Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher:  Touchstone

Publication Date:  January 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Roman

Verna is born into a difficult life in rural eastern Pennsylvania’s coal towns in the late 1800s: her father is a dreamer who can’t hold down a job, and her mother just manages to survive and raise her children.  The family is considered by most to be “poor white trash.”  By the age of 14, Verna is pulled from school so she can work at a neighboring farm to support the family.  The farmer rapes her and she gets pregnant.  Verna and her mother are relieved that a local midwife gives her some natural herbs that induce an abortion, which is illegal during the time.  Eventually, through a series of unfortunate events, Verna loses her job and is forced to move to the city to find a new job.  With just a seventh grade education, Verna ends up working in diners, as a housekeeper, and even in a factory.  Along the way, Verna meets a few boyfriends and gives birth to a baby boy, who she leaves in her mother’s care so she can continue working.  Eventually, Verna becomes a caretaker for an elderly woman.  When the elderly woman dies, Verna is at her wits’ end until the lady’s son offers her money to go to nursing school.

Verna is bright despite her lack of education and makes a good name for herself in nursing school.  She and her roommate review their daily lessons and quiz each other on nursing techniques.  They graduate and find jobs working at a local mental hospital.  Dismayed by the horrible conditions and bad pay, they look for better opportunities.  Verna’s friend finds a job first, working for an African-American general practitioner named Dr. Crampton.  For the time, a white woman working for an African-American is unheard-of.  Verna doesn’t think it’s a big deal, and after a while helps her roommate take care of female patients recovering from “surgery” in their apartment.  She gets a share of the income, and it’s more money than she’s ever seen in her life.  She comes to find out that the “surgical” patients are actually undergoing abortions and are waiting for the fetus to pass and the subsequent post exam.  Eventually Dr. Crampton meets Verna, is impressed by her, and offers her a job too.  They are able to expand the business (discreetly), and Verna creates a whole new life for herself with this newfound wealth.  Dr. Cranston’s political contacts keep things safe- for a while.

This is a moving, raw story of an ambitious young woman looking to better herself.  She finds an illegal job that serves people, and she doesn’t see anything wrong with it.  Verna learns how hypocritical people are when they publicly denounce abortions but they, or someone they know, end up seeing Dr. Cranston.  The story is well-told and captures the reader’s attention immediately.  Verna’s no-nonsense perspective makes the reader want to read more.  It is obvious that Jackson Taylor did a lot of research when writing The Blue Orchard, as the cities and people come to life with historical relevance.

Even though this is a wonderful read, it is not for those who cannot stomach abortion in any form.  While it is not graphic, per se, it does describe the procedures and the subsequent effects on the body.  There is mention of body functions that some people may find distasteful.

While the book in general does not use a lot of profanity, it IS used in places for effect.  In addition, the terms used to describe African-Americans are common to the period, so they may be offensive to today’s reader.  Overall, if one reads the book objectively, it is a fascinating and historical journey to be enjoyed.

Review copy provided by Touchstone.

More about Patricia Falvey:

I was born and raised by my grandmother in Newry, Northern Ireland. At the age of eight I was brought to England to live with my parents. Never feeling a sense of belonging I set off, as we Irish are wont to do through dint of our DNA, to find my fortune in the New World. I was twenty years old and had $200 in my pocket. I landed in New York and made my way via Greyhound bus to Omaha, Nebraska.

After two years working for the Job Corps, I arrived in Boston hoping to complete my University education, I received a foreign student scholarship from Suffolk University where I enrolled as an English major. However, my limited financial resources being what they were, I succumbed to the pressure to switch my major to Business and thus occurred an abandonment of my dream of becoming a writer – an abandonment that was to last over 30 years.

When I first arrived in the U.S. I had hopes of a career as a writer. However, limited economic means steered me towards a more financially reliable profession. Even though my professional career was in the financial environment, I never lost my love for writing. Over the years I participated in numerous writing seminars, including attendance at Wesleyan University Writers’ Conferences in Connecticut, The Fine Arts Workshops in writing at Provincetown, Mass., and the International Women’s Writers Guild conferences at Skidmore College in New York. I belonged to writers’ groups both in Connecticut and Dallas, where I currently reside. In June of 2007, I finally made the decision to leave my position with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and devote myself full time to my first love – writing.

“The Yellow House” is essentially the story of a young woman’s search for home. No matter how long we spend “away” I believe we Irish immigrants always think of Ireland as home. I know I certainly do. And this book is my way of paying tribute to my birthplace. (www.patriciafalvey.com)

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Genre: Suspense

Release Date: November 2007

Publisher: Zondervan

Reviewed by Josh Olds

To boldly go where no man has gone before…That’s the job of Benjamin “Tuck” Tucker, Space Shuttle Commander. Problem is, his crewmates must’ve been wearing red shirts. He awakes in a daze, unsure of what knocked him out. Never a good thing while in space. With his mind clouded, Tuck realizes that something has gone horribly wrong. He launched a Space Shuttle and landed a hearse. An investigation would blame a certain medicine as the reason for his crewmates’ death

Fast forward one year. NASA has pretty much grounded Tuck, who is hailed a hero for his valiant if failed efforts. In steps Ted Roos, video game designer and head of SpaceVentures, Inc., a company poised to make the first commercial space flight. Roos asks that Tuck command the inaugural journey and Tuck agrees. But space is a dangerous place, his crewmates’ death a year ago might not have been an accident, and there could still be a killer gunning for him.

Zero-G by Alton Gansky has the right premise. Biological warfare? Check. Space travel? Check. A brilliant yet psychotic killer? Yessir. Unfortunately, I don’t think Gansky pulls this one off. Even though a major plot point is about biological warfare, Gansky says very little about it other than it kills people. The book would have benefitted from some research in this area.

Gansky also has a habit in this book of killing off random people to, I suppose, heighten the suspense of the biological warfare. Instead it comes off as a disjointed scene having little or no connection to the rest of the book. Lastly, the book, in my opinion, is a bit heavily preachy. I’m not against having a book containing Christian thematic elements, as a matter of fact I love it, but in Zero-G it’s written to an almost unnatural and awkward point. The various other side plots also seem to have very little connection to the story.

I wanted to like Zero-G, I really did. And it does have its bright points. I loved the witty banter that several of the characters engaged in. The character of Ted Roos is outstandingly written. The killer is deranged and psychotic. I just don’t think it was pulled together all that well.

If you’re in the mood to read an Alton Gansky novel, check out his J.D. Stanton mysteries, or The Prodigy, those are excellent. If space excites you, read Oxygen by John Olsen and Randy Ingermanson. If biological warfare is what you want, pick up Robert Liparulo’s Germ. Unless you’re a hardcore Gansky fan, you may want to pass on this one.

Review copy provided by Zondervan.

Publisher:

Publication Date: March 2010

Genre: Contemporary Adventure/Drama

Reviewed by Kaci Hill

I admittedly struggled with the approach to take with Jungle Sunrise. First, the conditions weren’t ideal—My review copy arrived via email, and reading off a screen automatically propels me into “editing mode.” Furthermore, trying to read while monitoring a study hall, well, has its own challenges. But the more important reason is this: Any story, whether biographical, autobiographical, or fiction-based-on-real-events, that deals directly with saints, missionaries, and martyrs creates in me emotions so deep I can’t quite articulate them. This is true whether it be the gut-wrenching Tortured for Christ, the mind-boggling collections of what Muslim converts to Christianity endure, the novel Safely Home, dedicated to the persecuted church in China, or the stunning tragedy of Beyond the Gates of Splendor and The End of the Spear (both about Jim Eliot and Nate Saint and their families).

There is something in me that resonates with the writer of the book of Hebrews when he so curiously declares these men and women “men of whom the world was not worthy.” If you’ve read anything on the persecuted church—past or present—I trust you understand what I mean, because this is the very thing that Jungle Sunrise is.

The editor/writer in me knew immediately why the book begins with the delightful missionary couple in the deep parts of Peru—Memphis and Abigail Jones—rather than its featured protagonist Jonah Frost. I’ll admit, Jonah is both difficult company and ominously understandable as a disgruntled creative type who’s hit complete rock bottom. But that’s really the beauty of Mr. Williams’ craft, here: I am Jonah Frost, lost and hopeless, desperate. Jonah Frost is me. And Memphis Jones is the hands and feet of Jesus his Savior. Memphis, this sort of American titan with both physical and spiritual prowess—by far the favorite, is everything Jonah wants and simply isn’t. And, without any condescension or emasculation, he helps Jonah out of the whale, so to speak. (No, I’m not giving a tired cliché. Jonah is in a place of despair, death and darkness—which is exactly what the prophet would have experienced in his living, underwater coffin.)

It’s really taken me several days to process this. Whenever a book is based off an author’s real-life experiences, I really do hesitate to criticize the unfolding of events that probably really were that out-of-this world. Christianity’s all about the supernatural anyway, right? I mean, we do maintain God came to earth as a man, ran around a strip of the Middle East for a few years, died, and came back from the dead.

But I had to wonder why Williams devoted so much time to some parts of Jonah’s journey. And I think I understood: There’s a subtle development as Jonah’s experiences in the jungles of Peru begin to turn death into life, and it can only be seen by first watching Jonah unravel.

I’m already risking spoilers in this review, so I won’t say too much more. I will say this: The jungle is amazing. In places it felt like The End of the Spear, Apocalypto, and Safely Home all rolled into one (assuming it isn’t sacrilegious to put those in one sentence)—even beginning with a jaguar hunt complete with a celebration. Williams chose a variety of characters: a feisty Spanish photographer, a snotty anthropologist, a dedicated linguist, a dead-in-the-water writer, and an energetic, lovable American missionary couple.

All of that to say, I really did enjoy the story of Jonah’s adventures, which proved all-around moving, one of those that lingers awhile after the final pages turn. It’s a worthy tribute, I think, to the saints who pave the road ahead, and a tale of hope and encouragement to the rest of us—we Jonahs—coming up behind.

Review copy provided by the author.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Putnam

Publication Date: February 2009

Reviewed by Marianne Peters

The Help, Kathryn Stockett’s first novel, is compelling, poignant, funny, and suspenseful – in short, impossible to put down. Ask me – I tried!

In 1962, Jackson, Mississippi’s rigid society is defined by Jim Crow laws that keep blacks and whites separate. But those laws are losing their hold thanks to the growing Civil Rights movement, and during this turbulent time, Stockett’s characters begin to question the rules they have taken for granted their whole lives.

Three voices narrate the novel. Dignified Aibileen and sassy Minnie have been serving as maids in white households for years. When Skeeter Phelan, a wealthy college graduate, asks them to help her write a book about their experiences, they are both reticent. As domestics, they are good at being invisible, keeping their mouths shut and absorbing the constant indignities of racism. However, telling their stories allows them to tell the truth about their lives for the first time – a truth that their white employers would rather not acknowledge.

Skeeter is as trapped as the black domestics she interviews. Squeezed into her family and society’s expectations of a Southern woman, she is yearning to write, not just decorate a husband’s arm. She’s also missing her own maid and confidante, Constantine, who has mysteriously disappeared while she was away at school.

Stockett’s skillful writing allows us into the minds and hearts of these three women, who are risking their reputations, their livelihood – perhaps even their lives – to share their stories. Through them we see that despite the boundaries between the races, a deep interdependence existed between blacks and whites. Skeeter’s truest friend was her black maid. Minnie’s white employer sees past her sharp tongue to her kind heart. And Aibileen, raising her seventeenth white child, reminds the girl of her worth and whispers stories in her ear about brave black people occupying the Woolworth’s counter. True, whites needed the labor, blacks needed employment. Stockett reminds us, though, that women will always need other women, and friendship knows no boundaries.

Review copy provided by Putnam.

Genre: Thriller

Publisher:  Pinnacle

Publication Date:  January 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Roman

The format for The Sculptor is similar to many thrillers out there: The Sculptor, a psychopathic killer (most likely with homosexual tendencies and mother issues) is on the loose.  After killing his victims, he guts them, plasticizes them, and then arranges them on metal rods to pose them in the manner of famous Michelangelo statues.  An up-and-coming FBI agent (in this case, Sam Markham) is assigned to the case.  Along the way the FBI agent needs help from a local, who ends up being the love interest of the story.  Dr. Catherine Hildebrant, a world-renowned authority on the works of Michelangelo, fits the bill.  They work together, grow closer to each other, and move closer to finding the killer.

This truly is a psychological thriller, as the reader’s mind is engaged and constantly trying to figure out when and where the killer will strike next.  Along the way, there are plenty of twists and turns to really mess with what we THINK will happen.  What is really enjoyable is the ability of the reader to see into the mind of the killer, who is so “out there” that the reader is waiting to see what crazy or horrific act he performs next.

True to the genre, this book contains a lot of graphic violence.  Not only does the killer murder innocent people, but he takes out their innards, and it is described in living color.  He has a difficult family life, which includes an incestuous relationship as an adolescent with his mother, and that is described in detail.  There is some vulgar language.  Basically, it is a realistic look at the dark side of the human condition, and it is not pretty.  Those with weak stomachs or little tolerance for the dark and macabre may not find the book to their liking.  The story moves quickly and captures our interest, however, so for those of us willing to tolerate it, it’s a fantastic read that makes us want more.  From the way the book ends, that may just happen.

Review copy provided by the author.

More about J.S. Earls:

J.S. Earls was born in 1969 in Dunedin, Florida. He then lived in Georgia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Wisconsin before eventually returning home to the Sunshine State.

Throughout his childhood, J.S. frequently divided his time between writing, illustration and music. In high school, he co-created a comic with then best friend and now fellow author Dwight L. MacPherson which outsold Superman and Spider-Man in local stores. A few years later, his music group won the Tampa Bay area award for Best Alternative Christian Band.

He then began writing — primarily for local entertainment magazines — and then as a ghost writer on the legendary Steve Roper & Mike Nomad syndicated strip. The next year, he created The Sorrow anti-child-abuse anthologies and his historic, critically-acclaimed Pistolfist comic. After this J.S. was hired to script six volumes of Zondervan’s Manga Bible and five Thomas Nelson graphic novels based on the works of bestselling author Ted Dekker.

Last year, J.S. began writing and producing an interactive audiogame called The Realm Unseen. National Geographic was so impressed with this project that they enlisted him to write three interactive story games for their online audience. Now, while awaiting the release of The Realm Unseen and the upcoming trade paperback edition of Pistolfist, J.S. is feverishly working on his first novel — an action/comedy/thriller currently titled I Kill Me.

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Genre: Suspense, Comedy, Drama

Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books

Publication Date: March 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Kevin Quinn is a man. He’s not extraordinary. He’s a liberal. He’s older. He’s on his way to Austin for a job interview. It’s a job he’s not really sure he even wants, but he knows he wants a change. He’s not married. He’s not a dad. He’s a little scared. And he’s a wealth of fantastic comedic and dramatic material. He’s so rich with observations and memories that this entire novel encompasses only eight hours of Kevin’s life. Just eight hours. And despite that, it’s an amazingly full story of a man with a very complete beginning, middle and end.

James Hynes delves into the mind of this character with such clarity that you sometimes find yourself laughing out loud and at others you’re stunned into silence. You may even find your mouth hanging open in shock as you page back and reread passages again to find out if that really happened or if it’s something just rolling around in Kevin’s vividly creative mind.  Sometimes his thoughts can seem too implausible to believe and you want to laugh out loud at the audacity. Seconds later though, Kevin’s thoughts might mirror your own and you’ll shake your head as he backtracks and apologizes in his own mind for even thinking such things.

Hynes’ descriptions are vivid, beautiful and stunning. Echoing with shades of Updike, his word choices are sweet and rich and they melt across your tongue like ice cream in the Austin heat. They beg for you to savor them, roll them around in your mouth, speak them out loud and then share them with someone else because they’re so utterly delightful. (My husband had large passages of this book either read aloud to him or forced on him as I was reading because it was just too entertaining not to share.)

The book takes a turn at one point that is so stunning it will spin you180 degrees at breakneck speed. You may even find yourself having trouble holding on to the reality in the book. It took me several times rereading passages to fully comprehend how quickly and completely everything had changed and even then I was left speechless.  Like I’d been on a rollercoaster ride, zooming toward the bottom of a long hill and then suddenly, without warning, found myself without tracks, I flailed a little at first. Then I wondered at how well Hynes managed to capture the reality of life turning on a dime and sometimes being completely out of our control.

Since Hynes dives into the deep end of a man’s mind without any filters, expect some forays into very deeply personal moments and memories. If you’re uncomfortable with frank discussion of sexual ideas or thoughts, this may not be the book for you. Though thankfully, Kevin’s thoughts do not follow the traditional understanding that men think about sex every few seconds, it is a thread of memories and description that is woven throughout the book. If you’re bothered by this, you might not want to try it. But on the other hand, if you want to know what the average American male who’s just slightly past his prime is thinking, this is definitely an interesting and adventurous read.

Review copy provided by Reagan Arthur Books.

Genre: Classic s Revisited

Publisher:  Quirk Classics

Publication Date:  March 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

In a take on the classic Pride and Prejudice, Hockensmith takes a leap from the original Bennet saga and turns the privileged family into zombie-killing warriors.  While the proper Mrs. Bennet fusses and frets, Mr. Bennet transforms his five daughters from silly, socialite girls into nunchuk-wielding, sword-bearing, killing machines.

At a local man’s funeral, the girls notice that the “deceased” is actually coming back to life as a zombie.  Their father rushes to the front of the church and cuts off the “dreadful’s” head before he can do more harm, but this change from dead to undead announces the coming of many more undead.  Knowing what the future holds, Oscar Bennet enlists the help of his five daughters: Elizabeth, Jane, Kitty, Mary, and Lydia.  He also summons help from the King’s Army, which arrives just in time to train for the battle of its life.  The ensuing training and killing are actually quite hilarious.  In one scene, the girls awaken in the middle of the night because they hear a noise.  Thinking it is a zombie, they rush down the hall just in time to catch their mother trying to enter their father’s bedchamber for a romantic interlude.  After realizing what they interrupted, they are more mortified than if they HAD seen a zombie.

There are some parallels to the original Pride and Prejudice, but the changes turn the once-classic into a campy romp of fun and hilarity.  While keeping some of the same style of language, Hockensmith manages to update the text and make it a pleasant, quick read.  The reader gets to see the English propriety as somewhat silly and frivolous: Mrs. Bennet and her “high society” friends get into a disagreement over the girls’ training.  There is to be a ball, and it is Elizabeth’s début.  Because of her “scandalous” training, however, the hostess of the ball refuses to invite her.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls is innocuous for just about any reader.  Keeping with English propriety, there is no foul language.  In fact, the girls are not allowed to say the word “zombie” because it is improper.  Instead they call them “the Zed word.”  There are allusions to sex, but only in the vaguest form.  There are descriptions of beheading and the cutting off of limbs, but not in a grisly, raw manner.  Even those with the weakest of stomachs should be able to handle that.

Hockensmith manages to combine the old with the new in PP&Z with wit and humor.  He makes fun of late 1800s English propriety and throws in some political satire as well.  The story is quirky and fun, and most of all, an easy read.  Those looking for some fun and humor should enjoy this off-the-wall tale.

Genre: Historical, Drama

Publisher: Center Street

Publication Date: February 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Eileen O’Neill is a warrior. She knows about the O’Neill legacy and that she’s part of it. If it wasn’t already in her blood then dealing with the turmoil of life in Ireland during the early 1900’s would have made her one regardless.

That being said, the best times of Eileen O’Neill’s life happened when she lived in the bright yellow house with her mother, father, brother and baby sister. When her comfort and life come crashing down around her in a series of unfortunate events, Eileen decides then and there that she will not stop until her family is living back in the yellow house and happy again. This sets her off on a life course that takes her to places she’d never imagined and across paths that change her life.

Falvey’s writing is at once heart rending and beautiful. Her descriptions clearly place the reader in the story with the O’Neill family. With historical figures to help cement the storyline in fact and discussions of daily life at the time, Falvey keeps the reader grounded in the story. When I was reading, I had a hard time pulling out of the story. I became immersed completely and fully in Eileen’s life and what would happen next.

When I’m reading, I’m usually very quiet. My husband does whatever he’s working on and I sit quietly in my spot reading to myself. With this book, I shouted out loud a couple of times and wanted to shake this character. (I did at one point slam the book shut and take a walk around the room. What else can you do when you’re angry with a completely contrived character that you’re unable to advise or counsel!?)  Like what happens so often in books (and in life) sometimes we can see the mistakes that a character is making and we wish that they wouldn’t! I felt that way about Eileen’s character.

My husband, at one point was startled by my outburst and asked what on Earth I was doing and I told him that I was reading possibly one of the most frustrating romances I’d ever experienced. This book reminded me in some ways of Jane Austen’s writing (and you all know how I love Austen’s work!) when Austen’s characters were pushed one way or another not by their feelings, but by society’s restrictions.  Though not as prim and proper as Austen’s work, Falvey’s writing does include some adult situations. I can say though, that they are well written and experienced as an everyday part of Eileen’s life rather than being glorified or over shadowing the characters and their journeys.

Review copy provided by Center Street.

