul Saver cover artThe Soul Saver, by Dineen Miller (Barbour Publishing, 2012)

Sculptor Lexie Baltimore has an unusual spiritual gift: some of her creations are commissioned by God. She wakes in the night with a face and possibly a location in her mind, and sculpts that face before the image fades. That person is her next assignment, someone God wants her to help.

Her husband, Hugh, doesn’t share her faith, and he’s swamped by duties at the university where he’s pursuing tenure. He and Lexie don’t have a lot of common ground anymore. When God sends her to meet an attractive, widowed pastor, is she really on the right path? The spiritual battle that ensues has more at stake than the participants realize.

Lexie is stronger spiritually than many of us, but she’s carrying so much pain (and occasional petulance against God) that she never feels unattainably perfect. She, Hugh, and Pastor Nate are so deeply tangled in their own hurts and perceptions that readers can’t help but care about them.

Part of the ammunition Lexie needs to fight this battle comes from a Bible study she attends for women whose husbands don’t share their faith. This is one of Lexie’s deep hurts, but she’s always thought she was the only one in this position. The friends she makes, and the insights she gains in how she’s been relating to Hugh, may well be the difference between the success and failure of her mission.

Some spiritual warfare novels are scary or borderline horror. Not this one. It’s compelling and hard to put down and I wasn’t keen on reading about the demon character right before bed, but I’d call it a safe read. If you like relationship stories or know someone who’s the only Christian in a marriage, this is a novel for you.

Visit Dineen Miller’s website to watch the book trailer or to read an excerpt from The Soul Saver. Dineen Miller is also the co-author, with Lynn Donovan, of Winning Him Without Words, a non-fiction book on how to thrive in a spiritually unequal marriage.

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Review: A Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock

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A Tumbled Stone cover artA Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock (Word Alive Press, 2012)

Andrea Calvert grew up on the Canadian prairies with foster parents who provided for her but were never able to show their love. Now 19 and pregnant, Andrea would rather take her chances alone than live with their silent reproach.

She finds a job and caring friends at Evie’s Diner. Evie, the owner, is a Christian who welcomes the strays she says God sends her. At the moment, that includes Andrea and a young mentally challenged man named Benny, who makes it his mission to protect Andrea’s unborn baby.

Author Marcia Lee Laycock writes with a contagious compassion for her characters. Andrea feels real, as do her foster parents. Edna and Earl aren’t cardboard, rigid people. They’re silent because they’re trapped behind walls of hurt from the past. As Andrea tries to find her own way and the brother she doesn’t know exists tries to find her, this wounded couple move toward finding one another.

The first book in the series, One Smooth Stone, tells the story of Alex Donnolly, Andrea’s older brother, whose experience in foster care was horrific. In A Tumbled Stone it’s good to see how far Alex has come in recovery and in his new Christian faith. He’s a work in progress, and the urgency he feels to find Andrea brings more pressure to bear.

The characters in A Tumbled Stone drew me in. The word “tumble” in the title refers to rock tumbling, which smoothes a stone’s rough edges and texture. Evie makes jewellery from stones, and she tells Andrea “God is always doing things in our lives, but it takes time. He knows exactly when to take the pressure off or to increase it. He knows  just how much tumbling we need.” (p. 76)

Andrea faces more “tumbling” before the book is done.

A Tumbled Stone is a good read that kept calling me back to finish. Marcia Lee Laycock is a gifted writer, and I hope we’ll see more fiction from her. She’s also the author of the non-fiction books Abundant Rain, Spur of the Moment and Focused Reflections. You can learn more about Marcia Lee Laycock and her books at her website.

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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: 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: 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.]

Review: The Last Target, by Christy Barritt

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The Last Target, by Christy Barritt (Love Inspired Suspense, 2011)

After her SEAL husband’s death in Afghanistan, Rachel Reynolds began a non-profit ministry writing letters to soldiers overseas. Hardly the sort of activity to put her on a terrorists’ execution list.

