Robin Parrish

Dear Readers,

This book made me think of a few of your libraries that had Science fiction readers. I know of several "teenage" boys that will be very interested in this book. Other than that, this is going to be a tough book for just about anyone to read. It you liked Robin Parrish's Relentless/Merciless/Fearless series you may want to read this as the writing style is the same, but that is where the comparison ends.

Offworld is straight Sci-fi. When our first Mars mission lands back on earth everyone is gone. Not just humans, but animals, birds, fish, insects... you get the idea. Chris Burke is the mission leader and he is trying to keep his little group from going completely off the deep end. Their families are missing and something seems to be trying to keep them from figuring out what is going on. Trisha, Terry, and Owen are just as puzzled by this all as Chris is. (by the way "writing" about myself in the third person is very weird:-)

They are able to figure out enough to see that they need to head out and find the source of what is going on. This is one of those books that you need to let the over the top things go. It is completely unbelievable in spots, which overall is what the book is all about...

This is not an easy book to read because of the over the top issues, but it is all explained in the book. I think the Sci-Fi readers will enjoy the concept of this book and the imagination it brings out. What would it be like to come back to that experience? Where is everyone you love? Where are the animals and what could cause this to happen? Like I said, thought provoking, but different stuff than what you normally think of.

Happy Reading
Chris

J.M. Windle

Dear Readers,

I love that J.M. Windle's books don't end with all happily ever after. Veiled Freedom ends well, just not everyone is "saved" by the end. It is the type of book that I have come to expect from her and she hasn't disappointed with this one. I really thought the main character was going to be returning to Afghanistan, ex-special Forces veteran, Steve Wilson. Yes he has a very large part of this story, but the main character is really Amy Mallory and the woman she is there to help.

When Steve returns to Afghanistan after being gone 8 years he is shocked at how close to the Taliban rule everything has become again. Where is the freedom he fought so hard for? Why are the burqas back in force? Was it even worth the lose of human life that he witnessed? He has been hired to protect the new Minister of Interior and he will do that and do it well. He is not excited to be back, but the job pays well and he can do his job without getting involved with the people again.

Amy comes to Afghanistan for the first time. It was her dream a long time ago to come when America liberated the country form the Taliban. She finally has her chance, but it isn't at all what she expected. When she is meet at the airport by her driver, he refuses to take her in his car until she puts a burqa on. She finds the man she is replacing leaving in an hour, so a crash course in store for her as to how things are run. She has little or no training from the organization that sent her and she doesn't even know that she isn't safe staying in the building that houses her non-profit group.

Two very different people in country for two very different reasons. Put together because the foreigners always stick together and I am sure Steve couldn't stand to see a pretty girl get in trouble.

This book is a very candid look at life in Afghanistan with the new democracy. It is not what we think of as freedom. They have the freedom to follow Islamic law. They have the freedom to have the mullahs tell them right from wrong. They still have the freedom to follow traditions set thousands of years ago. To me none of them seemed like true freedom. I know after reading this book, one of the best things for me to do is not go to an Islamic law-run country. I am not sure I wouldn't be thrown out very quickly.

But this book is well worth the read and it is interesting to see that the way of thinking over there hasn't changed, and I am not sure there is anything our government can do anything about it as it is the law for them. The funny thing is that they pick and choose which of the "laws" to obey as it fits their needs and how powerful they are. Interesting. Also very interesting to me is that under this new democracy woman are still property of their families. They actually have no freedom. Hmm...

I do and will recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a thought provoking book that has a very good storyline to go with it.

Happy Reading

Tom Pawlik

Dear Readers,
Tom Pawlik's first book, Vanish, was so different that there was nothing I could compare it to. I really enjoyed reading it and was very curious as to what his second book would be like. Valley of the Shadows is also a very interesting read. I would have not been able to enjoy it if I hadn't read book one as they fit so well together.

This next part of the review is going to be a bit of a spoiler for book one. So skip ahead to the last paragraph (I will start the one that it is safe to come back to miss the spoiler parts) if you don't want to know the big secret of book number one.

Conner is still trying to figure out why God brought him back from the edge of death. He knows there has to be a reason and if his dreams are any indication it has to do with the people he meet on the "other" side..

Mitch has lived on the farm with Howard for the last 5 years. At least that is what he believes until he runs into a stranger named Nathan. Then everything he believes about this new world is turned upside down.

This book continues the story of Conner and the world between life and death so very well. It makes you think about it, the book is still a work of fiction but....

Ok it is safe to come back now... I wasn't sure I was going to like this book because I wasn't sure what he could do different. Tom does a good job of putting a different spin on the same story (so to speak). I am not sure he could do much else with it and still make it interesting, but I am looking forward to his next one to see what he comes up with.