Genre: Psychological, Literary

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date: January 2010

Reviewed by Marianne Peters

Tim Farnsworth seems to be a lucky man, with a wife and daughter, a thriving law practice, and a large home in the suburbs. Lucky except for one thing: periodically, inexplicably, he begins to walk.  He walks until he collapses, and then his wife Jane comes to find him wherever he has ended up, asleep, sometimes frostbitten or injured. After he sleeps, the walking starts again. He sees doctors, psychologists, even gurus, but no one can fix his problem. To explain his absences from work, he tells his puzzled partners at the law firm that his wife has terminal cancer.

Joshua Ferris, author of the novel Then We Came to the End, has penned a heartbreaking story about a family in the midst of a mysterious health crisis. Farnsworth’s illness is never named or cured. It goes into sudden remission, and then starts up again just as suddenly. While he copes with the distressing realities of walking himself into exhaustion, his wife Jane and daughter Becka cope with their own fear, guilt, anger and frustration – ambivalent feelings that would be familiar to anyone caring for a chronically ill loved one.

Tim and Jane Farnsworth also struggle to maintain their affection for each other, playing out their roles as husband and wife, but also as impaired person and caregiver. When does he decide to abandon treatment? When does she decide that enough is enough?

The Unnamed is not a cheery read, but it is a mesmerizing one. Joshua Ferris’ lucid writing lifts his characters from the page until they are flesh and blood, and we find ourselves asking, would I do the same thing? Would I give up or hang on? The walking itself is a device, the difficult circumstance that allows these characters to demonstrate their strengths and their loyalties, while simultaneously forcing them to expose their weaknesses to themselves and to each other. The truth about them – about us – is painful, but redemptive. We all have weaknesses that hardship will reveal. And once everything is revealed, the only thing left to do is to keep walking.

Review copy provided by Little, Brown and Company.

Genre: Children

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: September 2009

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

In the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene visits a fortuneteller and asks questions about his dead sister. There he learns she lives, despite the lies he’s heard all his life, and that an elephant can lead him to her. In another part of town, a magician longing to perform real magic accidentally causes an elephant to fall through the roof of the opera house where he is performing. As Peter seeks his sister, his story and that of several townspeople (the woman crippled by the falling elephant, the police officer who arrests the magician, the elephant caretaker and others) knit together in a tapestry of love, magic and healing.

The Magician’s Elephant by Newbery-winner Kate DiCamillo possesses a simple story line, yet is surprisingly complex. Initially, the plot comes across as being too simple, but as the book progresses, DiCamillo develops her story with a deceptive depth. Magical and mystical, the soft-focus, grayscale illustrations enhance the book’s mysterious and cinematic flavor. There is an emotional darkness to the book that can be a bit lonely, but DiCamillo uses this to express how one event can lead to healing for all.

While mid-elementary children might struggle to appreciate this book given its less overt action, older children and tweens will recognize the merits within.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Supernatural

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: July 2009

Reviewed by James Andrew Wilson

On page 285 of Faces in the Fire, readers will finally come to chapter one. This is important because the final chapter will have already been read back on page 78. While this might sound like a lawsuit against the printing press just waiting to happen, it is in fact the deliberate and brilliant mix-up that author T.L. Hines intended.

Faces in the Fire is a difficult book to describe. At a basic level, it is the story of four characters whose lives are mysteriously connected by a ten-digit number:1595544534. Kurt is a sculptor with the odd ability to hear ghostly voices from articles of clothing. Corrine is a professional email spammer suffering from lymphoma. Grace is a tattoo artist whose arm itches for another shot of heroin. And Stan is a hit man with a gift for killing that he can’t escape.

These characters are unique and richly crafted. As the title implies, they are people who find themselves facing the fire; their stories of pain and their journeys to redemption are beautiful, mesmerizing and inspiring. And Hines writes them with an easy-to-read style that dances between off-kilter humor, insightful ponderings, and fresh plays on words that make for a nice sort of poetry in the prose.

That being said, this is a complex book that requires a patient reader to see it through to the end. Most of the suspense arises from a curiosity to know what in the world is going on. Mysteries and oddities are all over the place, some of which are never completely answered. Or maybe they are. It all depends on what you think the book ultimately means and what the mysterious numbers represent. To each of the four main characters, those ten digits are something different, something unexplainable, but ultimately magical.

I don’t think it’s any mistake that those numbers are hidden in the novel’s ISBN number. They are a good metaphor for the book as a whole. This story will mean something different to each reader. Those who are willing to trust Hines to guide them through the puzzling pages will close the book with the feeling that they have been shown something for which there is no easy explanation—something that is beyond the barriers of what we can understand.

Faces in the Fire is a daring and expertly crafted novel. It is a puzzle. It is a mystery. It is a memorable story that defies simple description and refuses to be placed in a genre box.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books

Publication Date: December 2009

Reviewed by Ashley Barrett

In the early 1900s, Peter Force leaves his rural Idaho home and the memories of his deceased father to start over in New York City. He finds work as a tunnel digger for the upcoming subway project. After a few weeks in the city, Peter encounters Cheri-Anne Toledo, who claims to be the princess from a frontier kingdom in Ohio. The United States government seized her kingdom seven years ago and a scientific misfire may make her the first unintentional time traveler.

Even though he believes she is crazy, Peter agrees to help Cheri-Anne unravel the mystery of her experiences. Cheri-Anne’s story quickly grows into a tangled plot involving some of the most famous figures of history, including Thomas Jefferson, Nikola Tesla and J.P. Morgan. In the midst of discovering the truth about Cheri-Anne, Peter loses his heart to the beautiful princess and finds himself fighting time itself to be with her.

For a book that presents so many exciting elements—time travel, romance, conspiracy and history—The Kingdom of Ohio left me unmoved. The pace didn’t increase until the last fifty pages and I found myself disliking the morose and overly-introspective characters.

Implied sexual activity and coarse language in the book may concern some individuals.

Although I didn’t enjoy this book much, those who appreciate a slower pace and enjoy historical books and time travel may like The Kingdom of Ohio.

Review copy provided by Amy Einhorn Books.

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: November 2009

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

Joining the Army was the first good decision John Tyree made in a long time. After graduating high school he wasted several years aimlessly wandering from one job to the next, spending his money as quickly as he made it. The Army changed all that giving him purpose, direction, and leading him to Savannah Lynn Curtis.

John is home on leave when Savannah arrives in town leading a group of college students who are building homes for two local families. When her purse with all her valuables is accidentally knocked over the pier, John dives in after it. An immediate attraction quickly grows to love and when John leaves to finish his tour of duty, Savannah promises to wait for him and write in the meantime.

9/11. The world changes, including John and Savannah. While he feels it’s his duty to re-enlist, Savannah, proud and supportive of his decision, continues living in a world that John really has no part in. She has her studies, her friends and her routine. Eventually, new attachments form which challenge John and Savannah’s long-distance relationship.

In Dear John, Nicholas Sparks masterfully emotionally entangles the reader. His/her emotions become enmeshed with the characters’, rising with their highs and crashing with their lows. Tears of joy and pain will intermingle. While this book doesn’t crescendo into the perfect fairy tale ending, it does reach a powerful and realistic conclusion.

I sat in silence for a little while after reading this book. I couldn’t just set it down and move on I had to consider what I’d read and sort through all the feelings brought by the novel.

There is one point in the story where Sparks clearly says the characters have sexual relations, but he does not go into detail. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romances, especially those that reach the emotions and make one think.

Review copy provided by Grand Central Publishing.

Genre: Horror

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication date: February 2009

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

Without warning, ordinary people suddenly turn into violent lunatics, attacking strangers, friends, and even family members. No one knows the cause, and no one can predict who will be afflicted next. A major city is effectively shut down as people cower behind locked doors, fearful of their spouses and children. Finally the government steps in, rounding up the “Haters” and carting them off somewhere to be dealt with. It seems humanity’s only hope is to eradicate the horrific violence, and the only way to do that is to get rid of the offenders. The only problem is, it’s impossible to determine who will turn next—or when.

Does any of this sound familiar? It should. Zombie stories have made an astonishing comeback in popular culture, and while Hater isn’t exactly a zombie book (the Haters aren’t zombies, they just act like them), it certainly resembles one. Regular people turning on their friends and neighbors? Check. A viral spread of violence through the population? Check. Plenty of blood, guts, and gore? Check, check, check.

These days, a zombie story (or even a zombie-like story) needs to have something that makes it stand out from the crowd. Seth Grahame-Smith’s books have the connection with classic literature and historic figures. Max Brooks has the nonfiction feel. Stephen King’s Cell had the author’s name. So what does Hater have that makes it worth reading?

Actually it has two things. One is the brilliantly realistic picture of everyday life David Moody paints before the violence begins. Readers will readily identify with the snapshots of the hero’s everyman existence: the unreasonable boss, the boring job, the loving but needy family, the stress of providing for three kids, the understated but very real desire to somehow find something better. The contrast between this utterly recognizable tableau and the brief interjections showing the violence beginning to take place around the city is stark and sets up the primary conflict nicely.

The second thing that makes Hater worth reading is an interesting point-of-view shift toward the end of the book. The first-person narrative, formerly describing the efforts of the “Unchanged” to avoid the violent Haters, becomes a description of a new world from the point of view of someone who has become a Hater himself. This provides for an interesting question: who are the real haters—those committing violence for reasons they themselves don’t fully understand, or the Unchanged, doing everything they can to wipe out those they fear and loath?

Fast-paced, interesting, and well-written, Hater is worth a look for zombie fans eager for a new twist on a familiar genre.

Review copy provided by St. Martin’s Press.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Howard Books

Publication Date: September 2009

Reviewed by Tim George

For seven years, Tanya Novak has lived in obscurity with a local goat farmer in rural Colorado. Tanya, an immigrant from Russia, is a normal teenager living with her guardian and caring for the livestock. Normal except for the fact her father is imprisoned in Siberia, she has come into possession of a mysterious Bible, a humiliated former KGB agent sees her capture as his ticket to restoration, she might know the location of a golden snuff box containing a portion of manna from Israel’s wilderness wanderings, and she has been gifted with the Pravda. It is that gift, the ability to tell when others are truthful or deceitful, that becomes both her blessing and her curse.

The Pravda Messenger is a loose sequel to The Bell Messenger with a Bible being the connector between the two stories. Robert Cornuke’s background as both a police investigator and world class archeologist lend authenticity to the sub-plot of Russian Czars and the shadowy world of antiquity traders and smugglers. In a relatively short novel, the author spins a great story of legends, international intrigue, and personal obsession. But the real star of the story is Tanya. Her innocence, devotion to the truth, and yearning to be reunited with her father carry the day. Cornuke does a good job of weaving Tanya’s story with that of her father’s plight in the bitter north of Russia.

Though it feels a bit rushed, the ending packs the kind of twist every good suspense story needs. And like most such novels, if I said any more you would be screaming at me for giving away the plot. It is sufficient here to say the cast of characters is diverse and believable: attorney Shannon Reed (a true believer), billionaire R.C. Cooper (a man obsessed with the secrets contained in an old family Bible), David Murk (a skeptic who can’t help but believe), and a range of other secondary characters including a cameo appearance by Fidel Castor. Add to that a tight plot, fast passed story, and surprise ending. What more could you ask for in a suspense novel?

Sometimes it is a kiss of death to label a novel as smart in this day of increasingly shallow fiction but The Pravda Messenger is a smart story. Don’t misinterpret that to mean it is not exciting or captivating because it is both. It is smart because the characters, dialogue, and well told story carry the day. Though it is not necessary, you would do well to obtain the Bell Messenger to add yet another layer to an already great read. If you are gifted with the Pravda you will know I am telling you truth about this novel. Otherwise, I guess you will just have to read it for yourself.

Review copy provided by Howard Books.

Genre: Children’s

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: 2009

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

The animals in the zoo are all sick! How did it happen? In a delightfully gross picture book, Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo by E.S. Redmond, a young lady named Felicity goes to the zoo. But her sniffly, snuffly cold goes with her. As she meets the various critters in the park, she leaves behind a trail of goo on each of the animals, all because she doesn’t have a tissue.

This rhyming book cautions children to practice good germ control while enchanting them with rhymes. Amazingly, every rhyme in the book rhymes with “goo,” yet the rhymes never feel forced. Each fits naturally into the flow of the story. The unique illustrations feature ink and watercolor mediums in muted tones. The vibe of “sick” appropriately permeates the illustrations.

Felicity Floo is good clean fun, especially in cold and flu season.

Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.

Genre: Mystery

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date:  January, 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

The quintessential American vacation starts out with the family packing the car and starting off, eagerly anticipating good times.  As the drive continues, the kids ask, “Are we there yet?” while the parents just keep pressing forward.  Eventually, the family arrives at its destination and everyone has a good time.  Reading The Swan Thieves is similar to the American vacation.  It’s a long ride, but the end is worthwhile.

Dr. Andrew Marlow is a respected psychiatrist in Washington, DC.  He is also somewhat of an artist and spends a great deal of his free time painting.  A colleague refers a special case to him because of his interest in painting.  The patient is Robert Oliver, a prominent painter who has been arrested for attempting to slash a painting at the art museum.  The challenge Dr. Marlow faces is that Robert refuses to speak, except to tell him that he may talk to his ex wife and to Mary.  Dr. Marlow therefore embarks on a journey to figure out this troubled character, mostly by interviewing the ex-Mrs. Oliver, and Mary, who turns out to be an ex-lover.  His quest to figure out this enigmatic man takes him to Virginia, Mexico, and eventually, to France.  Aided by some ancient letters Robert has in his possession, Dr. Marlowe learns fascinating things about Robert Oliver. He also learns about a female painter emerging in Nineteenth Century France when women didn’t really show their work, and why her work stops suddenly just as she is becoming lauded for her work.

The story is richly told, and in all honestly, too richly told.  It’s long- very long.  Kostova puts a lot of effort into describing scenery, painting techniques, and scenes, and the result is possibly a bit mind-boggling.  Readers not willing to put forth the time and effort will most likely abandon the novel, and that’s a shame.  There’s a great mystery to be solved and an interesting story that’s told along the way.  The characters, some likeable, some not, are fascinating and contribute greatly to the storyline.  While it is a very long and involved read, it is worth the reader’s time to pick up this novel.

Because the story deals with art, there are a lot of titles mentioned in foreign languages.  Many terms are in foreign languages, too, which may make some of the terms and storyline difficult to understand.  At times the story may have to be pieced together.

There really isn’t anything too objectionable in The Swan Thieves.  There’s minimal profanity or sexual situation.  There is no violence.  Any of the romance and intimacy is written in flowery language of days past, where the anticipation is just as exciting as the actual act.  Modern readers should not be offended at all.

Review copy provided by Little, Brown and Company.

Genre: Historical

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date: February 2010

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

In June of 1876, a gifted young Lakota Indian boy named Paha Sapa touches a dying white soldier at the Battle of Little Big Horn, little realizing that he is “counting coup” on the fallen General Custer himself. In that moment, the boy’s life changes forever, as the ghost of the slain war leader mysteriously enters his soul, where it will reside, speaking to him at odd moments, for the next sixty-plus years.

Black Hills comes from the vivid imagination of Dan Simmons, author of previous lengthy best-selling historical novels The Terror and Drood. The book is long, entertaining, and wonderfully descriptive, though it lapses into excessive wordiness at times. The epic story encompasses seven decades of Paha Sapa’s life and treats the reader to diverse settings ranging from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the “White City” of the Chicago World’s Fair. Told in a nonlinear fashion, much of it in present tense, the story can be difficult to follow, particularly toward the beginning of the book before the reader is accustomed to the back-and-forth, decade-skipping flow of the narrative.

The main plot centers around the construction of the Mount Rushmore memorial, carved into a mountain sacred to the Lakota tribe. Paha Sapa signs on as a powderman on the blasting crew, hoping to fulfill a destiny revealed to him as a child in a vision: to stop the wasicus—the white “fat takers”—from destroying the Black Hills. Other story lines include Paha Sapa’s wonderful coming of age as a Lakota visionary, a too-brief romantic interlude in Chicago, and the underlying saga of America’s growing-up years through the early twentieth century.

The book’s key strength, aside from Simmons’s often beautiful descriptions of vivid settings, is its imaginative retellings of actual events, most notably the construction of Mount Rushmore. Simmons tips his hat to other key historical events as well, including the building of the Brooklyn Bridge in a well-researched and fascinating chapter. Lakota culture, language, and spirituality is explored throughout.

The book contains a fair amount of language, though most of it fits the settings and characters. Less appropriate are a number of bizarrely and unnecessarily explicit accounts of marital intimacy from the point of view of Custer’s ghost.

Unfortunately, like many long books, Black Hills fails to end when it should; the last fifty pages are a strange departure from the lyrical beauty of the rest of the book, as the author launches into a seemingly agenda-driven tirade against humanity’s affects on nature.

Overall, however, the book is highly enjoyable and well worth the not inconsiderable time it takes to complete. Flawed yet replete with flashes of brilliance, the book will entertain, educate, and move readers ready to enjoy the stark literary brilliance of the always strained but occasionally beautiful relationship between a nation’s past and its future.

Review copy provided by Little, Brown and Company.

Publisher: Random House

Released: June 2009

Reviewed by Jonathan Schindler

Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin tells bit by bit the stories of transplant and native New Yorkers in the 1970s as their lives intersect and connect in unexpected ways, mostly through the common experience of a single event: Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the World Trade Center’s towers in 1974. Despite the characters’ varying backgrounds—an Irish friar and his brother, a streetwalking mother-daughter pair, a Park Avenue judge and his wife, to name a few—they are all bound together by what they’ve witnessed. And directly or indirectly, their lives are forever changed as a result.

The book’s plot is hard to describe because all of the characters are so interconnected—where one plotline seems to be winding down, another is just getting started. McCann’s weaving all these lives together could have easily become convoluted or contrived, but it is to McCann’s credit that it is not so. Characters walk in and out of each other’s stories in a way you imagine they would do in real life. The characters don’t feel like symbols, archetypes, ideas; they appear as real people do and exist in all the paradoxes of humanity. McCann has created a cast of diverse and believable characters and deftly intones the voice of each, each section being narrated by or around a single character. He avoids focusing on a single group and instead provides a true city cross-section, literally from the bottom up—from the prostitutes on the street to the very height of the World Trade Center. The diversity in the cast allows McCann to explore the spectrum of human emotions, opportunities, and relationships. (It also means that the book has a fair amount of adult content, especially language, so sensitive readers should be cautious.)

The characters in Let the Great World Spin are what make this book worth reading. They are believable and sympathetic, and when they hurt or are dealing with crisis, it is easy to become entangled in their lives. Characters face violence, imprisonment, prejudice, grief, doubt, sacrifice, and death, but above all this walks Petit on his tightrope, seemingly oblivious of the world spinning out of control below him. Petit’s stunning and beautiful act points to a great truth, one worthy of being at the center of a book like this: The world is a difficult place to live in, full of pain, but it is also full of beauty and thus provides a reason to hope.

Let the Great World Spin is readable and well written (though there are occasional flashes of distracting literariness), and the descriptions appeal to the reader’s senses, allowing for an immersive reading experience. Let the Great World Spin is truly a beautiful book, deserving of its National Book Award win.

Review copy provided by Random House

Genre: Romance/Suspense

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Publication Date: March 2010

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

In an attempt to flee her past, underwater archaeologist Shiloh Blake moves to Mumbai, India, hoping to put as much distance as possible between herself and her father. At a dig, tragedy strikes, leaving a colleague dead, her best friend fighting for his life, and Blake running from an unknown enemy. Searching for answers, Blake finds herself caught in the middle of a nuclear terrorist plot. Those behind it will stop at nothing to see her dead. To survive, Blake must remember everything her father taught her and even do the one thing she vowed never to do — become a spy.

Former Navy SEAL, Reece Jaxon, faces the task of keeping the feisty and stubborn archaeologist alive. But how can he make Blake trust him when every man in her life has betrayed her, including her own father? How can he show her that despite the bruises and battering the world has inflicted, God has never abandoned her?

Ronie Kendig shines with her debut novel Dead Reckoning. She seizes the reader from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the end, leading her audience through a labyrinth coated with lies and dangers. She expertly keeps the reader flipping through the pages anxious to learn what follows. Though God and faith play a part in the novel, Kendig is never preachy.

Kendig could have offered more details and provided a bit more closure in a couple areas that affect Blake’s personal relationships, but regardless, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance and suspense. Once started, the reader will struggle to put down the book. It is a refreshing to find a book where clean doesn’t mean cheesy and page-turning action doesn’t mean foul language or inappropriate scenes. I eagerly await many more books from Kendig.

Review copy provided by Abingdon Press.

Genre: Children, Young Adult

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: April 2008

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

As a freshman in high school, Will Tuppence has come to count on certain things in life:  the peskiness of his little sister, Tabby, steadfast friendships with Mi-Su and BT, the invincibility of protons. When he hears of a recent discovery—that protons can decay—Will’s neatly ordered world begins to unravel. Suddenly he sees Mi-Su as a female, rather than merely a friend. BT becomes competition. And the five-year-old neighbor boy who pines after Tabby plays psychiatrist to frustrated Will. But a terrifying accident leaves Will pondering what truly matters. Skateboarding, anchovy pizza and Friday night Monopoly take a backseat as he learns the meaning of real love.