But she’s the last living target, and protecting her and her four-year-old Aiden may be security expert Jack Sergeant’s hardest assignment yet. Somehow the terrorists always know where to find them.

The Last Target is a fast-paced romantic suspense with believable characters. The first shot is shot fired on page one, and the danger only increases from there. Christy Barritt has a knack for writing chapter endings that propel the reader onto the next page without time to blink.

Award-winning author Christy Barritt has three new novels releasing this year: Suburban Sleuth Mysteries #1 Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife (May 2012), and two romantic suspenses: Race Against Time (April 2012) and Ricochet (September 2012).

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

Review: Fallen Angel, by Major Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

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Fallen Angel cover artFallen Angel, by Major Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky (B&H Publishing Group, 2011)

Sgt. Major Eric Moyer heads an American Special Ops team sneaking into Siberia to reach downed US satellite Angel-12 and to rescue a second captured Spec Ops team. Also in the race are a covert Chinese military team and a Russian splinter group.

Fallen Angel has everything a good international military thriller needs: high tech, strategy and intrigue, bad guys, and a great cast of good guys with strong leadership. Moyer’s crew are efficient, experienced, and they have a change to pull this off despite terrorist pressure to abort the mission. Wisecracks keep them sane in a deadly mission and make the read more fun. Parts are a bit grittier than I like, but the worst is off-stage.

The authors successfully juggle multiple plot threads and points of view and pull it all together into a high-stakes, fast-paced race to a satisfying finish. Don’t start chapter 34 if you can’t read to the end in one sitting.

Fallen Angel is the third novel about Moyer’s team, and it mentions to the results of previous missions. Spoilers or not, this is one series I want to go back and read from the beginning. Major Jeff Struecker is a real life Black Hawk Down veteran, and award-winning co-author Alton Gansky is well-known in Christian fiction.

[Book from my personal library.]

Review: The Captive Heart, by Dale Cramer

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The Captive Heart cover artThe Captive Heart, by Dale Cramer (Bethany House, 2011)

Caleb Bender is a man of integrity and courage, and most of all a man of faith. Book one of the Daughters of Caleb Bender series followed the family as they fled religious persecution in Ohio and struggled to establish a new home in a fertile Mexican valley.

The Captive Heart is the second in the series, as more Amish families have followed the Benders to the new settlement. Caleb’s daughters Rachel and Miriam continue to be key characters. Rachel has been united with her beloved Jake and Miriam is conflicted over her feelings for her father’s Mexican farm hand/protector, Domingo. Especially when she prays for guidance and dreams of his death.

In Paradise Valley, Miriam convinced Rachel not to return alone to Ohio to join Jake, saying family mattered more than personal happiness. Now she takes her own advice and resolves to “get over” Domingo and find a nice Amish boy to marry. But her heart has another agenda.

Romance is only one of the plot threads, and the novel has a lot more action than much Amish fiction. There are bandits, kidnapping and illness. It’s frontier life in the 1920’s, and it’s skilfully told in true Dale Cramer style.

Faced with violence and death, Caleb and his family hold true to their commitment to not fight. Jake defies a bandit’s threats with “I fear hell more than I fear you… If you choose to murder this man in cold blood, it is between you and Gott. I will not throw away my own soul.” (p. 203)

As a non-Amish person accustomed to the philosophy of self-defence and protection of others, I found it difficult to relate to this, but these characters are as scared and hurt as anyone else would be. They simply manage to keep God in first place according to their understanding. I suspect we could all benefit from entrusting more of our needs to God and being less quick to act in our own defence.

Dale Cramer is descended from members of the actual Paradise Valley colony of Amish settlers in Mexico, although the Daughters of Caleb Bender series is fictional. For more information, read the publisher’s Q&A with the author as well as discussion questions for readers. You can learn more about Dale Cramer at his website, or check out his recent interview at the WordServe Water Cooler.

[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]