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.
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.
Related articles
- Meet Marcia Lacock, author of newly-released novel “A Tumbled Stone” (bookshelfontilt.wordpress.com)
- A Tumbled Stone by Marcia Laycock (www.booksbyamanda.com)