Amidst many literary voices clamoring for attention, Jerry Spinelli’s Smiles to Go shushes many of them. A coming-of-age tale that feels effortlessly true, Smiles offers an authentic voice to which young people will relate (“Yeah, that’s me”) and with which adults will reminisce (“Yeah, I remember that”).

This is Spinelli’s playground—the arena where he enters the psyche of the young. He speaks to them on a personal level while simultaneously entertaining them. The book’s genuine perspective makes the reader wonder, “Surely Jerry Spinelli is, himself, still 15 years old!” Plenty of humor, honest characters and short chapters make this a friendly book for reluctant readers. But while these traits may draw readers, the book’s truthfulness will hold them. Indeed, it is the most honest book I’ve read in a long while.

Review copy provided by Harper Collins.

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Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: August 2009

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

COLD.

Numb.

Confused.

I opened my eyes.

Too dark. Black as arctic winter.

Am I dead?

So begins Kathy Reichs’ twelfth Temperance Brennan novel, 206 Bones. As Brennan slowly gains her bearings, the reader, and Brennan, discover she is trapped in a small, dark, space. Fighting claustrophobia and panic, questions bombard her foggy thoughts—how did she get here? And who wants her out of the way? Brennan must backtrack through her fractured memories and piece together the events that led up to that moment.

Thus the reader embarks on the journey with Brennan, alternating between the past and present, as she and Lieutenant Ryan work to unravel a mystery while bodies of elderly women start to pile up. Of course, true to any Reichs novel, the heroine faces multiple challenges while attempting to uncover the truth — an anonymous tipster accusing Brennan of mishandling a case, a pesky neighbor, and problems at work, just to name a few.

206 Bones is an interesting read with twists that while surprising, aren’t shocking. The reader might not see the turn coming, but when it arrives, Reichs has set it up in a way that makes perfect sense and suddenly seems very obvious. I recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good puzzle. This novel will keep the reader’s head spinning as he or she pieces together the clues. For those concerned about vulgarity, though, as with all the Temperance Brennan novels, crude language is present.

Review copy provided by Simon and Schuster.

Genre: Literary/Fantasy

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Publication Date: January 2010

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

Midas Crook is a young loner, happier to photograph life than to live it. Scarred by an emotionally estranged father and a mentally distant mother, Midas is unprepared when he meets Ida McLaird, a strange girl determined to live life fully. Soon, Midas learns of Ida’s horrifying condition—she is slowly turning to glass. Despite his issues with his past, he soon falls for Ida and the two struggle to find a cure for Ida’s strange illness before she becomes wholly transformed.

In this magical tale, author Ali Shaw crafts a world sprinkled with the strange that somehow feels completely at home; the magical elements in the story seem as though they could occur in ordinary life to anyone. St. Hauda’s Land, the setting for The Girl with Glass Feet, could easily be a real island in the frigid, far north. Shaw’s lyrical style paints beautiful pictures of this fictional land while fresh and innovative language characterizes this quiet tale. It’s a book meant to be read slowly and savored, much like Sue Monk Kidd’s work.

However, Shaw appears to love words more than his story. At times, lovely language takes precedence over storytelling and the pacing of the tale suffers for it. Sadly, I felt a strong desire to skim sections of the book as they could have been shortened with no real loss of plot. The author clearly establishes setting and tone so his need for a full description of each setting at the outset of each chapter pulled the story down.

As a first-time novelist, Shaw succeeds in making the mysterious premise of glass metamorphosis plausible to the reader and is clearly a master wordsmith. The book is a strong effort that would benefit from a few editorial snips.

Review copy provided by Henry Holt and Company.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Multnomah Books

Publication Date: March 2010

Reviewed by Tim George

What would you do if you were pursued on the dark streets of New Orleans by people you don’t know, for reasons you don’t understand, only to find yourself beaten and left dead hundreds of miles away? Thankfully, you are rescued by a kind man who takes you to a local crisis center where you are asked just one simple question, “Who are you?” The problem is, you don’t know. Such is the story of a woman who ends up at the Crossroad Crisis Center in the panhandle of Florida. The only clues to her past are the cross around her neck, a nagging fear of unidentified enemies, and an uncanny resemblance to the center’s founder – the founder who has been dead for three years.

In Forget Me Not, author Vicki Hinze explores issues of brokenness, trust, and faith. The main character (we’ll call her Susan for now) remembers next to nothing about her past life but she has an instinctive faith even she herself cannot explain. Benjamin Brandt, widower of the founder of the crisis center, remembers far too much but has completely forgotten what faith even looks like. He has become further jaded by one too many impostors trying to lay claim to his dead wife’s legacy and fortune. Susan and Ben must learn to work together in spite of their fears and distrust because someone is still intent on killing and perhaps far worse.

Vicki Hinze is a newcomer to faith based fiction but is by no means a newbie to writing. With over twenty-five novels in print she demonstrates her seasoned ability to develop characters and ratchet up the tension as the plot progresses. The subplot of bio-terrorism is interesting but feels almost in the way. At times it is hard to keep up with the secondary characters that come and go throughout the story. While the cast of villains seems a bit too varied, one thing comes across with clarity. None of these people are trustworthy. And for someone who can’t even remember who she is and a man who has lost his faith, that is indeed quite a problem.

The main story of a man who cannot let go of his grief and anger and a woman who wonders if anyone has ever cared about her is powerful. To further complicate their lives, both are having feelings for each other neither finds quite welcomed. And, when our mystery woman finally remembers everything she wishes she was still in the dark. What she now knows is far too great a burden to carry and far too devastating to reveal to the man who has finally come to trust her. But the one thing she never forgot, her faith in God, may still yet prove the hope for both she and Ben’s tattered hearts.

Review copy provided by Multnomah Books.

Genre: Mystery/Romance

Publisher: Mira

Publication Date: November 2009

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

Hannah Shay lived in Black Falls all her life. While life has never been easy, the recent attack that shocked the small town and left several dead has made everything harder. Her own brother barely escaped with his life and now people suspect the killers had inside help. Hannah fights the increasing fear that a man she grew up with is involved as she juggles running her café, studying for the bar exam, the speculations and aftermath of the recent violence, as well as dealing with the Cameron brothers.

Sean Cameron has returned to town hoping to uncover why assassins targeted and murdered his father. Hannah’s behavior together with theories he’s compiled of the event convince Sean the young woman is hiding something. He struggles to win her trust hoping to uncover the truth, but in doing so he risks losing his heart to the beautiful and stubborn woman.

Cold River is the second book in the Black Falls Series, although readers will quickly pick up the story line. Carla Neggers explains the events of the previous book—maybe too much so. Hearing the same story from every character quickly became annoying.

Neggers also tends to spell everything out. The author makes the characters’ thoughts and feelings clear through their actions and words, only to go on and state what they are. Neggers should give the reader the benefit of the doubt and tell him/her once. Sadly, this urge to explain led to much unnatural dialogue as Neggers forces too much information. The character’s unrealistic conversations slowed the story.

That aside, while Cold River presents no new takes on the romance/mystery genre, the novel provides a few hours of easy and entertaining reading. A couple of swear words show up occasionally, but it’s nice to find a book that isn’t filled with vulgar language. Readers should be aware that there is one sex scene which anyone who wishes to can easily skip and miss nothing. While this isn’t the kind of book I’d read a second or third time, its fine for a one-time read.

Review copy provided by Mira.

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Marcher Lord Press

Publication Date: October 2009

Reviewed by Tim George

I am a debugger. For all you freeheads that means I serve at the whim of my masters, the Abduls, to correct whatever goes wrong with their machines. And they have many machines, all designed to do their work for them. Then again that is also why they have me. But I guess this is all hard for you to understand since you are freeheads, unhindered by the constraints of an implant that prevents you from disobeying your masters in any way.

Do I have your interest yet? Kerry Nietz debut novel is about as an inventive and thought provoking a piece of Science Fiction (any fiction for that matter) I have come across in a long time. Written in first person and at times direct narrative to the reader, A Star Curiously Singing places you inside the head of one small cog in the machine of a future world dominated by a global fundamentalist religion. That cog is Sandfly, a debugger. Like all debuggers, he has served at the will of his master since the age of ten, that obedience insured by a surgically implanted and state approved conscience. While we are never told the name of this all-pervasive religion, Nietz leaves little doubt what he modeled this future world after. In one candid moment the main character relates how Sharia Law became the law of the world: “We struck and then we hid. We talked peace while planning destruction. We used our own brothers’ suffering as fuel against those who were more sympathetic of such things. We sowed discontent.”

Sandfly is sent by his master to a place few of his world ever go, space. There he discovers a fantastic secret tool of interstellar exploration known as Dark Trench. What happens next is left for you to find out. You, meaning all you freeheads that dare read A Star Curiously Singing. People like Sandfly have paid a terrible price for instant and direct access to all the information of the world, freedom to think for themselves, and freedom to know the truth.

While some may take offence at obvious allusions to Muslim Fundamentalism and the kind of life such a movement might bring to a world dominated by it, this story goes much deeper than any one religion. In some ways it takes a swipe at all works oriented religions. More importantly it leads the reader to consider what Sandfly discovers on Dark Trench. “A” is not God. There is another. One who is so much more. He is “A³”^. Does “A” stand for Allah in this story? We are never told. But there is no doubt who “A³” is. He is the One “who stoops” down to man and becomes one of us. He is the One who created all. The One who the stars sing about.

After reading A Star Curiously Singing, I was glad to hear the sequel is already in the publishing stages. Glad because this story ends with Sandfly headed to the stars to learn more about the new song he has just discovered. A song that is about to not only change one lone debugger, but a world.

Review copy provided by Marcher Lord Press.

Genre: Historical, Adventure

Publisher: Touchstone

Publication Date: August 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

The War of the Roses. No, I’m not talking about the movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. I’m talking about pre-Tudor England. Everyone knows the stories of Henry VIII and his wives. The War of the Roses is what happens before Tudor England. And Philippa Gregory is, once again, a master of the period.
The book opens with a poor widow standing next to the side of the road with her two sons. She’s hoping that she can catch the eye of the man who is about to pass by. He’s the King of England and her family fought against him in the battle to become king. Nonetheless, she’s now in need of his service. Her lands and her children’s inheritance have all been taken from her and she’s determined to get it back. So, looking beautiful, a little bit lost, and very determined, she stands with her boys and waits for him to pass by. He doesn’t pass by. He stops, speaks to her, and history is born.

King Edward is constantly battling for his throne. The Lancaster’s, York’s and Tudors are all within sight of the throne and all believe it to be rightfully theirs. His reign is rife with battles, war and rumblings from other areas about him not being the true king. His own mother and brothers put this idea into the public perception. It’s a vicious world where the rumor mill can make or break kingdoms. And then he meets Elizabeth waiting at the side of the road and he has no idea that she holds the shape of his reign and the future of his kingdom.

In this tale, Philippa Gregory once again handles the heavy subject of kingdoms, war and monarchy with a light hand and a deft touch. She brings to life characters that most have only read about in schoolbooks and history classes. As opposed to the amazing queens and women in the book I just finished, The Other Queen, Elizabeth’s queen is not born to the throne. She doesn’t understand all of the ins and outs of the court and she learns as she goes. She grows into a woman who doesn’t care about the throne for herself, but everything in her life revolves around her children.

It’s amazing to watch how fluid kingdoms are throughout the course of the story. No kingdom or reign was safe during this time in history. The pace of the story is breathtaking at times, but it’s a vivid reminder of how easily a king could be overthrown. One moment characters are on the throne and the next they’re shivering in sanctuary wondering if their lives are at stake.

Once again, Gregory’s retelling of history is vivid, beautiful and heartrending. The only disappointment in the entire book was my woefully lacking knowledge of the history. This made for wonderfully tense drama and build up as I couldn’t quite remember what happened in the reigns of each of the monarchs mentioned. The book ended on a delicious cliffhanger that left me eager and waiting for the next adventure from Gregory’s brilliant mind.

Review copy provided by Touchstone.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Faith Words

Publication Date: April 2009

Reviewer: Josh Olds

A wispy bat-like creature hovers over the darkened forest, its presence called forth by a cult of teens playing with powers they know little about. Awaiting his opportunity to attack, this Angel of Wrath knows he must be patient. His time will come. It will be soon.

On the outside, it appeared Thomas Harmon’s life was coming together for him. Pastor of an exponentially growing mega-church inherited from his father, Thomas was making his mark on the world. But things aren’t always as they seem. His work at the church leaves little time for family, and it shows in the attitude of his son Will, who is the epitome of a rebellious preacher’s kid.

But something more serves to upset Thomas’s rise to fame. People in his church are being murdered. One right after another. Quickly. Each time, the murdered were guilty of a secret (or not so secret) sin, and the killer had executed his righteous judgment upon them.

Enter in Charlie Madison, an ex Special-Ops agent, and his deaf niece, Jazmin. Charlie gets asked by friend and former co-worker, Lisa Harmon,—Thomas’s sister—to go investigate. 13 year old Jazmin gets to tag along for the ride.

As the plot thickens and tension mounts, Charlie and Lisa uncover a local cult of teens who may be responsible. But even more than the murders, the teens may have unleashed a creature that they cannot control, the Angel of Wrath.

With well-drawn out characters and great action, Myers crafts a story that not only serves as a page-turner but also as a thought-provoker. From pastoral issues, to the nature of forgiveness, to the importance of family, to spiritual warfare, Myers raises questions that will keep your mind turning long after you’ve closed the last page. What comes first, congregation or family? Can one truly forgive someone who destroyed one’s life? What would you do if a demon looked into your soul and reminded you of all those sins you thought were secret, all the evil that lies within your own heart?

Angel of Wrath is a triumph of storytelling. The crisp action sequences and murder mystery serve only as a backdrop to further this character-driven drama. Regarding the characters of Charlie, Lisa, and Jazmin, perhaps I would have been more informed as to their stories had I read Myers’ 2008 release The Voice, which introduces these three. While Angel of Wrath is a sequel, Myers does a good job ensuring that it stands alone. References to The Voice serve to intrigue the reader to salivate to know the fuller story rather than leaving one in confusion about an important piece of information.

Angel of Wrath is one of my favorite kinds of stories. Instead of merely telling a story, there is a strong sense of message. I cannot wait to see what Myers has in store for his next book, The God Hater, which he has called one of the most important things he’s written.

Review copy provided by Faith Words.

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Publication Date:  August 2009

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Tim Blake is living every father’s worst nightmare. One day his teenage daughter leaves for work and never returns home. Not only are there no leads, but the people that she supposedly worked with have never even heard of her.  Trying to hold down his job as a car salesman, Tim uses every spare moment and expense to spread the word about her disappearance, hoping that someone will have seen her. He even sets up a website for people who might have information on her whereabouts.  As Tim wallows in his despair he is overjoyed when a lead from across this country surfaces. Tim is now running full out towards the possibility of hope, never realizing that the worst is yet to come.

Linwood Barclay is quickly rising to the top of my list of favorite authors and this stellar performance only propels him higher. Once again Barclay brings us a strong first person narrative from a father in the deepest throes of anguish. As a father of a little girl I found myself torn up inside along with Tim every step of the way. This all worked together for a gut wrenching, yet engaging read that refused to release my attention until the end.

Once again, the twists just don’t stop and they consistently pack a punch. I’m amazed at Barclay’s ability to hide surprises so neatly within a story, knowing just the right time to pull back the veil and amaze his audience. The suspense drips off every page and the terror is all too real.

In the midst of the thrills, Barclay also introduces some strong characters that really sell this story. From the wild child friend of Tim’s daughter, to the ever suspicious detective, and even to the highly unstable love interest, each character takes turn adding to both the despondency Tim is swimming in and the overall depth of this story.

There is some profanity and adult content readers should be aware of, but nothing on the level of Barclay’s previous work, Too Close to Home.

We’re just weeks away from Linwood Barclay’s next release, Never Look Away, and I find myself anxiously waiting what is sure to be another high quality thriller from one of my favorite new authors.

Review copy provided by Bantam.

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Bantam

Publication Date: September 2008

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Jim Cutter doesn’t miss his old job. Sure, being the mayor’s driver had its perks, but no perk was worth putting up with that man. After his boss took things too far one night, Jim walked away and never looked back. Happy to be free, he started his own lawn service with his son, Derek. It also allowed him to spend more time at home with is wife, giving their relationship some much needed attention. Things seemed to be turning around for Jim. That is until his neighbors ended up dead and his son became the main suspect in their murder.

This was my first Linwood Barclay novel and it most certainly won’t be my last. After hearing comparisons to Harlan Coben, I had to find out if such lofty claims were valid.

From the opening lines Barclay weaves a tale of intrigue, murder, and mystery that keeps you guessing. Even when I thought I knew what was coming, I was continually surprised by the number of twists and how brilliantly they were orchestrated. The first person narrative of Jim Cutter is top notch and I was easily pulled into the emotional turmoil surrounding this man and his family.

Too Close to Home might be best described as a dark suburban thriller, but I’m not even sure that accurately describes the depth of this novel. Even some of the best thriller writers often neglect character development, opting instead for relentless action and pacing. Barclay expertly balances a fast paced story with the perfect amount of character building, making this story stand out above so many others written in the same vein.

The only element that seemed off here was the complete overuse of profanity. I understand a writer’s desire to create real characters, flaws and all. However, it seems that in several instances the profanity was relied upon too much, seeming forced and manufactured. There is also a smattering of adult content that some readers might want to be aware of.

Overall I was more than impressed with the level of storytelling on display here. Indeed, if you are a fan of Harlan Coben’s work you will love what Barclay brings to the table. I predict it won’t be long before fresh new thriller writers are being compared to Linwood Barclay himself.

Review copy provided by Bantam.

Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Publication Date: February 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is back. J.D. Robb’s much beloved heroine of the future is taking on a new case and this game is anything but fun. When Bart Minnock, a brilliant young mastermind behind the 2060 gaming industry turns up dead in his holo unit, it seems like a relatively simple case of murder. The investigation takes an unusual turn when absolutely no forensic evidence is found in the apartment or the holo unit. It appears that Bart Minnock was alone when he was decapitated.

Things get even stickier when Dallas discovers that Minnock had a connection to her husband, Roarke. As a special consultant to the NYPSD, Roarke is usually a great help in investigations, but this time, there’s a personal spin. It seems that Roarke had been a mentor of sorts to the victim. This brings even more tension to the investigation and Dallas has to juggle things that she’s never had to before.

The case launches Dallas into a new area that’s well out of her comfort zone, the gaming world. It’s revealed in the book that she knows little (if anything) about popular culture and understands only very little about her husband’s profession. This allows for a lot of fun with ‘historic’ mentions of geek lore. Sci-Fi fans will find fantastic references to Star Wars, Batman and other much beloved icons of the current culture, though of course in the book’s timeline, they’re historical references.

I loved the way that this mystery unfolded. Since this is only my second Eve Dallas book, I have to say that this one grabbed me faster and held my attention throughout. The mystery was intriguing (How DOES a guy in a holo unit get decapitated without any forensic evidence left behind?) and the plot moved just quickly enough to keep you entranced. Though there was plenty of opportunity for Robb to showcase her knowledge of Science Fiction and technology, it didn’t overwhelm the story in technical details and geek speak. It added depth and realism to the story without bogging it down.

This story brought more depth to the relationships in Eve’s life. As we read how she’s able to compartmentalize and push feelings aside, Robb presents situations that allow her to explore the emotions and give the character a depth of dimension that’s beautiful and heartbreaking. It allows the reader to experience murder in a less emotional aspect as we delve deeper into the relationship between Roarke and Dallas.

Succinct, creative, fun, and still with enough of a twist to keep you guessing until the very end, Fantasy in Death surpassed my expectations from the previous Naked in Death book (which was stellar) and set a new bar for mystery and suspense, but Science Fiction as well. I think I can now call myself a certified fan of the In Death series.

Review copy provided by Putnam Adult.

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date: February 2010

Jake Chism’s Review:

One by one the sons and daughters of New York’s elite are being kidnapped and murdered. Each time Detective Michael Bennett is too late and he soon begins to realize he is facing a killer who is in a different league altogether. Special Agent Emily Parker is sent in from the FBI to help with the case, and soon she and Bennett are knee deep in a murder spree that has the city in a panic. As they piece together the clues behind the madman on the loose, they begin to see that the real terror is yet to come.

James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge more than deliver in this third installment of the Michael Bennett series.  Each book just gets better and I’m beginning to think that even Alex Cross himself might be warily looking over his shoulder at the new guy who is quickly gaining. Admittedly, when I first read about the concept of this series, I was underwhelmed to say the least. Another cop series from James Patterson? Really? Aren’t Alex Cross and The Women’s Murder Club enough? And not only is it another cop series, but it’s about a cop with 10 (yes, 10) kids!!  Despite the warning sounds blaring in my mind, I recently settled down and tackled all three novels. And wouldn’t you know it? I think I’ve found my new favorite character in the ever expanding James Patterson fiction-verse.

In Worst Case, we are easily treated to the best writing of the series so far, and I’m really enjoying how well Patterson and Ledwidge meld together as a writing team. The tension and suspense leap off the pages, while Michael Bennett effortlessly draws us in with his unwavering sense of justice and good guy persona. It almost seems that the art of crafting heroes has been lost in many fiction circles today, and it’s refreshing to find a lead character that gives you every reason to cheer for him. There’s even some nice romantic tension here that actually feels relevant to the story, adding another layer of depth and interest.