Happy Reading
Chris

Eva Marie Everson

Dear Readers,

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it is a good story. Eva Marie Everson is maybe best know for her series The Potluck Club written with Linda Evans Shepherd. It is a qurky little series followed by Potluck Catering Club. I have enjoyed all those books and I guess that made me expect that sort of book this time also. To say the least, this is not that kind of book.

Things Left Unspoken is a look at family history and how it isn't always what we think it is. Jo-Lynn Hunter returns home for her beloved Uncle Jim's funeral. She had spent lots of time with Uncle Jim and Aunt Stella. They were like the grandparents she never had. She loved them both dearly, especially Uncle Jim. Fishing with him and spending her summers there are some of her best memories.

The day of the funeral Aunt Stella asks Jo-Lynn to help renovate the house she has lived in all of her life. It was her parents house before she and Jim moved in. There is a development company that wants to update the town and make the "big house," that is what everyone calls it, the museum for the town. Which means lots of updating and cleaning of the house to make it ready.

There is someone in town not happy about the renovations. They are determined to stop Jo-Lynn. There doesn't seem to be much they won't do to stop her. She can't figure out why they are just upset about the renovations of the house and not the rest of the town. She can't figure out why anyone would dislike her Aunt and Uncle enough to stop her.

Cottonwood Georgia could be any small town in the south. Every town big or small has its secrets. Some people will go to great lengths to stop people from discovering these secrets. Others are just not ready to learn the secrets either.

I really enjoyed this book. It is plain and simply a good story. It has a bit of the mystery/crime scene story line to it, but that is not the main focus of the story. It is really a story of a marriage in trouble and a family secrets that maybe shouldn't have been kept.

Happy Reading

Karen Young

Dear Readers,

I know, three mysteries in a row. Sorry, but it is my favorite genre of books. I will try to do something beside that this weekend.

Karen Young is well known in the ABA market. She has written 34 books, with a total of over 10 million in print. I had not heard of her before, which is too bad, because I really liked her book.

Blood Bayou is set in a small town just north of New Orleans. 7 years ago Stephanie was brutally murdered. The BBPO thought they had caught the right guy and sent him to death row. That is until Camille St. James poked holes in their case and proved that they didn't. The problem that arises is that 3 days after Chester returns to Blood Bayou another young lady is murdered and he is discovered with her blood all over his clothes.

Camille returns to Blood Bayou to prove that Chester isn't guilty. No one believes her, until several strange things begin to happen. Jack, her ex-husband, now a pastor, lives in town and Camille isn't sure she is ready to deal with him and his problems again. But he and the town say he is a changed man. Can she believe him?

The mystery and story of this book are good. I enjoyed it a lot. The only problem I had with this book is the same one I have with several different ABA authors who start writing for the CBA market. They feel they must write out the complete plan of salvation in their books. I think it is a neat concept, but one that becomes tiresome if you read lots of Christian fiction. I find myself skipping those parts anyways. :-) I know it doesn't seem right, and yet it isn't necessarily part of the story and therefore something that can be skipped. It is something that you may share with someone who is asking those questions...

I do and will recommend this book to those looking for a great mystery, just next time I hope Pastor Karen stays out of the book and she sticks to writing really good stories.

Happy Reading.
Chris

Memorial Day Weekend

Dear Readers,

A couple of you have asked for my to read list... or at least what is on my book pile. I have right now piled up at home the following books. They are not in any particale order, just as I thought of them. This weekend might give me lots of extra time to read, so maybe I will get a couple done.
Green - Ted Dekker
Veiled Freedom - J.M. Windle
How Sweet it is - Alice Wisler
Things Left Unspoken - Eva Marie Everson

A good variety for me. Mystery/fantasy, Contemporary and issues. Have a great weekend.

Happy Reading

Brandilyn Collins

Dear Readers,

In typical Brandilyn Collins fashion, Exposure might not be a book you read while home alone in the dark. Every bump and creak will be a stalker coming to get you.

Kaycee Raye has spent her whole life looking over her shoulder, it is a learned behavior from her mother. Her mother taught her to be careful, watch over your shoulder and keep moving, no one can catch you that way. All Kaycee wants is to live a quiet life in the same house in the same town for more than 2 years.

She gets her wish in Wilmore Kentucky. That is until a camera with a dead guy's picture comes and goes from her kitchen table. The police dept. tries to be understanding, but they know she is a bit paranoid. Then when Kaycee's friend Hannah goes missing, the Police start thinking there might be something behind her claims of being stalked.

I love Brandilyn's books. This one is not as creepy as some of her others, but it is a good stalker book. It gave me a good shiver and it was interesting to figure the mystery out. I did figure it out before the end. Brandilyn is good at planting really good clues.

This is a great book for reading by the pool in broad daylight.

Happy Reading