This series certainly hasn’t been perfect by any means. One of my biggest complaints has to do with Bennett’s children. It’s not so much the number of kids, but rather how hard it is to get to know them as characters.  As the series has progressed, Patterson and Ledwidge have been able to flesh them out a little more, but unfortunately they often feel like one big character to me. I’m hoping as time goes by and more stories are churned out (and you know there is more coming), that we will begin to spend more time with each character and that they will begin to build their own identities. Maybe 10 kids were a tad bit too many to start with, but that is a writing corner that Patterson and Ledwidge have boldly written themselves into. Something tells me these guys know what they are doing.

Worst Case is definitely must read material for Patterson fans, and those who have been turned away by Patterson’s latest offerings might be surprised by what they find here. As always readers can expect adult language and mature content, but it all seems a bit toned down compared to Patterson’s other series. On the flip side, the Michael Bennett series carries a sort of heartwarming family message that lends enough charm to keep readers coming back.

This Michael Bennett guy? I think he’s the real deal.

Jennifer Roman’s Review:

James Patterson’s latest novel (third in the new Michael Bennett series) opens with the only son of a prominent, wealthy New Yorker being abducted.  The kidnapper asks the young man several questions about social awareness, and his answers determine whether he lives or not.  The kidnapper later abducts other wealthy New Yorkers’ children in an effort to send the message that they should be using their money and influence to help those less fortunate.

New York detective Michael Bennett is assigned to the case, and due to the high profile clients’ demands, the FBI is quickly included.  The team, led by Bennett, has to piece together very subtle clues to determine who is doing such a thing and how to stop him.  Money is not the object; instead, he wants social justice.  True to form, Patterson keeps the reader interested with the fast-paced storyline and interesting scenarios.

Patterson is a prolific writer, and at times it seems as though he goes for “quantity over quality.”  He seems to go back to basics, however, with this series.  He writes a good story that is interesting and suspenseful.  The reader gets a chance to identify the kidnapper, but he is revealed at a good point in the story.  How Patterson develops the kidnapper is what makes the story so good.  Those interested in “how he got the way he is” will be satisfied.

Patterson’s earlier mysteries have graphic violence, but this series does not.  We know how someone dies, but we don’t see the whole gory scene.  We know what the kidnapper is thinking, but we don’t actually see it carried out to fruition.  There are a few times the “F bomb” is dropped, but overall, there is not a lot of foul language.  What may incite some readers is the fact that Bennett is a widowed dad of TEN adopted children.  While it is obvious that he cares about them, he spends a lot of time at work and leaves the children with one caretaker: Mary Catherine.  He seems to be developing a romantic interest in her.  While it is admirable that Bennett adopts children of all races, some may see it as “collecting” children.  Hopefully soon Patterson and Ledwidge will develop the children’s characters and let the reader see the relationship they have with their father.

Overall, this series takes a step back and follows Patterson’s early formula of success.  The storyline is fast-paced and interesting, and the book is a quick read.  Those wanting to get a good “mystery fix” should be happy with the results.

Review copy provided by Hachette Book Group.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Morrow

Publication Date:  1998

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Roman

Imagine being a 20-year-old single mom living in rural Georgia.  You have only a seventh-grade education, and your meager income is from waiting tables at the local truck stop.  You live with your baby daddy out of necessity; he has a trailer you can call “home.”  He is frequently drunk and therefore does not hold a steady job.  Suddenly, you are guaranteed to win the national lottery of $100 million, and all you have to do is leave the country for ten years.  How could someone with such a bleak future resist?

This is the situation faced by LuAnn Tyler, an intelligent and extremely beautiful girl who, originally, prepares to decline the offer until she comes home to find her baby daddy dead from a drug deal gone sour.  She walks in on the killer and becomes his next target.  Knowing there is no way the police would believe her innocence, she takes the deal.  Her benefactor, Jackson, doesn’t like the extra baggage she brings in the form of an arrest warrant, but he looks to it as a challenge and fixes the national lottery.  Getting her out of the country gets hairy at times, but finally, he puts LuAnn on a plane to Sweden.

Of course there has to be a twist: ten years later, LuAnn decides to return to the United States, and a reporter covering high bankruptcy rates of lottery winners notices that she and eleven other winners actually earn, not lose, money after winning the lottery.  That puts him on the scent of a huge story that threatens LuAnn’s family and her very life.

Baldacci really gives the reader a reason to not put the book down.  From introducing LuAnn and her situation to describing how the lottery will be fixed to watching the plan in action, he makes the characters real and the story, while a bit over the top, fun and suspenseful.  It’s a bit sad when getting to the end because there’s that desire to read more.  I was constantly wondering what would happen next.  The mastermind behind the scam is resourceful and intelligent.  What he could do today would be absolutely amazing.

There is a bit of vulgar language and a couple of mild sex scenes, but the big caution here is the graphic violence.  It is not near the top of my list of violent books, but it does describe how Jackson kills people in cold blood.  What is disturbing is that he does not show remorse or a bit of reverence toward human life.  Readers who can handle some violence should be fine.

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Del Rey

Publication Date: October 2009

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Scott Mast has returned to his New Hampshire home to bury his father. Scott’s family has always been anything but functional, and it’s hard for him to be back. Granted, all that is waiting in Seattle is a going nowhere writing career, but nevertheless home is as un-sweet as he remembers.

Before leaving town, Scott happens upon an old manuscript that his father had started. Scott never knew his father wrote anything, much less an odd ghost story that has a familiar feel to it. Soon Scott is led to an old abandoned house outside of town, where he comes face to face with a terrifying past that reveals secrets about his family and his hometown. Unable to will himself to leave, Scott moves into the old house and sets out to finish the manuscript his father began. The story has become his obsession, and his obsession might just kill him.

Joe Schreiber recently made a huge splash in the Star Wars universe with the first SW horror novel, Death Troopers. With No Doors, No Windows he goes back to his roots with a more traditional horror tale that is absolutely impossible to put down.

Schreiber’s prose leaps off the page as he paints intoxicating word pictures throughout, dropping us right into the story as if it were happening all around us. Horror, drama, suspense, and mystery are effectively melded together to keep the pages flying and the reader guessing. Each character is fleshed out perfectly as secrets are exposed and fears realized. If you love scary, then there is plenty here to satisfy even the most hardcore horror fan. At the same time, amidst all of the darkness and turmoil there is a sliver of light that comes shining through offering hope when all seems lost.

Fair warning here: this is a dark, disturbing read. The story is laced with strong language and sexual content, but Schreiber somehow manages to keep the mature themes relevant to the plot without going overboard. If you like your stories light and fluffy, by no means is the book for you. But if you are on the prowl for a horror story with depth, then No Doors, No Windows is right up your alley.

Review copy provided by Del Rey Books.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: July 2007

Reviewed by Tim George

There was a time when Riley Keep was a man of supreme confidence: minister, missionary, educator of New England’s finest. Then something terrible happened; he came face to face with his humanity and what he saw changed him. Now he returns home years later an abject failure, a ghost moving among the living.  By accident he catches his reflection in a mirror and he sees something far different: failed protector of an entire people, weakling of a husband, incompetent father, and drunkard.

Athol Dickson offers us the most unlikely, and to be honest, most unlikeable of heroes. Riley Keep has fallen so far that when he returns to his home town in Maine along with a dying homeless friend no one even recognizes him. Not the church people, not his former friends, and not even the mayor who just happens to be his ex-wife. Through an apparent accident Riley discovers something every person trapped by the demons of their personal sins would give anything to have, a magic bullet that would forever take away their addiction. Riley Keep has discovered The Cure.

What happens next is on one level a rousing suspense story and on another a parable of failure and despair.  It is the story of far away pagans and the pagan within us all. And in the end it is a story of ultimate hope. As always, Dickson’s characters are vivid, tragic, heroic, well-intentioned, and severely flawed. Even when Riley Keep gets his act together and appears to become a great success he is within himself a failure. In other words he is real. Perhaps this is why some found this story uncomfortable. Upon his return to his home town, Riley observes that people walk by him but never look into eyes, never see him. He guesses it is because they fear they see some of themselves. I think Riley Keep guesses right.

The Cure ends with these words: Riley was no longer dead; his ghostly days were over… here at last was something truly good to drink. The Cure is something truly good to drink.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: February 2010

Josh Olds’ Review:

If you asked any one of the members of the historic Baxter line, if they had any political luck, they’d rival the Kennedys in terms of legacy. But without that political clout, they’re just another wealthy New York family with a better sense of history than most. Graham Baxter, grandson of Sal Baxter, seems likely to turn that around if he can secure the Senate seat. Already a State senator, he and his family have their eyes on the spot in D.C. Like any political race, you grease the right hands you get the right results, right? Just so long as you keep all those skeletons in the closet.

Meanwhile, bestselling novelist CJ Baxter—Graham’s brother—is finding his life in Tennessee collapsing around him. A lawsuit over here, a divorce settlement there, and then he gets the phone call that his grandfather Sal is dying. And after 17 years of telling himself that he would never face his family again, he finds himself staring them face to face.

To say that there was bad blood between CJ and the rest of the Baxter clan would be a gross understatement. CJ’s novels, which he claims but can’t quite convince himself aren’t autobiographical, have never portrayed those characters that might be modeled on family in a good light. But there’s more. A haunting secret that CJ has lived with since childhood, and seeing his family has kindled his desire to uncover the truth.

But digging into the closets to find the skeletons of a Senator-to-be can be a dangerous business, even if that one is your brother—perhaps especially if that one is your brother, in CJ’s case. In Hunter’s Moon, Hoesel takes the reader on a suspenseful story of a powerful family and their horrible secrets.

Unlike many authors, Hoesel takes Hunter’s Moon and really takes time to lay the foundations for the deep and complex relational storyline. Sure, it’s a little slow at first—I wouldn’t classify this as your page-a-minute thriller—but once the foundations are laid, Hoesel sufficiently fleshes out the story. Perhaps most appealing to this book for me was Hoesel’s subtlety, which really required the reader to dig down and think about what had happened. The contrasts and changes in the characters of CJ and Graham really draw the reader into the story. Moreover, mostly due to Hoesel’s subtle methods, the plot twists are both major and hard to predict.

Hunter’s Moon is a great novel. It’s a little weighty, a book to read if you want to think. And yet the charms of small-town life and the thrills of high-stakes politics make it a compelling and page-turning read.

Tim George’s Review:

CJ Baxter has managed to forge a life for himself far from his home town of Adelia in Upstate New York and the dysfunctional family he left behind there. Though a successful novelist, CJ doesn’t feel much like a success. His marriage is on the rocks and he has begun to doubt his talent as a writer. And now news has come that his grandfather, the one relative he truly related to, has died. Now CJ returns to a family he hasn’t seen in years with nothing but his dog and a newfound faith in God that he hasn’t quite sorted out the details of yet. Matters are not made any easier by the fact that everyone in CJ’s family and town is sure his novels are autobiographical.

Hunter’s Moon is a suspense story in which the characters hold center stage. Those characters include: CJ’s mother, whose own divorce and sadness has changed her, in CJ’s words, from June Cleaver to a hard drinking, chain smoking woman he hardly recognizes; a stuttering, some say simple-minded friend from the past, who coincidentally won a ton of money in the state lottery; a father who has long since lost interest in being a father; the girl he should have asked to marry him now wed to his own cousin; and a brother whose political ambitions threaten to tear down the last vestiges of hope for the family and perhaps the town.

The spiritual insights in this story work their way out in a most natural and yet powerful way. The hero of the story struggles with the tension between grace and human responsibility. Ultimately he must learn what it means to forgive and be forgiven. And, like most of us, he has to learn these lessons the hard way. There are no canned answers in Hunter’s Moon, just really good questions.

Don Hoesel does a brilliant job of drawing us into one man’s realization that most secrets, especially family secrets, have a bad habit of resurrecting themselves at the most inopportune moments. And the secret CJ holds about his family may prove to be the death of him. Or, it may just hold the key to a freedom he has yet to discover.

Review copies provided by Bethany House Publishers.

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Summerside Press

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Paradise, Pennsylvania is a small town nestled in the heart of Amish country. It’s not a huge bustling metropolis but it’s not really what you would call a quaint gorgeous little town. It’s more like…oh wait. I’m supposed to review the book, not the town. See, I grew up in Pennsylvania so I’ve been to Paradise (the town) on more than one occasion. So when I got a copy of this book in the mail from Loree Lough, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I’ve read Loree’s work before and I’ve visited the town. That’s a perfectly matched partnership for expectations on this book. As is Loree’s expertise with people and the location in this book.

Julia is a beautiful young attorney whose family originally hailed from Paradise. Her life growing up was the furthest thing from ideal that you could imagine. Initially removed from her drug addicted parents and placed in care with her grandparents, Julia loved life in their beautiful home in Paradise. Then the government system stepped in, removed her from her grandparents and placed her in the foster care system.  When her grandparents passed away and left her their home and their land, at first she wasn’t interested. After a lot of wrestling with the decision, she moved back to Paradise and that’s where she met Simon.

Simon is a handsome young widower whose wife died very young. He was left broken hearted and determined never to love another woman again. The first time he meets Julia, those promises go out the window. He can’t stop the attraction he feels, but Julia is broken by her past and believes that she’s somehow tainted, so she keeps Simon at arm’s length.

Their story is rich and beautifully crafted. With good friends in the Amish community, the two characters give us a glimpse of what the ‘simple’ life is like. We learn about forgiveness amidst great tragedy and how a deep and real love can change you to your core. Loree’s writing cuts to the heart of topics that touch everyone. Acceptance, brokenness, inadequacy. She writes them all in such a way that helps clear the mind and lets the reader see some of these issues in a new way.

Loree Lough’s books are a breath of sunshine in a market that has trended toward heavy topics of late. (Not that this is a bad thing. I have several books that I’m looking forward to reading that would definitely be called heavy topics!) I recently told someone that Loree’s books are like mouthwash. They are easy to use and leave you feeling fresh and clean. If you’ve been wrapped in heavy books lately or would like a breath of fresh romance in your reading, give Loree’s books a chance. They’ll not only leave you with that fresh feeling I mentioned earlier, but the characters will wrap around your heart and meet you wherever you are.

Review copy provided by the author.

Molly Edwards (North Carolina)

Arlene Kniep (California)

Pam Williams (Colorado)

Kristi Coday (Oklahoma)

Maisha Walker (Maryland)

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Genre: Historical, Adventure

Publisher: Touchstone

Publication Date: July 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

The Elizabethan era of England is the backdrop for this stunning historical novel from Philippa Gregory. Gregory, famous for her book, The Other Boleyn Girl is an artist who can easily render history into a vivid three dimensional tale of intrigue and mystery. The Other Queen is no different.

Told from the perspective of three major characters, The Other Queen follows the story of Mary Queen of Scots as she and Elizabeth I face off over the throne of England. We get to experience the voice of Mary herself as well as that of George Talbot (The Earl of Shrewsbury) and his wife, Bess (of Hardwick). They have been charged by Queen Elizabeth to ‘host’ Mary during her time in England. Really, they’re elaborate jailers who are meant to keep her under watch and key. It’s a slippery slope to jail someone of royal blood. She must be kept in the manner to which a queen is accustomed without allowing her freedoms that could lead to an uprising. While her stay begins as a short term plan designed to last only until she’s returned to Scotland (and her throne), it turns into a long term stay that’s marred with intrigue, rebellion, danger, financial despair and marital difficulties.

As rebellion against Queen Elizabeth weaves in and out through various countries in Europe, this intrigue comes home to roost for the Earl and his wife in very real ways. The way that Gregory builds the plots and shows the loyalties of each character through the eyes of the others underscores the danger of the times in which these people lived. One couldn’t mention Queen Elizabeth in any way other than positively. Even the mention that she could die someday far off in the future is an act of treason. Simply being friends with the wrong person could mean your death. Implication in treason plots can be based on little evidence and much speculation. It certainly helps give us a better perspective of the freedoms we have in the United States today.

The story, though well known in history, comes to life under Gregory’s brilliant mastery of the written word. Not only do we learn the facts, but Gregory delves into the minds of each of the characters, bringing them to life in such a way that at times it’s almost painful to read. Beautifully crafted, this book gives thoughts and details that allow the reader to have an intimate understanding of the time period. Plotting and treason is part of seemingly every royal story of the time period, but showing the story through Bess and George’s eyes allow the reader to glimpse what the world for a ‘regular’ person might be. Bess’s vision of her husband becoming further and further entangled in a plot that he doesn’t even see is tragically on target and beautifully portrayed. Marriages made of convenience and prominence are shown in contrast to characters actually feeling overwhelming emotion and love.

Everyone knows who Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen was. Most people know who Mary Queen of Scots was.  Even with extensive research, very few people have a true understanding of what life at that time would have been like. With painstakingly detailed thought and precision, Gregory executes her tale with rich beauty and utter grace. I cannot wait to dive into The White Queen, Gregory’s next book, which is currently waiting for me. If you love historical fiction and have for some reason not previously read Gregory’s work, do yourself a favor and get one today. You’ll be very glad you did.

Review copy provided by Touchstone Publishers.

Genre: Historical, Adventure, Romance

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication Date: September 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Every time you open a book, it’s a chance for a new adventure. Limitless potential. For me, opening An Echo in the Bone meant that I would be visiting with old friends. I have been following Gabaldon’s Outlander series since book one and have since truly become friends with Claire, Jamie, Brianna, Roger, and a host of others that Gabaldon has created.  So when I opened the book, I was ready for adventure and Gabaldon did not disappoint.

Let me back up a little. Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser is a time traveler. In the first book of the series (Outlander) she inadvertently traveled from 1940’s England to Scotland of the 1700’s. She quickly discovered what life was like for a woman in that era. Being without the protection of a man was not a good thing and she ended up forced to marry a young man, Jamie Fraser, for just this purpose. Since she was a married woman when she traveled back, you can imagine she was pretty unhappy with this development. But hey, her husband of modern times wasn’t even close to being born yet so could she really be unfaithful? Besides that, the marriage was a life or death situation. Without it, she wouldn’t have survived. Claire had a background in medicine which added to her knowledge of history and made her an incredibly valuable resource. And this was the humble beginning of a back and forth time travel series that sent modern day women around the world swooning over men in kilts.

Now, where were we? Oh yes. An Echo in the Bone. Echo takes place mostly in the United States though it’s not quite united yet. Claire knows enough history to remember major events or people (like George Washington and Benedict Arnold), but not enough to guide her own path safely through every circumstance of the war. After all, there were hundreds and thousands of people involved in the revolution that didn’t end up with their names and cities in history books. Still, Claire remains a brilliant encyclopedia for Jamie to rely upon when meeting new people or visiting new places. It creates for a delicious state of tension when Claire finds herself delighted with a handsome young man of impeccable manners and realizes that she has not properly introduced herself. Imagine her state of being when he takes her hand and warmly introduces himself as Benedict Arnold and places himself at her service.

The book takes place in a variety of places that span from the continental states to Britain, France and Scotland. Gabaldon has also straddled the storytelling between the 1980’s and the 1700’s. This device gives the reader an interesting perspective as Claire’s daughter and son-in-law discover where she has been and what she’s been doing through historical documents and research. The tension builds through this device as we all know where Claire is at certain times and they are able to research history and discover how close she is to battles, disaster or danger.

If it were possible for me to review each and every page of this book I would. Having been a Gabaldon fan since the beginning, I had high expectations. Gabaldon not only met but exceeded what I could have imagined for this book. I found myself gasping out loud, giggling in places and enjoying the pace of the book.

Though there were moments when I felt like the story slowed down in pacing, it was still a breathtaking ride. I also stumbled once or twice in places with references to characters from previous books. I know that some of the suspense and drama was probably not as exciting as it could have been had I re-read the previous books before diving into this one.

Still, I couldn’t help myself. When the book arrived in the mail, I had a hard time putting it aside so I could finish other books. I loved the story and where Gabaldon has taken Jamie, Claire, Roger and Brianna. I’m also thrilled to say that with the ending, it looks like we can expect more adventures in the future. It should say something when you get to the end of a book that’s 800+ pages and you frantically turn to the back cover to find out when the next release is expected. I’ll be biding my time until we hear from Gabaldon again. For anyone who loves adventure, romance, time travel or historical fiction, Gabaldon’s entire Outlander series is a must read.

Review copy provided by Delacorte Press.

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Guideposts Books

Publication Date: February 1, 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Claire Prescott’s life is not, in any way, in an ideal position. She’s just lost her job and she’s unhappy with…well, pretty much everything. So when her sister can’t go abroad to Oxford for a Jane Austen symposium, Claire volunteers to go present her sister’s paper in her stead.

Upon arrival, it becomes even clearer that she not only doesn’t belong in this sort of venue, but that her life is really, well, underwhelming. When she meets a charming handsome man, instead of sharing her story, she crafts a far more interesting tale of what her life is like. Unfortunately, it’s not true. This obviously puts Claire in a really difficult position. Enter The Formidables. Or at least one that we’ve met before.

The Formidables are a secret society that Pattillo introduced in her previous novel, Jane Austen Ruined My Life. Once again, they come to the aid of an Austen lover. Through exploration of Austen’s own life and works, they’re able to open up a lot of possibilities and a greater understanding of life for Claire.

For anyone who knows about Jane Austen’s real life, both of these books are an eye opener. I enjoyed reading both of them and learning more about one of my favorite writers. If you’re a fringe Jane Austen fan and haven’t read a lot of her books or only enjoy the really popular ones (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility) Patillo’s work will still enlighten you and give you interesting information about Austen while partnering it with an interesting story.

Though I really enjoyed her first book, this one felt a little more like Pattillo was trying her hand at rewriting Austen’s work instead of giving it a fresh new look. At times as I was reading I found myself pulled from the story and wondering if this was merely a vehicle for her own Pride and Prejudice rewrite. (Everyone else has been doing it. Why not?) At the same time, Claire Prescott is a fun character that is easy to enjoy and understand. Her journey is a little fantastical every now and then, but the ending to the story is satisfying and enjoyable.

This is a fun afternoon or weekend read when you’d like to get away and dive into some Jane Austen without immersing yourself in Austen’s own work. It’s a fun retreat and feels a bit like your own personal vacation from reality. A sort of Jane Austen light, Pattillo’s work and characters stand well enough on their own, but they are made vibrant with the backdrop of Austen’s work and life as an accessory.

Review copy provided by Guideposts Books.

Genre: Historical, Adventure

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Publication date: February 17, 2009

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

John Boyne, who received international attention following the success of the movie based on his 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, turns in another excellent historical novel with Mutiny, a retelling of the infamous events onboard the HMS Bounty.

In December 1787, 14-year-old John Turnstile is caught stealing in a Portsmouth market.  Facing prison time, he eagerly accepts the offer made him by his generous victim, opting to escape not only jail but a horribly abusive living situation by serving as the captain’s boy onboard the Bounty, bound for the West Indies by way of the island paradise of Tahiti on a botanical mission. Once the voyage is underway, Turnstile discovers quickly that life at sea is no picnic as he braves the elements, observes ship politics, endures mistreatment by some of the crew, and undergoes a brutal line-crossing ceremony at the equator.

When the ship reaches Tahiti, the doomed mission’s clock begins to wind down as tensions between Captain William Bligh and Lieutenant Fletcher Christian escalate, finally resulting in mutiny. Bligh and his sympathizers, including Turnstile, are set adrift in a tiny open launch to attempt the miraculous: find their way back to England with no food, no water, and no navigational instruments besides a compass.

Fictional accounts of the Bounty story are nothing new, yet Boyne’s stands out. His skill in narrating the book from the first-person perspective of young Turnstile, his treatment of Captain Bligh as a flawed but deeply honorable man wronged by his treacherous crew, his wonderful descriptions of exotic settings, and his imaginative depictions of real-life events combine to set this book above its peers.

The book does contain a fair amount of strong language—though most of the offensive stuff is cleverly couched in eighteenth-century vernacular—and some inexplicit sexuality, but the objectionable content merely underscores the authenticity of the narrative. The story is formulaic at times, which is perhaps unsurprising given the fact that this is the kind of real-life adventure on which fiction formulas are based. The story goes fast and seems much shorter than its nearly 400 pages. The bottom line: adventure lovers will be swept away by Boyne’s Mutiny.

Review copy provided by Thomas Dunne Books.

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Publisher:  Ballantine

Publication Date:  November, 2007

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

The Amber Room provides those hungering for thrilling, cross-continent adventure with plenty.  There is intrigue, murder, and yes, a bit of sex as trial court judge Rachel Cutler and her ex-husband Paul search for the highly evasive and mysterious Amber Room, a room of artfully crafted amber panels created in the early 1700s in what was then Prussia.  The room was deconstructed and the panels were looted, and subsequently lost, during World War II.  Rachel’s father Karol Borya was a POW in World War II and saw things that led to the possible re-discovery of the Amber Room.  Unfortunately, early in the story, he is killed because of that knowledge.  Headstrong Rachel, in an attempt to put to rest this fascinating story, heads to Germany to search in places only her father and his comrade knew might contain the Amber Room.  Paul goes off to help her and tries to protect her from art “acquisitioners,” and, more importantly, from herself.  Along the way they learn powerful secrets and experience more violence than they ever expect.

It’s obvious from reading this novel that Berry did a lot of research on the sough-after Amber Room.  He brings the story of it from inception to creation to eventual destruction to life in great detail and includes fun anecdotes that most people never know.  In fact, after reading the story, I was intrigued and did more research on my own.  If Berry had not portrayed this great historical piece of art in such a fascinating way, I probably would not have cared.  The interesting details he gives are amazing.

That being said, the story itself is interesting, but not gripping.  The characters are your typical “headstrong woman goes off in a huff and love interest chases after her then they find mutual love and respect,” without a lot of development.  The sights in Europe are described well and brought to life, but that could be done in a good travel guide.  The “bad guys” are interesting, but predictable.  Overall, it’s a good thing Berry does so well telling the Amber Room’s story because the characters and storyline don’t do much to enhance it.

Cautions: there are a lot of gruesome murders in this story, complete with graphic descriptions of them.  If the reader has a weak stomach, this book might not be a good fit.  In addition, one of the characters in particular has a very foul mouth.  He drops the “F-bomb” throughout the story, so caution should be used when recommending this book to younger readers.  The same goes for sexual situations.  There are not a lot of sex scenes, but there are a lot of sexually explicit conversations and innuendos.  If a reader is OK with graphic violence, foul language, and sexually explicit scenes, he or she will be fine.  Otherwise, because there is so much of all, I suggest the potential reader skip this book.

You can read Lori’s review of The Pastor’s Wife here.

More about Jennifer:

As a child, Jennifer AlLee lived above a mortuary in the heart of Hollywood, California, which may explain her unique outlook on life. Her publishing credits include The Love of His Brother, a contemporary romance from Five Star Publishing (November 2007) as well as skits, activity pages, and over one hundred contributions to Concordia Publishing House’s popular My Devotions series. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, releases February 1, 2010 from Abingdon Press. She’s an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and serves as the Nevada Area Coordinator. Jennifer resides in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and teenage son. Visit her website at http://www.jenniferallee.com/

This interview can also be downloaded from iTunes (recommended for best quality).

Genre: Romance, Religious

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Publication Date: February 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

When Maura Sullivan left the small town of Granger, Ohio, she didn’t plan to ever return. You see when Maura left town, she also left her husband, Nick. As sad as this is, we all know that this happens often in today’s society. What makes Maura’s story different is that Nick is also a beloved pastor in this small town. Throw in a well intentioned woman who leaves both Nick and Maura some very special things in her will and you have a very sticky situation with some interesting ramifications.

Everything in Maura’s life has gone south since leaving Granger and she is anxious to do what she needs to do and leave the town and its people behind once again. The last person she wants to see is Nick, so imagine her feelings when she ends up sharing an elevator with him at the attorney’s office building. Things get even worse when she discovers that in order to receive the bequest from the will, she’s going to need to live with Nick in the parsonage for six months. Really?!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book. This subject could easily be overbearing and preachy and I admit that I feared the worst. Imagine my delight when I opened this book and found myself so deeply involved in it that I carried the book everywhere with me. This story completely entranced me. It drew me in with a compassion and interest that made me feel like these were people I know.  The writing shows a keen insight and understanding of what people go through as they live their Christian walk every day. AlLee addresses the hurt that comes from separation and divorce without ever preaching or judging. She moves deftly and with great beauty through the thought process of characters confronting sins of their past and mistakes of the present as they stretch through a sometimes painful maturing process.

The storyline could easily feel trite and contrived, but AlLee diffuses this by having Maura voice the same feelings herself. The disbelief, questions and concerns that a reader might have, all get addressed through the storyline and plot, helping to make the story more believable and real.

Many Christian books, especially stories about divorce or contemporary life, have a tendency to be heavy handed and preachy. The characters can sometimes speak some sort of Christian-ese language that doesn’t flow well with what believers live and speak daily. This book not only does not suffer from that problem, it flows with realism and understanding. The struggles are relatable. The language is honest. The writing is simple and beautiful. Several times as I was reading, I wanted to find Maura or Nick and give them a hug. This was a simple, beautiful story of love interrupted, found, and built again. This book would be a wonderful gift for a pastor’s wife, a newlywed, a seasoned wife… You know actually, just forget the list. This book is a beautiful read no matter who you are.

To enter send an email to contest@fictionaddict.com with the following info:

1. Your Name

2. Your mailing address (where you want the book sent).

3. Tell us how you found out about the contest.

This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Winners will be picked at random and notified by email. We’ll also post the winners on our homepage on January 25th. Entries received after 11:59pm on January 24th will NOT be eligible.

Don’t miss Lori Twichell’s review of The Pastor’s Wife and check out our interview with Jennifer AlLee!

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Morrow

Publication Date:  1970

Reviewed by Jennifer S. Roman

Dr. Judd Stevens is one of the most popular and sought-after psychiatrists in New York City.  He has many friends and wonderful colleagues.  All of that changes the day his secretary, Carol, is brutally murdered in the office.  The next day, a client is murdered.  Dr. Stevens tries to work with the police (including a cop who doesn’t seem to like him), to solve these murders, when he realizes that the murderer is actually after him.  Convinced that the police don’t like him and therefore don’t believe him, Dr. Stevens proceeds to investigate the situation on his own.  Dr. Stevens is forced to use psychological profiling in order to discover the identity of the murderer.

Written 40 years ago, the book still packs a punch.  It doesn’t contain as much of the violence and “creative” killing seen so frequently today, but it is one of the first to explore psychological profiling.  It moves quickly and is an easy read.  The characters are well-developed and are likeable.  The story situation immediately grabs the reader and makes the reader want to find out “whodunit.”  Some may be surprised to find out it is not exactly who they expect, and that is part of the fun.

There is minimal sex and swearing.  There is some graphic violence, but not nearly as bad as one reads today.  Since the story is 40 years old, it is nice to go back memory lane to see what the norms and mores were at the time.  Some may call it quaint, but in my opinion it is simply fun.  Overall, it’s worth the read for a good story and a little nostalgia.

Genre: Suspense, Thriller

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication date: October 13, 2009

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

Daniel Judson continues his series of standalone cerebral thrillers set in the Hamptons with The Violet Hour, a tense yet thoughtful tale of murder, betrayal, and sacrificial love.

Caleb (“Cal”) Rakowski is an auto mechanic working for cash at a friend’s illegal but lucrative garage in Bridgehampton. He lives inexpensively in a sparse apartment on the garage’s second floor, drives an unregistered motorcycle, and does his best to stay under the radar and out of people’s way. The problem is, his beautiful and pregnant older cousin Heather, recently estranged from her powerful and abusive husband, is secretly staying with him. When Heather gets word that her missing half-sister has been spotted at a party on nearby Shelter Island, Cal volunteers to go pick her up, little realizing that his simple act of charity will prove to be the undoing of his previously simple existence. Because Heather’s husband isn’t the only dangerous man in the Hamptons—and Cal is about to be caught up in a plot so twisted, he won’t know where to turn or whom to trust. And he’ll be lucky to escape with his life.

The Violet Hour is a location thriller, but it’s much more than the stereotypical story set in the author’s hometown. For one thing, Judson doesn’t live in the Hamptons (though he used to). For another thing, the book’s dark, gothic feel coupled with unexpectedly rich characterizations, intensely realistic dialog, and eerie, suspenseful scenes set in wonderfully creepy locations render it a literary triumph that easily transcends so-called “local fiction.” Judson is an author to take seriously.

The action takes place over three days—Mischief Night, Halloween, and the Day of the Dead—and unfolds almost in real time, adding a sense of urgency to the drama. Some of the villains might be a tad overdone (a codependent assassin who derives her self-worth from her handler, for example), but in the end whatever minor negatives exist are easily and decisively marginalized by the book’s strengths. Be prepared for a few descriptions of rather gruesome violence, but mostly be prepared to see a side of the Hamptons you never imagined existed.

Review copy provided by Minotaur Books.

Genre: Military Thriller

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication date: June 30, 2009

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

Brad Thor’s eighth novel featuring special-forces hero Scot Harvath provides decent entertainment value along with an in-depth and realistic look at the conditions U.S. troops face in Afghanistan, but it is plagued by a flawed premise and lackluster writing.

When the daughter of a wealthy presidential supporter is kidnapped in Afghanistan, Scot Harvath is called upon to comply with the ransom demands by breaking a captured terrorist out of prison. Unwilling to compromise his patriotic principles by aiding the enemy, even under orders from the commander in chief, Harvath assembles a team to help him carry out a revised mission—free the terrorist, but instead of exchanging him for the American hostage, use him to ascertain where she is being held, then free her and return the terrorist to the Afghan authorities. True to form, Harvath is determined to right a wrong and save the day while upholding the fundamentals of conservative American foreign policy.

As a military adventure story, the book mostly succeeds. Thor is good at writing exciting action scenes, and the book is for the most part fun and easy to read. The problem is that in trying to manufacture a believable reason why the U.S. president would so blatantly misuse his office’s authority by ordering a terrorist freed in exchange for the life of a political ally’s child, the story becomes overcomplicated. By the time the reader has made it through the background investigation by a Secret Service agent into events that politically indebted the president to the hostage’s mother, the story is all but finished, rendering the background basically moot and the tidy conclusion ultimately unsatisfying. The book would have been better had it focused on a simple search-and-rescue operation. Of course, then there might not have been reason enough for Scot Harvath to rise to the challenge in the first place.

Thor actually traveled to Afghanistan and was embedded with a military unit as part of his research for writing The Apostle, which lends a degree of authenticity to the characters’ experiences. One tidbit that stands out is the acronym TIA—“This Is Afghanistan”—used to explain seemingly incomprehensible differences between American and Afghan sensibilities.

Unfortunately, the book’s positives are balanced, if not outweighed, by the negatives. Lack of character depth and the plot’s over complexity significantly detract from the well-researched story and genuinely suspenseful military action scenes. In the end, The Apostle serves as an example of what could have been a timely, compelling book held to mediocrity by a few avoidable flaws.

Review copy provided by Atria Books.

Publisher: Jove

Publication Date: January 26, 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Audrianna Kelmsleigh has a problem. Her father, embroiled in scandal, has just committed suicide. Audrianna is convinced that he was innocent and though he’s dead, she’s determined to clear his name. Not only will it fix his reputation, but it will also reopen the door to polite society for her family.

With a fierce determination that matches her beauty, Audrianna plunges herself headfirst into the intrigue and danger that led to her father’s death. Against all better judgment, she leaves herself in an unguarded position with a man that she thinks knows more about the trumped up charges against her father only to find that not only is he not the man that she thought he was, but he’s also investigating the same mystery.

When Lord Sebastian Summerhays meets Audrianna, he has no idea why the man he was supposed to meet is a woman. Not only is she a woman, but a young beautiful, albeit naïve woman. Though known far and wide for being a rogue who romances women wherever he goes, Summerhays soon realizes that Audrianna is far more than just beautiful. She’s captured his heart. Adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance soon ensue.

If romance and passion are what you want in your reading, then Madeline Hunter should be in your reading list and Ravishing in Red belongs at the top. Hunter takes the classic stories of strong independent women and partners them with the brave handsome rogues that they tame. The characters are fresh and exciting as we follow Audrianna’s journey to discover whether or not her father truly committed treason. As she grows deeper into life with Summerhays and his family, she discovers that the mystery affects far more than just her own family. She begins to learn more about his motivations.

With a clever and sometimes heart wrenching mystery wrapped around the two lovers, Ravishing in Red brings new life to the romance genre.  This book does have adult situations and descriptions and the passion is not lacking in description, so be ready when you read it. But if you’re looking for something to take you away from bills, stress and hassles, give it a try.

Review copy provided by Jove Publishing.

You can read Jake’s review of Every Breath You Take here.

More about Travis Thrasher:

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

This quote from Stephen King’s novella, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, sums up the goal of every single one of Travis Thrasher’s novels: providing hope. As the novelist of twelve works of fiction, Travis has spent a decade fighting against being typecast and labeled.

“It’s a natural thing for novelists to be put into a box,” Travis says. “My goal has always been to tell stories about flawed characters who find redemption, whether it’s in a love story or a supernatural thriller.”

Having lived in places as diverse as Munich, Germany, and Sydney, Australia, during his youth, Travis moved to the Chicago area during his junior year of high school. That’s where he has remained.

After graduating from Trinity Christian College, Travis landed a job at Tyndale House Publishers as Author Relations Manager. He worked for over a decade in that position, acting as liaison between the publisher and the authors. But writing always came first, and Travis was fortunate to have his first novel published in 2000. It was THE PROMISE REMAINS, a sweet love story in the vein of Nicholas Sparks.

“I wrote six or seven dark, ambitious novels that went nowhere,” Travis says. “It was only after writing a simple love story about unrequited love that I got my first break.”

Getting that first book published was a dream come true, but Travis always saw himself having multiple books in print. Travis’s drive and imagination have allowed him to see a variety of books published: from love stories (THE WATERMARK; THREE ROADS HOME) to suspense (GUN LAKE; ADMISSION; BLINDED) to drama (THE SECOND THIEF; SKY BLUE) to supernatural thrillers (ISOLATION; GHOSTWRITER).

“I tell people this is not the way to build a writing career, but I’m thankful I’ve been able to build mine the way I wanted to. I want to entertain and surprise readers, and to continue to build a readership that will take journeys with me, whether they’re going to 1929 Brazil or current day Geneva, Illinois.”

2010 will mark a decade of publishing for Travis. It will also be a significant year with the release of BROKEN by Faithwords in May and SOLITARY by Cook in August.

“I’m excited about these two upcoming stories that will surely surprise and move readers,” Travis says. “BROKEN is about a young woman who is just that—broken and bruised by this world. SOLITARY is the first in a teen series that combines a love story with the supernatural. Both are powerful stories.”

His goal continues to be to tell powerful and moving stories that will reach fiction readers of all types. As a fulltime novelist for over two years, Travis feels he’s still just warming up.

“There are things I learn about the writing process and about myself with every novel. I believe my best stories are still in front of me, waiting to be discovered like a buried treasure. I’m thankful that I’m able to dig a little more every day.”

Travis lives with his wife and three-year-old daughter in a suburb of Chicago.

This interview can also be downloaded via iTunes (recommended for best quality).

Genre: Romance, Supernatural

Publisher: Lucas Lane

Publication Date: December 2009

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Kayla Rowe is getting married. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, she is having trouble fully embracing the moment. Her first love, Billy, has suddenly come back into her life and Kayla can’t escape the intense feelings between the two that seemingly never left. What they shared was often unstable and surprising, yet always full of passion and longing, the kind of love Kayla had never felt before. The problem with Billy was that he reminded Kayla too much of what her father must have been like. She lost him when she was only two, but as the big day approaches she wishes more than anything that he could be there to give her away. Being around Billy again has brought out all of those old emotions leaving Kayla more confused than ever.

Thomas Rowe loved to dance with his baby girl. His time with her was short, only two years, but even in heaven he remembers those precious moments. He is overwhelmed when he is suddenly presented with an opportunity he can’t refuse. He can return to earth and dance with his daughter on her wedding day. The only catch? She won’t know it’s him and he must make sure she marries the right man. This is everything Thomas has dreamed of, ever since he first held Kayla in his arms. He only hopes he has enough time…

Travis Thrasher has carved out a nice little niche for himself in recent years as a supernatural thriller writer. With Every Breath You Take he goes back to his roots and gives readers a powerful love story with a supernatural twist that will sit with you long after the final page. This is first and foremost a love story that Thrasher has written to his daughter. Indeed, the relationship between Thomas and Kayla is beautifully crafted and I challenge any father not to shed a tear or two as they think about their own little girl while reading this story.

Thrasher uses his love of music to cleverly carry this narrative. The novel is broken up into six parts, each part bearing the name of an album from Coldplay or The Police. In each part, the chapter names are taken from songs from the corresponding album. In lesser hands this approach might come across as gimmicky, but I found myself constantly scrolling through my iPod to see how each song fit with the story. The characters’ love of music added a whole new depth of emotion to the story, drawing me effortlessly into the pages.

In the end I was knocked off my feet by the unexpected, only to be reeled back in by the powerful message that comes surging through. Every element of this story worked for me, and I’m shocked that a publishing house didn’t pick this up. While Thrasher is more than content with this being a special little project, I can’t help but wonder about the potential of this story if placed in some influential hands. Whether Every Breath You Take eventually takes the publishing world by storm or it always remains a fan collector’s item, I’ll be forever grateful that I took this journey with Kayla, Billy, and Thomas.

NOTE: Currently this novel can only be purchased directly from the author. To order your copy click here. If you want to read Travis Thrasher’s account of why he chose to self-publish this story, you can check out his blog. You can also hear Travis talk about the story behind this novel in our recent interview with him.

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Dutton

Released: October 2009

Reviewed by Jonathan Schindler

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1897, is a staple in the horror genre. It shows surprising restraint for a horror novel, with the bulk of the action and violence taking place “off-stage” and with letters, telegrams, journal entries, and public documents mitigating the gore and narrating the action. Dracula: The Un-Dead, the authorized sequel by Bram’s great-grandnephew Dacre Stoker and screenwriter Ian Holt, deviates from Bram’s novel, chronicling in gory detail the trail of violence that naturally follows in the wake of a vampire. Unfortunately, it breaks from Bram’s novel in more than just storytelling method and provides a revisionist account that falls far short of what it seeks to revise.

Dracula: The Un-Dead takes place twenty-five years after Bram Stoker’s Dracula ended. When we last saw the “band of heroes,” they watched as Dracula went up in smoke, thus ending their adventure together. When we find them at the start of Dracula: The Un-Dead, they all in some way bear the mark of their encounter with the enemy, and doubt is cast on their status as heroes. Dr. Seward is dismissed as a madman and a morphine addict. Jonathan Harker is an alcoholic. Arthur Holmwood has withdrawn into his persona as Lord Godalming. Dr. Van Helsing is pursued as a possible Jack the Ripper. Mina Harker, affected by Dracula’s bite, hasn’t aged a day since his death.

Things don’t look good in the heroes’ personal lives, but something far worse begins to happen. One by one, they are hunted down in a manner befitting Dracula. Has their old foe returned for revenge? Or is there a new evil bent on their destruction? And this isn’t their only worry. Young Quincey Harker, Jonathan and Mina’s son, has run away from home to pursue his dream as an actor, under the tutelage of the mysterious Romanian actor Basarab, and he finds himself entangled in a production that hits a little close to home—Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The plot of Dracula: The Un-Dead seems to be interesting and clever enough. It seeks to be historical, drawing in details from Bram Stoker’s life (Bram appears as a character in the book), the Jack the Ripper murders, the sailing of the Titanic, and other timely events. But while its setting may be historical, imported into this gothic environment are all kinds of modern ideas and sensibilities. It’s like the Jonas Brothers showing up in a period piece. Even if they’re wearing period garb, you know they don’t belong.

Most egregious of these snuck-in modern sensibilities is the antagonistic stance the novel takes toward Christianity (and not just the evil character at the center of the book). Each character who claims Christian status, no matter how minor, is deconstructed and cast aside. While such deconstruction may be merited if the stereotype is further explored, Stoker and Holt seem content using stock characters and images. In Bram’s original story, the only symbols able to overcome Dracula were those of Christianity. In Dracula: The Un-Dead, Christian symbols are no longer effective and Jack Seward even dangles the symbols of every religion known to man to try to ward off his foe, which seems to reflect a modern pluralism rather than Bram’s original Gothic setting. The dialogue in many places also seems anachronistic, including bits recorded almost verbatim from soap operas and Star Wars.

In addition to the wrong “feel” of the book, I was also almost offended on behalf of Bram Stoker. That this sequel was given the Stoker family’s imprimatur is baffling, considering how far it goes to reject Bram’s original vision and the unflattering picture it paints of Bram himself. Bram is a cowardly, bitter hack, who copies down what he overhears at a pub. He is sniveling and controlling, and one is almost glad when he is removed from the book. The revisions made for this sequel are justified on the basis of the “inconsistencies” in Bram’s original account. However, the revisions completely set aside the original book, not just those sections deemed inconsistent. It’s as if the sequel guts Bram’s book, taking only what it likes (vampires, gore, and Freudian innuendo) and casts everything else off as worthless. The new picture of Dracula painted by this sequel is nowhere near Bram’s Dracula. Instead of being an evil force that deserves to be hunted and killed, the perpetual damned incapable of good, Dracula is recast as a brooding lover—the Heathcliff/Mr. Darcy/Edward Cullen type—who pines for his lost Mina and is practically sainted by book’s end. (This, however, fails to take into account Jonathan Harker’s terror-stricken journal that begins Dracula, unless this, too, is to be attributed to Bram’s incoherent ravings.) Dracula: The Un-Dead is also far more graphic than the original, both sexually and violently. That Bram achieved an atmosphere of terror with far less of this is to his credit.

Dracula: The Un-Dead is billed as a sequel but is more of an entirely new account. While the premise and the way the accounts are woven together are novel and clever, fans of the original are better served by rereading Bram’s version. It’s shorter, better, and far scarier.

Genre: Literary, Historical Fiction

Publisher: New American Library

Publication Date: May 2009

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

Pasha, a teenager in 1970s Iran, falls in love with Zari, the girl next door who happens to be betrothed to Doctor, a counterculture philosopher and a friend of Pasha’s. When Pasha accidentally reveals Doctor’s hiding place to the Shah’s secret police, Pasha feels racked by guilt. As he and his friends grieve, they grow to hate the secret police even more. Then, on the day of the Shah’s birthday, Zari makes a drastic choice born of this grief that thrusts the group of friends apart.

In Rooftops of Tehran, Mahbod Seraji attempts to take the reader into the world of a turbulent region but ultimately falls short. The reader expects to be transported to another culture—to smell, feel, taste, hear Iran—and instead remains in his living room watching wooden characters being puppeted through the action. Seraji violates “show, don’t tell,” the mantra of great writers, with his explanations and adverbs. He steps outside of the story to paint a setting instead of interweaving it into the book and he has Pasha, as narrator, explore lengthy tangents from a melodramatic point-of-view.

Portions of the plotline ring false and feel unfounded, while teen angst seems to dominate the narrative. While a measure of this is acceptable in a coming-of-age tale, it’s monotonous to bemoan heartbrokenness, the cruelty of God or the pain in one’s soul in each chapter.

Rooftops of Tehran offers a golden opportunity to present a truly unique culture and worldview but falls far short of the sweeping drama promised by the book’s cover copy. The Reader’s Guide in the back is far more interesting as it reveals his personal journey and experiences. Seraji shines in his discussion there and may be better suited to writing memoir.

Review copy provided by New American Library publishers.

Genre: Drama

Publisher: Algonquin

Publication date: November, 2009

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

Dr. Pete Dizinoff and his wife live a comfortable life in the suburbs of New Jersey.  He is an internist with a good practice and she teaches English at the local college.  Their dearest friends, Joe and Iris Stern, have been friends with them since college.

The story begins with Dr. Pete looking at his family from outside the house.  He has been banished from the home and is now living in the studio apartment above the garage—the studio apartment that used to belong to his son Alec.  Why he is thrown out of the house is not known, but it’s up to the reader to discover his transgressions.  Dr. Pete recounts how he and his wife and the Sterns used to go on vacations every year, how they celebrated holidays together, and how they just generally grew up together.  He then explains how the Sterns and he survive the tragedy caused by the Sterns’ daughter Laura.  It turns out that she gets pregnant as a teen but hides it from her family.  She delivers in a public restroom, and the baby dies.  All of this becomes the talk of the town when the baby’s body is found in a Dumpster, and Laura is charged with killing the baby after it was born.  Dr. Pete then fast-forwards a few years to after Laura is released from a mental institution (her punishment for killing the baby) and is back with her family.  Even though she is considerably older than he is, Alec is taken with Laura and spends every waking moment with her.  This leads to Dr. Pete’s downfall and subsequent estrangement from his family.

This book was rather tedious with more details and information than needed.  As I read the story I kept wondering what one thing had to do with another.  Usually the “daily activities” in life of a character are interesting, but these ones were not.  I was also challenged by cultural differences because I struggled to understand Jewish references. There are many cultural activities, vocabulary, and observances that are not familiar to me.  Knowing Jewish culture and vocabulary would be a big help.

There is a smattering of profanity throughout the book, but what I mostly caution about is the death of a baby.  For those sensitive to such issues, I strongly caution them about several scenes in the story.  There’s not necessarily blood and gore violence, but there are some sensitive scenes.  Readers with an aversion to violence against a baby should seriously consider not reading A Friend of the Family.

Overall, the story was tedious and didn’t really make me want to find out what happened.  As I read, I mostly was concerned with just getting through the story.  Maybe others will feel differently, but as I read, I just wanted the book to be done.

Review copy provided by Algonquin Publishers.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Tyndale House

Publication Date: May 2002

Reviewed by Tim George

They Shall See God begins with one man breathing the air of freedom for the first time in 25 years as he walks away from Louisiana’s infamous State Penitentiary at Angola. But from the moment we are introduced to Solomon Cantor it is obvious neither he nor any of those in the orbit of his life are truly free. Two girls, Katy and Ruth, though both reasonably successful, still live behind the invisible bars of fear and distrust. Sol’s wife, now a prosperous real estate agent, is a virtual prisoner to the good name she has forged for herself in New Orleans’ Garden District. And one twisted soul stalks them all; on a mission he believes to be from God. His goal, to exact retribution in a way that will shock a city that rarely notices anything.

At the center of this story are Katy O’Connor and Ruth Gold. Their childhood friendship was abruptly ended on the day their testimony helped send Sol Cantor away to Angola. Now, 25 years later, their lives are thrown back together by Sol’s release and a spate of bizarre murders in the city they never left. So much has changed in that quarter century. Katy is now a lonely widow doing her best to raise two children and keep her late husband’s business afloat. Ruth is a Reformed Jewish Rabbi with a simmering anger she does not understand. Together they have many lessons to learn about suspicion, prejudice, and the greatest enemy of all – the dark corners of their own hearts.

They Shall See God, like all of Dickson’s works, has too many layers to allow it to be pigeonholed. It is suspense of the first-rate variety. The characters are three dimensional with both good and not-so-good qualities. The plot is superbly paced. The dialogue is crisp and believable. Beneath all of these layers is the foundation of a powerful parable. Just as you label the story’s villain evil and pathetic, you realize there is some of that dark killer in all of us. And the villain’s end should serve as a warning to all where the path of hatred ultimately leads.

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy, Young Adult

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: November 2009

Reviewed by Kaci Hill

I have a confession. I picked up The Curse of the Spider King without knowing what it was supposed to be about or having read anything by either of its authors. My ARC copy has no back cover description, either. In fact, it includes a handwritten note letting me know it wasn’t the final version and errors were already in correction. But that title just sounds like it’s going to be amazing, so I requested it. Like several I’ve reviewed lately, both Hopper and Batson were suggested to me by other authors whose works I am familiar with. Besides, where in the world is the adventure if I know exactly what to expect?

At any rate, the story fixed its hooks in me from page one, with a group of Elven Sentinels (an elite class soldier) heading through a portal into Earth to retrieve several missing persons after, in Allyra time, eight hundred years of searching. The problem, I soon discover, is twofold: these seven missing thirteen year olds (Earth time) don’t know they’re missing, and the enemy assassins sent to kill them are also closing in.

Two dimensions, two basic storylines. The kids’ stories are simply about their lives, turning thirteen, discovering they’re from another world and have incredible power. They’re each given a book of their own history—a book that comes alive (literally) as they read it. And in their readings we learn how seven Elflings came to be lost on Earth. That is, they learned the story of the Elves. In some ways, however, I felt the story really belonged to the Sentinels searching for them, largely because the kids really don’t know what’s going on for so long, and they join the battle pretty deep into it. Moreover, despite the large cast, for the most part I had no trouble enjoying the characters and keeping up with plot. I confess a couple times I had to flip back, but this was only once or twice.

The themes largely involve the intricate nature of the past and present. I read one review (remember, I read reviews after I read the book) that suggested it was a coming-of-age story, but I must respectfully disagree, for the aforementioned reasons. The book has several strong themes and resists any temptation to beat the reader to death with them, and some of that I fully expect to cross over into book two, Venom and Song.

One small thing regarding a particular review: I read one from a woman  who said she thought a boy would enjoy it better due to the action sequences, and I read a couple who thought adults wouldn’t enjoy it as much or relate to the characters as well. Please note, I am a twenty-six year old female, and I find such assessments poppycock. The story and characters were both engaging. In fact, the only other thing I could find to comment on was, really, that the ending of the story snuck up on me: I wasn’t quite expecting it to end where it did, but, with the primary goal of the story accomplished, that was where it needed to end. It actually reinforced, in my mind, the idea that it’s really about the Sentinels bringing the children home, not simply the children learning they’re Elves in a ‘coming of age’ fashion. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to Venom and Song, a bit anxiously, at that.

Review copy provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Publisher: Penguin

Publication date: January, 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

Tami Hoag is known for her suspenseful novels that have plenty of twists and turns before the final reveal, and Deeper than the Dead is no exception.  In a sleepy California town in October of 1985, several children cut through a park on their way home from school.  One ends up tumbling down a hill and lands smack on a body of a young woman.  Her eyes and mouth are glued shut and her eardrums are pierced, possibly in reference to, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”  The students’ teacher hears the commotion and rushes out to console them.  From that moment on, she is involved in a murder investigation that eventually threatens her life.  In the meantime, several students’ home lives are exposed as less than perfect and townspeople’s personal lives are made public.  What makes the investigation interesting is that since it is set in 1985, there is no access to high-tech devices and processes, even fingerprint databases.  Imagine being a police department and barely having a fax machine.  There is not a computer at each investigator’s desk; in fact, using a computer requires a wait for long stretches of time.  The police have to rely on phone calls and favors from officers in other locales.  Psychological profiling is just beginning, and many still don’t put credence in it.

Never once did I get the feeling that the story was lagging.  I was constantly on the edge of my seat, ready to turn the page, trying to get to the bottom of the investigation.  I was entertained, and best of all, my mind was engaged as I tried to figure out who could have committed the crime.  I loved that things kept moving at a good pace and just as the resolution seemed imminent, something else happened.  Nothing was as it seemed.

While this novel is highly entertaining and fast-paced, there are several grisly scenes that may upset some readers.  One woman is kidnapped and held hostage, but she is severely injured while she is held captive.  There are some very upsetting things that happen to her, and a subsequent victim, that are uncomfortable.  I know many times when I was reading a description of the torture, I had to clench my hands and take a minute to settle myself.  I was especially unnerved by another situation in which a young boy pulls a finger off the corpse and tries to shove it into another student’s mouth.  While these things may happen in real life scenarios, it is still difficult to read some of it.  In addition, there are a couple of people who are mentally unstable, and it is difficult reading some of the things they say and do.  For those who are easily unnerved, this book may not be for them.

Overall, if a reader is interested in a fast-paced, murder-mystery and can tolerate some psychological and physical torture, this is a good read.

Review copy provided by Penguin Publishers.

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Mira

Publication date: May, 2009

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

Debbie Macomber brings back her beloved characters in Summer on Blossom Street.  Its usual residents, Anne Marie, Lydia, and Alix and their friends once again face trying personal issues: Lydia tries to deal with her mother’s memory loss and a difficult foster child; Anne Marie meets someone from her newly adopted daughter’s past; and Alix needs to stop smoking so she and her husband can have a baby.  Lydia decides to create a “Knit to Quit” class so people can substitute their vices for knitting.  In addition to the regular group, Macomber introduces some new people in the class: Phoebe, who is trying to get over her philandering ex-fiancé; and Bryan, an executive trying to bring calm into his life through knitting.  Of course the group has its usual challenges, but together they offer each other support, a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and solutions to problems.  Regular readers will get their usual “happy ending,” of sorts; there are some complications to the situations but Macomber gives creative and interesting ways of dealing with their life’s challenges.

Macomber demonstrates again why she is a best-selling author; she makes an easy-to-read dialogue that’s entertaining and thought-provoking.  Her writing presents situations that her readers can easily empathize with and understand.  Oftentimes, her readers have similar situations of their own.  Macomber’s best trait is that she reaches into a reader’s heart and makes her feel as though she is part of the situation.  She manages to tell a story without using profanity or explicit sex.  All in all, Macomber creates an engaging story that keeps readers interested up until the wrapped up, happy end.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Tyndale

Publication Date: August 2009

Reviewed by Josh Olds

A coded email. A mysterious phone call. A sinister plot. A powerful cult. James Pence wastes no time throwing the reader into an intense and fast-paced story of redemption and hope. Thomas Kent had lost it all—all that really mattered anyway. His own family had been killed and he had been powerless to stop it. He had little in life to live for until one phone message changed his life. Save…the…children.

Thomas embarks on a mission that will pit him against a powerful cult whose sins are threatened to be unveiled by the children he must now protect. And there’s no choosing not to protect the children. A trained killer is already beating down the door of his cabin.

He can’t trust anybody, only God, but he and God haven’t been on speaking terms since the accident that stole his family away. Now he’s going to have to put his life back together while on the run, and in the end, Thomas must rely on the God who seemed to forsake him.

A powerful story of hope, Blind Sight takes what could have sounded ridiculous or cliché—a cult attempting to take over the world and killing those who stand in its way—and makes it sound all too plausible. From Thomas’s redemption from his broken past, to the new life brought from escaping the cult, the action rarely lets up, resulting in a great and heartfelt story.

Perhaps even more powerful is the true story connected with this fictional novel. On March 1, 2008, armed men broke into Terry Caffey’s home and killed his wife and two young sons. Terry was shot and left for dead, as the men set fire to the house. Terry’s only surviving family member, his daughter, would later be implicated in the crime. In one night, Terry had lost his entire family.

Six weeks later, as Terry stood looking at the remains of his house and thinking about the loss of his family, he noticed a scrap of paper on a nearby tree. That scrap of paper happened to be a page of Blind Sight. The page that survived recounted Thomas’s struggle with God as he too had lost his family. That single portion of a page, the lone remnant from a destroyed home, was enough for Terry to look through his pain. Terry now travels the country giving his testimony, carrying that scrap of paper with him. His story is recounted in a non-fiction title, Terror by Night.

Whether in real life or in story, this novel is a powerful testament to the sovereignty and tender mercies of God.

Review copy provided by Tyndale House Publishers.

Genre: Adventure, Religious

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Christy Williams is determined to make a change for the better in her life. She’s had a long rough road to travel, but she’s done with making mistakes. And thus begins a sometimes painful yet overwhelmingly beautiful story of how someone who is in over their head can make a real change for the better.

Christy has a fascinating job. She deals with rare books. She’s been trained to know their value, recognize fakes, and purchase the books for resell. This creates a wonderful backdrop for intrigue, mystery and scandal in a world that is rarely explored in fiction. It also gives us everything we need to watch Christy’s life slowly unravel from her bad choices.

Christy’s sister, May, is a hard worker who appears to have made all of the right choices in her life.  She lives and works on a ranch where she’s part owner and she loves every moment about it. The only thing missing in her life is her sister, whom she hasn’t seen in years.

C.J. Darlington, in her writing debut, doesn’t sugar coat the journey back from making all of the wrong choices and decisions in life. Her characters are real, flawed, and so recognizable that they feel like friends.  None of these characters is a cardboard cut-out or caricature of themselves. They all make mistakes, question what they’re doing and are unsure, and yet still you can clearly see the hand of God leading them in their life’s journey. This happens in language and situations that is familiar and well traveled for most of us who live a life of faith.

As I read this book, I didn’t want to put it down. I needed to know what would happen next. For anyone who loves books, stories and people, this book is a must read. It contains beautiful displays of God’s love, forgiveness, mercy and grace that everyone needs to experience in their lives. Darlington’s characters are never preachy, overbearing or false. Their honesty and depth ring true and strike directly to the heart of the matter with concise accuracy.

Thicker than Blood is a beautiful masterpiece and it’s so well done, I’m hard pressed to believe this is a first novel. I can’t wait to see what C.J. Darlington brings to the publishing world next.

Don’t miss our interview with C.J. Darlington.

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Scribner

Publication Date: August 2008

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

In Kathy Reichs’ eleventh book, Devil Bones, forensic anthropologist, Temperance Brennan is called in to study the skull of a teenage girl found in a cellar. What she discovers surrounding the skull looks like relics from a satanic ritual — a decapitated chicken, animal bones, beads, and feathers.

Shortly after, a headless body of a teenage boy appears on the banks of a nearby lake. A pentagram and the numbers 666 are carved into his chest. Brennan and the detectives wonder if the two cases are related. If so, does this imply the presence of Devil worshipers?

Meanwhile, an extremist politician creates fear among the citizens, setting in motion a witch hunt to find the murderers. Brennan must fight time and circumstances as bodies pile up and the public’s frenzy for blood and “justice” increases.

Though this mystery is a good one and Reichs keeps the reader wondering who the killer(s) are, the story disturbs at times, especially when dealing with the occult. Through Brennan, Reichs studies cults such as Wicca, Santeria, voodoo, and others. She paints others who don’t accept these groups as valid forms of religion as intolerant. The “Christian” in the book is a fanatical jerk who misrepresents his faith.

Reichs made some very misleading statements in this novel, claiming Wiccans are not Satanists. They are. She also states that this is a religion that predates Christianity. But Wicca is not a religion. Secondly, Reichs’ meaning of Christianity is unclear. She confuses the change after Christ’s coming with the faith of the God in the Bible. Wicca predates Christianity as we know it today, but not faith in God.

When it comes to Devil Bones, the reader must decide if a few hours of an entertaining read is worth dealing with the very questionable underlying messages. I am still a fan of Reichs’ work, but this book is a disappointment when dealing with matters of faith.

Genre: Children

Publisher: Puffin

Publication Date: 2007

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

The Grandson has grown up with his grandmamma’s tales of witches, their wicked ways and their horrifying hatred of children. She has told him these tales to prepare him for the inevitable day when a witch will try to eliminate him, in the same way witches try to do away with other children. But the Grandson never expects to encounter a whole room full of witches and when he does, he must find a way to foil their evil plan to destroy all of England’s children.

The Witches by Roald Dahl plays upon children’s love of the fantastic and their fascination with the frightening, but in an empowering, child-centric fashion. Children will sit on the edge of their seats, itching to learn more about the unique, and yet still familiar, world Dahl has created. Of course, the tale needs to be prefaced with an affirmation that the book is indeed pretend, since readers are told multiple times that witches do exist despite what any adult says. But once this is handled, Dahl treats readers to a plot line of magic and heroism, legends and oral history. This simply told tale is a Dahl classic.

Genre: Literary, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Hawthorne Books/Riverhead Books

Publication Date: 2007

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

The Moores are a coal-mining family in Depression-era Alabama. Tess, the middle of the family’s three children, witnesses a frightening event—a strange woman dropping an infant into the family’s well. When the police investigation reveals little, Tess and her older sister, Virgie, search for the mother of the infant among the women in their town.

The girls’ parents, Albert and Leta, both work desperately hard—Albert on the farm and in the mine, and Leta at home—to provide for their family. They grow very concerned when Tess begins having nightmares about the dead infant. Then Jack, the youngest child, is involved in a severe accident, straining the family even further. As the Moores struggle emotionally, financially and physically, friendships are tested and the truth about the infant in the well is revealed.

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips is an understated account of family, struggle, race relations and growing up. What could easily become a story with a sensationalistic plot remains believable and honest. The tone is as down-to-earth as Phillips’s characters and readers find themselves feeling right at home in the mine, on the country roads and in the Moores’ small house. Told from the point-of-view of each family member in turn, readers view the full family dynamic at work: Albert’s work ethic, Leta’s self-sacrifice, Virgie’s tentative adolescence, Tess’s joyfulness and Jack’s memories of childhood all combine into a humble work of beautiful family life.

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: March 2007

Reviewed by Tim George

Patrick Nolan is not the typical teenage boy. He is a good student, reasonably well grounded, and enjoys spending every free moment hanging out with his father. On one of their weekend rock climbing excursions father and son make a pact. The woman in their life has been asking for a patio for a very long time. Together they decide it is time to quit being so selfish and fulfill their promise. But, as they arrive home a neighbor meets them with grim news. The promise can never be realized because mother and wife has been found dead of an apparent suicide while they were gone.

In the weeks following the death, everything changes about the two men’s lives. And like typical men, both son and father seek to deny their pain by selling everything and moving to the mountains they both love to climb. What begins as a unique bonding experience ends up driving a wedge in their relationship that only something bigger than both of them can mend.

In High Places highlights yet another of Tom Morrisey’s real-life passions for adventure, the close-knit yet highly competitive world of climbing. As in his other adventure novels, Morrisey displays first-hand knowledge wrapped in expert prose. His stories suck you into a world, foreign to most of us, and leave you wishing you had gone there before. Blink and you will find yourself hanging from a piton dangling over the wilds of West Virginia.

Like the sport it depicts, this is not a safe story. While faith or lack thereof, is a key element in the lives of both Patrick and Kevin, there is no neat conclusion. Both father and son must confront the shallowness of their lives and the paths they choose. Written from the son’s point of view as he looks back on the defining period of his life, In High Places reads like a memoir. Deep questions are left unanswered leaving nothing left to cling to except hope. But hope, set on the right thing, is all we need to hold us even when we fall from the high places.

Genre: Children

Publisher: Puffin

Publication Date: 2007

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

Young Matilda Wormwood just doesn’t belong in her crude family—they’d rather be watching television and selling lemons at their used car lot. A gifted, extraordinary child, Matilda teaches herself to read and multiply while still a toddler. When she begins kindergarten, she finds a kindred soul in her teacher, Miss Honey, who embraces the child’s special gifts and offers the girl the affection she has never known. But the child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, is determined to make school a misery for Matilda and all the other children of Crunchem Hall Primary School. When a shocking truth surrounding The Trunchbull and Miss Honey comes to light, Matilda is determined to help her beloved teacher.

Although Matilda is a kindergartener, the vocabulary of the book is better suited to upper elementary ages. But Matilda is so mature that older children will be able to identify with her. The book is replete with justice themes that children will immediately recognize and appreciate. Matilda sees the injustices perpetrated by the adults around her and takes matters into her own hands with pranks, payback and use of magical powers.

In his classic style, Roald Dahl infuses Matilda with absurdity (a headmistress who whirls little girls by their pigtails), the fantastic (telekinetic powers that terrify said headmistress) and liberal doses of sheer kid power (every move Matilda makes)—a combination that has endeared his work to children for years.

Genre: Children

Publisher: Puffin

Publication Date: 2007

Reviewed by Jaci Miller

Mr. Fox has been stealing from Farmers Boggis, Bean and Bunce. So the three revolting farmers set out to trap and kill Mr. Fox and his family. Only when the family is surrounded and starving, without food or hope, does Mr. Fox reveal just how fantastic he is. In Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl creates a compelling read for children as they follow the adventures of the Fox family and their battle to survive the farmers’ onslaught.

Dahl is a master storyteller who specializes in simple, straightforward, plot-based tales. No complex plot lines or subplots here. Just true, basic storytelling at its best. Children will root for the Foxes and hold their breaths, waiting to discover how the family escapes from a frightening situation.

The one problematic component of the story is the treatment of Mr. Fox’s stealing—it is deemed fully acceptable, and even explained in the text as such, because it is done for the sake of saving the Fox family from starvation. But, Dahl never deals with the original, frivolous stealing that triggered the farmers’ witch-hunt. He portrays the natural consequences of stealing as unjust to the thief. A film version of the book is now in theaters and it will be interesting to see how the film handles this tricky area.

Regardless, the tale is an exciting one that reads exceptionally well to younger elementary audiences and is an excellent transition from picture books to chapter books. It just needs to be paired with intentional conversation regarding the thievery element.

Genre: Adventure/Fantasy, Young Adult

Publisher: Creation House

Publication Date: May 2009

Reviewed by Kaci Hill

There’s a verse in the Psalm 137 that reads, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.” For some reason, that was the thought I had as three teenagers anxiously spent their summer longing for Aeliana.

Four hundred and fifty years have passed since the last time Ryann, Liddy, and Terell were in Aeliana. At least, Aeliana time. In Mount Dora, it’s been three months. Summer is ending, and they’ve been scattered abroad, wondering when they’ll next receive their call across time and space. Again, Reinhold doesn’t write precisely what we might expect.

First, the opening chapter or two is spent lying in wait. Waiting for answers, it turns out, isn’t passive, but active, and takes every bit as much strength as receiving them.  Second, it isn’t Ryann who first sees the portal back to Aeliana. This intrigued me because, obviously, Ryann is the main character. He’s the one charged with the three gifts and has a guardian archangel named Gabriel.

Third, the kids are not the only ones who must exhibit faith this time, which leads to my next observation. Their parents must also learn trust and obedience in the God who sends their children. As before, what happens in Mount Dora affects what happens in Aeliana and vice versa—something many stories that involve world-hopping don’t have.

Once back in Aeliana, Ryann and his friends find themselves in the middle of a long-brewing fight. They discover two unicorns and a group of cruel half-dragons (Hugons), and a growing, ominous understanding that they understand prophecies the rest of Aeliana can’t yet. Ryann, Terell, and Liddy have matured over three months, both in their thinking and in their behavior. They have new friends—many of whom don’t get along—and a whole new set of problems to deal with. Faith, it appears, involves so much more than simply jumping off a cliff (though cliff-jumping is included).

The Shield of Faith is different than The King’s Sword in that they do spend more time in Aeliana, understandably. It’s longer, and more complicated.  But as with book one, it’s about much more than the physical, literal shield. If book one is about paradise, then book two is about redemption—who to trust, who to distrust; where loyalties really lie, despite what comes out of the mouth. The shield of faith, then, is found in who you follow.

And once again I can’t say too much more without giving things away. Suffice it to say, Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith was a satisfactory sequel to The King’s Sword, and I’ll be looking forward to book three, Ryann Watters and the Belt of Truth.

Genre: Literary, Current Events

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Released: June 2008

Reviewed by Jonathan Schindler

Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of Them, released in 2008 and brought to popular attention through its recent inclusion in Oprah’s Book Club, comprises three short stories and two novellas, all set in Africa and all told either about or through the eyes of children. It is by no means an easy book to get through, though Akpan is to be applauded for his writing ability. The subject matter is what makes this book a difficult, albeit eye-opening, read.

The stories in this collection treat issues of child prostitution, human trafficking, religious persecution, and genocide, among other things, all in their relation to children. It is difficult to read about child suffering, but in Akpan’s capable hands, this sordid subject matter is simultaneously viewed with unflinching candor and indomitable hope. Thus, though he tells us these stories and forces our eyes open, he shows the resilience of children and the grace that is present even in seemingly hopeless situations. He is an adept Virgil, guiding us through hell and bringing us out the other side.

Take “Luxurious Hearses,” one of the two novellas, which has as its setting the religious persecution of northern and southern Nigeria. Jubril, a Muslim boy, flees from the north after his Muslim friends turn on him for having a Christian father and brother (or, perhaps more to the point, because they owe him money). After hiding in the home of a compassionate Muslim, Jubril gets on a bus full of Christians bound for southern Nigeria, where his father lives. The Muslims hate the Christians and the Christians hate the Muslims, but there are flashes of grace on either side—Muslims harboring Christians in the north and Christians hiding Muslims in the south.

Say You’re One of Them’s title comes from the final story in the collection, “My Parents’ Bedroom,” but it really could be the banner written over any of them. The children in each story are caught in the hazy boundary between two worlds—Christian and Muslim, north and south, Hutu and Tutsi—and the easiest way to make it out of their situation is to pretend to belong to the group in power. The lines are fuzzy, and the labels placed on the characters are not always clear-cut or how those characters might self-identify.

Akpan’s stories are distinctly religious, owing to his being a Jesuit priest. The epigraphs he chose for the book, Daniel 3:17-18 and Micah 6:8, are fitting, giving the reader a framework for human suffering while also calling him to do what he can for the cause of justice. He does an excellent job throughout this collection of pointing out religious hypocrisy and double standards. For example, in “Fattening for Gabon,” Fofo Kpee, who has entered into an agreement to sell his niece and nephew, often uses the Bible to justify his decision. Or in “Luxurious Hearses,” the reader feels for the Christians forced to flee from the north, but it is later revealed that the Muslims are facing similar persecution in the south. There are no easy answers in Akpan’s stories. The picture he paints is nuanced, and it forces the reader to sharply consider his own faith. But while Akpan’s portrayal of religion is not entirely positive, his purpose in writing seems more to rebuild rather than destroy.

I think what makes Say You’re One of Them such an effective collection of stories is that while the setting, dialect, and situation of the story are distinctly African, the truth they reveal is universal. And while the characters’ dialects are at times hard to understand, the stories themselves force readers to look deep into their souls for their answers to tough questions. In America we may not worry about genocide, but who hasn’t been tempted to side with the powerful? Maybe we haven’t thought of selling children into slavery, but who hasn’t been tempted to do what is wrong by the lure of money? Many of us would chafe at the idea of justifying human trafficking using Scripture, but who hasn’t sought to rationalize their behavior before the like-minded? And who hasn’t preferred expedient solutions to righteous ones?

While Say You’re One of Them is not for the faint of heart (or, in some cases, stomach), it is an enlightening and engaging, if not enjoyable, read. It is an exercise in empathy and a call to action. Just as eyes cannot unsee, once you have read Say You’re One of Them, you can’t unread it—you will be changed.

Publisher: Creation House

Publication Date: May 2008

Reviewed by Kaci Hill

I heard of Eric Reinhold by way of Donita Paul, Bryan Davis, Jonathan Rogers, and several others engaged in a Motiv8 Tour. As a result, I requested both Ryann Watters and the King’s Sword and its sequel at the same time to read and review. Honestly, I didn’t quite know what to expect. For me, the YA genre is simply fun. And a middle-schooler from a Christian home who receives a visit by night from the angel Gabriel giving him a mission from God, well, is fun. The same night, one of said boy’s classmates also receives a night-visitation . . . from a fallen angel. Both boys receive a mission and three gifts. Thus begins a quest for a missing sword.

Most intriguing, though, is that what happens next isn’t what either boy or reader expects. Much of the journey takes place, not in the brilliant paradise of Aeliana, but in the every-day lives of four sixth graders and their families. Part of Ryann’s journey is to learn to use the Word—the Word of God. The use of Scripture in The King’s Sword is natural and thematic—I found myself as moved as the kids. Moreover, having grown up in a Christian home myself, I found Ryann’s life, aside from attending public school (I attended a private Christian school), quite reflective of my own. Their journey is as much spiritual as it is physical, and Reinhold has a unique way of pulling the two together.

As far as the characters go, Ryann and his three friends are busy, active twelve-year-olds, but they’re also well-read and thoughtful. Their maturity shows through (as well as Eric’s non-indulgence in dramatics, which is a plus) in their ability to deal with and get over an issue, so that when one offends another, the situation is either handled in a timely manner or deemed no longer important. Grudges simply don’t have place among friends—something a good deal of contemporary movies and TV shows don’t seem to comprehend. (Likely one reason this struck me is the stark contrast to one such movie, where the characters seem incapable of getting over themselves in stereotypical teenager melodrama.) At any rate, it was simply pleasant to see Ryann remember that his offender is still his best friend.

I could go on about all of them. I found Drake, despite being an antagonist, also somewhat sympathetic. Ekron is dark and cruel; Gabriel is firm and kind. Ryann’s father is a minor character, but fully developed and active in his son’s life.

Alright, I can’t stand spoilers, and possibly have already come too close to a few, so I won’t say much more. Ryann certainly didn’t expect his story to go the way it did; and I didn’t either. Reinhold provided an excellent introduction to Ryann, Mount Dora, and Aeliana—I most definitely am looking forward to Ryann Watters and the Shield of Faith.

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Viking

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Reviewed by Josh Olds

Quentin is just a normal everyday kid. Well, becoming an adult, now that he’s in his senior year of high school. College is just around the bend, and Quentin has his eye set on Princeton. That’s when everything changes. When he arrives at his interview for admission to Princeton, he finds the interviewer dead with a manila envelope bearing Quentin’s name. The contents of that envelope would change his life.

Through coincidence, or perhaps not, he loses a piece of paper out of the envelope and goes running after it into some underbrush. When he looks up, he finds that winter has turned to summer, and is in the Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, a school for magicians hidden by magic in upper New York. The Magicians details Quentin’s life through his time at Brakebills, into his life as an adult wizard. It is Quentin’s coming of age saga, and the reader experiences Quentin’s deepest hurts, darkest pleasures, and greatest victories.

Having gone through his Harry Potter phase, Quentin graduates from his version of Hogwarts and enters upon his journey into the Narnia phase. When a fellow wizard discovers a thought-to-be-fictional button from a thought-to-be-fictional book that takes them to intermediate lands, a direct reference to Narnia’s Wood Between the Words. Instead of heading to Narnia, Quentin and his magical companions embark on a quest in the land of Fillory. But all is not as it seems in Fillory. In truth, it might be more dangerous than the books presented it.

Aptly described as Harry Potter meets Narnia for adults, The Magicians pays homage to the classics of fantasy almost to the point of being derivative. Be forewarned. Brakebills isn’t Hogwarts and Fillory isn’t Narnia. Far from being children’s tales, Grossman presents a fantasy centered on hedonistic and materialistic young wizards and their journeys through Brakebills and Fillory. The first half of the book is a seemingly disjointed set of tales centered on the magicians’ time in their magical school, but in a piece of excellent plotting Grossman ties everything in during the second half of the book, giving it one final and shocking twist.

While the writing is well-done and the characters believable, the lockstep adherence to the plots of classical works of fantasy makes me think that Grossman was trying way too hard to get his book mentioned in the same sentence as these literary masterpieces. Case in point: the land of Fillory can only be ruled by “sons and daughters of Earth.” Sound familiar C.S. Lewis fans?

In the end, Grossman has written a something that I would recommend only to fans of fantasy. It’s a decent read, but instead of trying to put itself on the shelf with the classics with its original and vibrant storytelling, it chooses instead to piggyback off its predecessors. You’d think as the book critic for Time magazine, Grossman would realize the error in this. But of course, this is same man who wrote false 5-star Amazon reviews to make his debut novel, Warp, look more appealing.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: April 2009

Reviewed by Elizabeth Olmedo

In Sam Bourne’s The Last Testament, the world reels from shock when a well-known archeologist is shot and killed at a rally promoting a historic deal between the Israeli and Palestinian governments. Peace talks teeter as these nations rush to uncover the reason behind the death. Was it murder? Or a mistake? To salvage the situation, the U.S. government sends in peace negotiator, Maggie Costello. With past wrongs to atone for, Costello must prove she still has what it takes to renew talks between the two groups.

But the obstacles mount as every one of Costello’s leads is murdered before she can reach them. Between these deaths and an attack on a historic locale, both sides move close to calling off the signing of the treaty. Costello realizes she cannot trust anyone as she races to solve the mystery and save her own life.

Bourne wrote The Last Testament in nonsequential order and that, together with the large character pool, made the story challenging to follow. The rampant use of vulgar language and several intimate scenes seemed unnecessary and distracted from the progression of the novel.

I never connected with any of the book’s characters and I didn’t feel fear, sympathy, happiness or any sentiment other than regret as I read. Even more frustrating were the clichéd attempts at reaching my emotions — like Bourne found a thriller rubric and tried to fulfill all the criteria, but failed to give this novel its own life and uniqueness.

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: November 24, 2009

Reviewed by Josh Olds

Captain Charles Hunter: The name struck both fear and respect into every resident in the legendary English settlement of Port Royal, the capital of Jamaica. The year is 1665, and even though King Charles II has signed a peace treaty with King Philip of Spain, and while both kings give lip service to that scrap of paper, the men of the sea who sail the dangerous Caribbean pay no heed.

To English pirates—excuse me, privateers—(piracy is a crime, you know) Spanish gold is merely English gold not yet in the possession of Englishmen, and Charles Hunter has set his sights on the expedition of the century. Deep within Spanish territory, he plans on taking his darling sloop the Cassandra, filled to the brim with the best men Port Royal has to offer, and launch an attack on the fortified island of Matanceros, home to the ruthless Cazalla, and more importantly, the temporary stopping place for the treasure-laden galleon El Trinidad.

Like any expedition of the century, Hunter and his crew encounter immeasurable odds and will survive by their wit, cunning, and utter lack of conscience. Crichton takes the reader on a rollicking fast-paced and violent journey through the Caribbean, reminding us that the waters now filled with exquisite cruise ships were once filled with the ships of a more violent and dangerous nature.

Pirate Latitudes is non-stop adventure, sure to adapt well into the movie that will certainly come. In fact, DreamWorks Studios has already bought the film rights and Steven Spielberg has already signed on to produce and possibly direct. In all, the book is a flat-out adventure and fun to read. Crichton weaves a believable tale of a seafaring life without getting too bogged down in the technical details of seventeenth century sailing. While not completely relevant, and many times while reading, I could have sworn I heard the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack playing in my subconscious.

Like any good tale, Pirate Latitudes has an interesting past. It was found as a complete manuscript after Crichton’s death in November of 2008. Having unearthed this book like an ancient Spanish treasure chest, Harper publishing set themselves to publish Crichton’s last story. The result is a refutation of the ancient pirate lore. Dead men do tell tales, and pretty exciting ones at that.

Genre: Holiday, Chick lit

Publisher: Ballantine

Publication Date: 1996

Reviewed by Jen Roman

If someone is looking for a heartwarming, sweet story during the holiday season, A Return to Christmas is it.  Eleven-year-old Artemus Holiday lives in a comfortable, upper-middle-class neighborhood with his parents and sister.  The holidays are almost nonexistent in his household, however, because of a tragic accident on Christmas day eight years before.  His twin brother, Andrew, drowns in a river.  Because his birthday is on December 20, Artemus also loses his birthday celebration.

During a shopping trip right before Christmas, Artemus comes across a vagabond child roughly his age.  While he is trying on clothes in a department store, the vagabond tries to steal his regular clothes.  Rather than let the vagabond steal his clothes, Artemus takes chase.  The boys run out into the street and into the path of an oncoming truck.  Artemus is thrown into some nearby bushes, but the vagabond, who looks eerily similar to Artemus, is found.  He is mistaken for Artemus and is taken to the hospital, where his family meets him.  The family doesn’t realize the injured child isn’t Artemus and takes him home and treats him as though he is their child.  Meanwhile, Artemus is found by the con-artist Boone, who is thought to be the vagabond child’s uncle.  He is expected to participate in the con’s schemes, as the other child had done.  Realizing he is in the wrong place, he vows to get back home to his real family.  What unfolds is the story of hope and understanding of God’s love during a holy season of miracles.

This story is saccharine and predictable, yet it is warm and charming.  It’s a small book and only 198 pages, so it’s a quick and easy read.  Audiences should be happy with its sweet message.

ABINGDON PRESS CELEBRATES THE PRAYERS OF AGNES SPARROW BEING NAMED BEST CHRISTIAN FICTION BOOK OF 2009 WITH FREE KINDLE OFFER!

NASHVILLE— Abingdon Press is excited to announce that The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow has been named by Library Journal as one of the “Best Christian Fiction Books of 2009.” In celebration of this award, The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow is being promoted for a FREE Kindle download throughout week of December 14^th-18^th on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Prayers-Agnes-Sparrow-ebook/dp/B002MH4A14/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260908267&sr=8-3)

“What can I say? This is something I’ve wanted since I was 9 years old. To be so well received by such a prestigious magazine is an honor as well as to be ranked among the company I was in” says author, Joyce Magnin.

After reading just a few pages of this quirky-zany debut novel, readers will find themselves laughing and crying their way through the small town of Bright’s Pond, while experiencing the miracle of God’s love and grace!

An exciting time for debut author, Joyce Magnin, her title continues to receive rave reviews from fans and fiction newcomers alike. With another title releasing in the fall of 2010 with Abingdon Press, Magnin is anxious to see how the story of Anges Sparrow will continue to inspire others.

“I’m thrilled the response to the Kindle offer has been so amazing. To me, it’s an additional way the message of Agnes can get into the hands of people it otherwise may not.”

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow continues to climb the Amazon rankings at #5 in Kindle stores and #4 in Christian fiction books.

For more information visit www.abingdonpress.com or contact Maegan Roper at mroper@umpublishing.org

###

Abingdon Press fiction includes stories of faith, hope, and love which explore the gray areas of life—situations that seemingly have no clear-cut solutions. These stories strive to illuminate the human condition and express God’s enduring love and grace for all. Abingdon Press also publishes resources for church leaders, scholars, and students engaged in leading congregations and theological education, and inspirational books and study materials that reach a broad audience. Abingdon resources are available in Christian and general bookstores and from many online book sellers.

Wholesale customers can purchase direct from Abingdon Press or through most wholesale distributors.

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Supernatural

Publisher: Signet

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Sadie Novak has a problem. Well, actually she has several. Her father has just died, her boyfriend’s struggling with his addiction again, his ex-girlfriend is their company’s newest client, she has inadvertently discovered a mummified baby’s remains and now she’s got someone threatening her business and her life. And those are just her troubles with the living. She’s got a whole new catalog of issues surrounding the fact that she can see and speak with the dead who haven’t yet ‘crossed over’ to the rest of their afterlife.

The third novel in the “Ghost Dusters” series has Sadie juggling a lot more than just your typical everyday job stressors. Zack, her boyfriend, has taken on a new client without telling Sadie and she’s less than pleased to discover that it’s his ex-girlfriend, Paula. The job appears to be relatively easy. Paula’s mother is a hoarder and now she’s been stricken with Alzheimer’s. Paula is looking for someone to clean out the house that has become so full of boxes and clutter that it’s become dangerous to enter. As Sadie tries to figure out where to begin, she also discovers that there is a very angry (and very ugly) ghost in the upstairs portion of the house and he’ll stop at nothing to make sure that no one takes his ‘stuff’. When boxes begin flying, the plot thickens as a mummified baby is discovered in one of them. Now we have a mystery. Who is the baby? Where are its parents? How did it end up in the box? And who is the ghost that is so determined that no one touch his stuff?

Dead and Kicking is a fun easy read for someone who is looking to fill a supernatural or mystery fix. The characters are realistic (Honestly, I thought I was the only one who had crazy days like the ones that Sadie had.) and honest. Conversations felt real and honest though a couple of times it felt like Sadie was being dramatic in her responses. Then again with a father who just died but is hanging around, a boyfriend who is hanging out with his ex-girlfriend and leaving all sorts of drugged up voicemails and a ghost chasing her angrily around, I would expect that anyone could tend toward the dramatic.

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice light read for the weekend. It drew me in quickly and I enjoyed following along as Sadie found the clues and picked her way through the mystery. It was also fun, though in a painful way, watching Sadie try to find her way through the pitfalls of her private life. All in all, Dead and Kicking was a fun weekend read that I can easily recommend to those who enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse books or supernatural mysteries in general.

Publisher: Hyperion

Publication Date: September 2009

Lori Twichell’s Review:

Richard Castle is back. As a follow up to his wildly popular Derrick Storm series, Castle has introduced us to a new character and she brings the heat. Literally. Nikki Heat is a Detective with the New York Police Department and she spends her days tracking down some of the most violent criminals in the city. Tough, sexy and incredibly intelligent, Heat doesn’t stop until justice is served. And now, thanks to the Police Commissioner, Heat’s justice can be served with a side of witty repartee in ruggedly handsome Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jameson Rook.

Rook, writing a new detective series and in need of inspiration, follows Heat to learn the ins and outs of the murder scene in New York City. (Some say that Rook’s character is based loosely on Castle himself.)

For this case, Heat and Rook find themselves investigating the death of a prominent New York real estate tycoon. As they delve deeper into the case, things go from bad to worse when Nikki has a run in with one of the suspects that results in murder and death coming a little too close to home for the detective. Then the mystery unravels and then pulls even tighter as more and more bodies begin to appear all around the city and it looks like all of them are connected to the case. Could it be the trophy wife with a checkered past? Or was it the enforcer for one of the local crime syndicate? And why is there a dead art appraiser in a car across town? It’s up to Rook and Heat to shuffle through the myriad clues and figure out who is behind the growing string of murders popping up through the city.

Castle has created a partnership that sizzles with passion at the same time that it crackles with intrigue. Rook and Heat are perfect complements to each other as they follow the clues and attempt to crack the case.  You can’t help but be entertained as Rook calls in his always famous and well connected past for favors and Heat continually tries to deny the attraction she’s feeling for her new shadow. In the midst of murder, tension and intrigue, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud as Rook throws some new pop culture or celebrity reference into the conversation.

Richard Castle has again proven that he is wordsmith worthy of the title. The storylines are tight, the banter witty and sharp and the passion is hot. The new series excites me and I can’t wait to see where he takes Heat and Rook next time around.  And if you enjoyed the book, check out the pseudo-reality show starring Richard Castle himself as he trails a New York Police Detective, Kate Beckett. The show, titled Castle, airs on ABC. Check  your local listings for time and date.

Jake Chism’s Review:

Detective Nikki Heat more than lives up to her name with her intense passion for justice and her stifling dedication to bringing down New York City’s not so finest.  When a real estate mogul is found plastered on the concrete below his apartment, Heat and her team are called in to solve the case. Lies and secrets lie around every corner of the investigation, and Nikki must balance her police work with her new task from the mayor. Big time reporter Jameson Rook has been assigned to her squad for research on an article about the police. As much as Heat is annoyed by the arrangement, she can’t help but admit there are sparks evident between her and Rook. As the case intensifies, so do Nikki’s emotions, culminating in a heat wave she never saw coming.

For those who may not know, Richard Castle is a fictional character (brilliantly played by Nathan Fillion) from the ABC television hit, Castle. Heat Wave is written to be a fun companion to the witty cop/comedy/romance/drama, and that’s exactly what you get here. In the first season of the show, novelist Richard Castle is assigned to NYPD Detective Kate Beckett to research his next novel. As their relationship progresses (mostly platonic with romantic hints), Castle decides to start a new series of novels about a sexy, tough as nails detective named Nikki Heat (which is obviously inspired by Kate Beckett). You can imagine the excitement that brewed amongst the fandom when ABC/Hyperion treated us with the very novel we heard so much about on the TV show.

I was a bit hesitant going into Heat Wave because I expected it to be completely over the top and gimmicky. While there certainly are elements of this story that fall into those categories, I was pleasantly surprised to find a novel that is actually readable and entertaining.  This is certainly not the year’s greatest detective story, nor is it meant to be. It’s written primarily for the fans of the TV show, and I’m not sure someone who’s never watched Castle could actually appreciate the inside jokes and subtle humor that run rampant throughout the story.

This novel does have a decent mystery angle, but make no mistake about it. This story is all about Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. The sparks fly all throughout this tale, even overtly so in an overemphasized love scene that was really unnecessary. Fans of the show should be warned that some of the language and themes in Heat Wave are considerably more mature than what network TV currently allows.

As a fan of Castle, I enjoyed this book for what it was and I’m anxious to see if we’re treated to more Richard Castle novels in the future. If you’ve not watched the show, do yourself a favor and rent Season One on DVD before you read this book. Not only will you have picked up a great new TV show, but you’ll fully be able to appreciate the gist of this story.

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Publication date: October 2009

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

This well-written werewolf novel from horror writer David Wellington delivers a welcome twist on an increasingly familiar genre. In a market seemingly saturated with vampires and lycanthropes, Wellington, rather than sticking with a formulaic approach, presents an engrossing story about the life of a recently “turned” werewolf—from the werewolf’s perspective.

Cheyenne Clark is on her own in the frozen wilderness of the Canadian Northwest Territories when a flash flood sweeps away most of her gear. With no human settlements for dozens of miles in any direction, her situation is desperate, and it becomes more so when she is chased up a tree by a strangely aggressive wolf with icy green eyes. Though she escapes with her life, her leg is badly gouged by the wolf’s claws. In the morning, the wolf is gone.

The rest of the story is an interesting blend of standard werewolf lore and less conventional story elements. Naturally, the wolf that chased and injured Cheyenne was a werewolf, so naturally, she becomes one too. Pretty basic. What’s not so basic is the love/hate relationship Cheyenne develops with her wolf side as well as with the werewolf who turned her. As Cheyenne learns to live with her curse and the unexpected abilities that come with it, she must face the demons of her past as well as the uncertainty of her future.

As a werewolf tale, the book’s intrigue is marred by the fact that it simply isn’t very scary. It focuses on the relationship between the werewolf and herself rather than on the traditional horror-movie conflict between werewolves and people. While this provides some interest and depth, it ultimately limits the book’s appeal. There’s little in the story that compels the reader to find out what happens next.

Surprising (and not unwelcome) for a book in this genre is the scarcity of gratuitous violence and gore. If the author had managed to utilize effective storytelling to add tension to the story without resorting to the blood-and-guts imagery so prevalent in similar books, Frostbite could have been a terrific addition to the ever-growing library of werewolf stories.

Even with its weaknesses, the book is entertaining and downright thought-provoking at times. Lycanthropy aficionados will appreciate the relational elements of the story. But horror fans looking for a leave-the-lights-on-after-dark werewolf thrill-fest may be disappointed.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: July 2008

Reviewed by Tim George

Tyler Perkins has been married five years, but with his wife less than a year total, fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and returned home with a survivor’s guilt that is eating away at both his marriage and his life. Now a postcard from an old friend beckons him to return to his roots in Wyoming at a place called Wind River. Encouraged by his desperate wife, Tyler drives across country to fulfill a promise he made as a boy to the old man who taught him about fly fishing, the mountains, and life.

At first glance, Wind River is a gentle buddy story. It is the story of one man (Soren) who at 86 knows this is his last chance to visit the high country he has photographed and mapped for years and a boy become a man (Tyler) who in some ways wishes he had never left. If you don’t care for the rugged back country, tales of rogue grizzlies, and laying on your back with nothing but the stars for a nightlight some of the chapters may grow a bit tedious. Or perhaps it would do you well to slow down for a moment and see things through Soren’s and Tyler’s eyes. If you take the time you will discover two men whose secrets and wounds run deeper than the clear lake about to be named after the old man.

Don’t let the pace or setting fool you though. Tyler has returned from war with guilt not only for what he has done, but for what others have done for him. And just when you think this story is all about Tyler finding some kind of resolution, you discover it is the old man who has ulterior motives for returning to the mountains he so loves. Tom Morrisey’s life as a world class rock climber, cave diver, and all-around adventurer shines through in this gentle yet powerful story of self-discovery and forgiveness. So set the world aside for a few hours and join Tyler and Soren at a place called Wind River.

More about C.J.:

C. J. began writing the story that would become her first novel Thicker than Blood when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian book selling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in Thicker than Blood before co-founding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.

In 2006 C. J. started the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats.

When she’s not writing, she’s reading. Her hobbies include book and art collecting, fly fishing, painting and drawing.

This interview can also be downloaded via iTunes (recommended for best quality).

Genre: Romance, Historical, Religious

Publisher: Realms

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Lucinda Bishop’s life has just been turned upside down. With the loss of both of her parents, everything that she has ever known is gone. Now she’s moving from the East coast and bustling city life to the territories of the west and a ranch in the Oklahoma territories.

It’s a difficult transition for a young girl who, at the age of 17, hasn’t spent time outside the city or any time away from her parents. She learns very quickly that life at the ranch doesn’t allow for sleeping in or for relaxing in the afternoons. Thankfully she has a loving considerate family to help her learn the ins and outs of this new life.

Of course, as usually happens with young women around this age, into the turmoil and upheaval is introduced yet another factor, a young man. Jake Starnes is a handsome young man who works for Lucinda’s Aunt and Uncle on their ranch. A fine worker with a mysterious past, Jake does everything possible to help Lucinda’s family keep the ranch together and that includes helping Lucinda with the transition to ranch life. The more time that the two of them spend together, the more he realizes that his feelings for the young girl run far beyond that of merely attraction. What Jake doesn’t know is how to proceed in courting this beautiful young woman when he’s got a past that isn’t going to leave him in peace.

Lucinda’s struggle with her feelings is one that transcends time and reaches out to all young women who are picking their way through the dating process. How do you control your feelings for someone when you know that your belief system is completely different from his? And what do you do with those feelings when you don’t know if you could have a future with him. As Lucinda and Jake navigate the potential minefields of attraction and figuring out the future, the story crosses the boundaries of history to become relevant to young women today.

Strang Book Group has chosen a solid and enjoyable read for their first venture into the historical romance genre. Martha Rogers has created delightful characters and a beautiful storyline that keep you engaged and interested throughout the course of the book. Though the outcome is predictable, the way in which they reach the conclusion is very much not and as with all of life, the journey is as important as the conclusion. The growth of Lucinda and Jake through their difficult circumstances is a wonderful example of how God can transform a life no matter how insurmountable the odds. Becoming Lucy was a wonderful escape from the everyday stresses of life. If this is any indication of what Strang has in the works, I’ll very happily allow them to supply my ‘escapes’ in the future.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: January 2010

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Janeal Mikkado has lived her life among her Gypsy family and friends, but has always longed for a way out. One fateful day an answer to her dilemma arrives in the form of a mysterious man named Salazar Sanso. It seems Janeal’s father is working with the DEA to bring down Salazar, and if Janeal will do just one favor Sanso promises not to take her father’s life. He also offers Janeal the opportunity to leave once and for all to chase her dreams. Janeal seizes the opportunity, but things go horribly wrong and a fire destroys the Gypsy community and everyone she loves.

Fifteen years later, Janeal has made quite a life for herself, but nevertheless feels empty and broken because of her past. Out of the blue she discovers that her two best friends survived the fire and have recently reconnected. She fears they will discover the truth behind what happened that day and Janeal’s connection to it all. To make matters worse, Sanso once again has her in his crosshairs and will do anything to get her, even if it means destroying the lives of her friends. Now Janeal enters into a deadly game where the past and truth come face to face and her life hangs in the balance.

Ted Dekker and Erin Healy once again display their collaborative prowess and even outdo their previous novel, Kiss, in the process. Going into this story I honestly wasn’t expecting much.  For some reason the premise didn’t grab my attention, but it only took a few chapters to discover how wrong I was. The plot is masterfully executed, giving us just the right amount of suspense at the right times to keep the narrative flowing along. As in Kiss, we are treated to another strong female lead in Janeal Mikkado.  Her journey is a captivating one, often times dizzying and unsettling, but always engrossing as we delve into her hurts and secrets.

In true Dekker fashion we are treated to a nice little twist that will no doubt drive some readers crazy. Nevertheless, I found this plot device worked nicely with the overall theme that is interwoven throughout. At its heart, this is a story about the darkness and light that abides in us all and the battle that rages within. I’m excited about what this writing team has accomplished and I’m especially looking forward to Erin Healy’s upcoming solo debut, Never Let You Go.

Genre: Suspense, Adventure, Young Adult

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: December 2009

Reviewed by Jake Chism

Whirlwind is the fifth book in the Dreamhouse Kings series that follows the adventure of brothers Xander and David King as they travel through time via portals found in a secret hallway in their creepy, new house. And yes, that’s all I’m saying about the plot because the story is just too good to be described through any measly attempt on my part.

What I will divulge to Robert Liparulo’s salivating fans is this: When I read Timescape I was quick to crown it my favorite of the series so far. Of course that was before I read Whirlwind, and ladies and gentlemen we have a new favorite!!

I consistently find myself in awe of Liparulo’s ability to make each story better in this series, always ratcheting up the tension and mystery, giving us some answers here and there and more and more questions to keep up guessing.

As we’ve come to expect in previous installments, the time travel scenes are loads of fun brimming with wonder and possibility. What sets this book apart from the rest is the huge twist at the end that completely changes the course of this story. I never saw this coming, and I love the direction Liparulo is moving this story and the characters that I have fallen head over heels for.

Frenzy is the upcoming last book in this series, and if the events of Whirlwind are any indication, we are in for quite a ride. If you aren’t reading the Dreamhouse Kings novels you are truly missing out on top notch storytelling, dazzling adventure, and heroic characters worth cheering for. Young or old, it doesn’t matter. The Dreamhouse Kings series is a must read for any true fiction addict.

Genre: Suspense

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: March 2009

Reviewed by Tim George

When Sibella Giorello won a Christy Award for her debut novel, The Stones Cry Out, one had to wonder if she could maintain the momentum and offer an even stronger sophomore offering. The Rivers Run Dry answers that question with a rousing “yes” as we are once again taken into the sometimes tumultuous world of Special Agent Raleigh Harmon. Raleigh is a strong female lead with a background in geology and a penchant for plunging ahead with a case even if it gets her transferred for disciplinary reasons across country.

Raleigh has barely landed in Seattle before she is thrown into the perplexing case of a missing nineteen year old girl whose wealthy parents might have more bothering them than their snobbish wealth. Solving the case isn’t made any easier as Raleigh has to face numerous personal and professional challenges. Her boss treats her like a glorified coffee girl, her mother lives in the depth of despair, and her aunt is a new age believer in the power of crystals who persists in sending her unwelcomed clairvoyant friend to help Raleigh on cases.

Giorello gives us characters with real depth. Raleigh and her mother have both been profoundly changed by the murder of her father. The Aunt is not just some nutcase but rather a woman who feels failed by her lifelong faith and now seeks answers wherever she thinks she can find them. Raleigh’s faith is stretched to the limits by a job that leads her to places from which she may not be able to return. Even her abusive supervisor proves to be human as he seeks to help a female informant in desperate need of redemption from her life of drugs and crime.

One of the things that make this story work is the detail. Raleigh Harmon’s parking space (fifteen blocks from the Bureau building) and government issued car (the oldest in the fleet) tell us more about what her superiors think of her than any dialogue could. There are no neatly packaged family epiphanies at the end. Raleigh’s aunt is embarking on yet another new age enterprise and her mother is just beginning to emerge from her depression. What we have instead is the story of a woman of faith working in a profession where faith is hard to come by. But, as Raleigh walks off the pages of this latest installment of her life we have no doubt she will maintain that balancing act with grace and strength.

I can’t wait for Raleigh Harmon’s return in Giorello’s upcoming third novel, The Clouds Roll Away.

Genre: Superhero

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: May 2009

Reviewed by Josh Olds

They are the two most recognizable names in comic book history. They have starred in eleven live action movies, a number of live action TV shows, numerous animated movies and TV shows, radio, comics, newspapers—you name it. They have transcended the times to become a part of American—if not world—culture.

Moreover, each of them brings to light their own unique standard and worldview. One is a representation of the man we all wish to be; the other, a picture of the savior we all long for. The two symbols collide in Enemies and Allies, where the Dark Knight first meets The Man of Steel.

As an all-out fan of Superman and as an admirer of the Batman portrayed in the recent Christopher Nolan movies, I came to this book with quite a bit of expectations. It’s SUPERMAN and BATMAN, for crying out loud! Epicness is required! And in my opinion Kevin Anderson hits that standard.

Set in the 1950s, Kal-El of Krypton has just begun to manifest himself as a flights-and-tights superhero given the name Superman. Meanwhile, Clark Kent is busy making a name for himself in Metropolis’s main newspaper, The Daily Planet. In fact, he’s the one who broke the story on Superman. Over in Gotham City a crime surge has led a mysterious caped crusader on a vigilante mission to clean up the city that playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne calls home.

I won’t insult intelligences by explaining exactly how these four personalities coalesce into two people. It is only because of Metropolis billionaire Lex Luthor that Batman and Superman—and Bruce and Clark—meet. Being set in the 1950s, Luthor has made billions in defense contracts as the Cold War builds up both the American and Soviet military. Luthor is secretly conspiring with a Soviet KBG general to continue the escalation. Both superheroes are looking into Luthor’s covert activities for their own reasons. Initially, they don’t know what to make of each other. Is the Batman a petty thief and criminal? Is this Superman under Lex Luthor’s thumb?

It’s the beginning of a tenuous relationship that grows throughout the novel—which is good, because it’s going to take both of them to stop Lex Luthor in his drive for world domination. In the end, Enemies and Allies isn’t a literary masterpiece recounting the history of the 1950s. It’s derived from two comic book characters, so there obviously are times where one has to suspend disbelief to enjoy the story. This is a completely fun story, telling the tale of two great superheroes in a new a