Eric Willson

Dear Readers,
First, I would like to thank Eric Wilson for the copy of Valley of Bones that he sent to my daughter Gabby. I let her read it first as she was rapidly approaching AP exams and needed a stress reliever. It worked out great. It just meant that my review is a bit later, but that is OK. It was worth the wait.

Valley of Bones is the third and final book in the Jerusalem's Undead trilogy. To be honest I am not quite sure where to go with this review. I feel like I have said it all before. I love this series. I love that it is a series that is crossing over to the teens who were reading the Twilight series. I love that it presents evil as evil, not as something to be played with, but guarded against.

Now if you haven't read the first two books, you may want to skip to the end. This doesn't have any spoilers from this book, but you may learn a couple things about the first ones that you don't want to know yet.
Natira and the Collectors are close to finding all 36 of the Nastrim. They only need to locate the 2 on the US continent and the 2 in the middle east and then the final #36 who has been very elusive. Once they find them all, the Master Collector will be able to usher in the Time of Vengeance. They will then take their revenge on the humans.
Gina and Cal and all those who resist are ready to stand against them. They will be ready to sacrifice all they hold dear. Even if it means revealing who they are and where they live to the Collectors.
I think I have now read all of Eric Wilson's books. I always find them so interesting. They are never ever a light read. Sometimes they are funny in spots, but they do make you really think about the world around you. Whether the physical or spiritual world. With this one it makes me wonder about that daily spiritual battle we are in every day.
Happy Reading

Mona Hodgson

Dear Readers,

The books I read here at work have to be uncomplicated and light. It usually means I am reading a light romance. Two Brides too Many by Mona Hodgson is such a book.

Kat and Nell Sinclair head to Cripple Creek, Colorado because family circumstances dictate it. They arrive in town with high hopes for their two grooms to be. Nothing goes according to plans. First, neither gentleman is there to meet them at the train station. Second, while traveling to a boarding house, Kat sees her intended in town, with a 'working' girl, and they are headed into a bar. Lastly the town catches fire and both girls are thrown into the midst of the chaos on their second day in town.

They are both left to wonder what could possible happen next. Where is Nell's missing groom? He got the telegraph sent weeks in advance, but he is still a no show. Does he intent to marry yet?

This is not a big "secret" book. I could figure out basiclly what was going on pretty early, but I stil enjoyed the story itself. A fire in now-a-days that would threaten an entire city is unheard of, but in 1895 it was very much a reality. Many of those small or large mining towns did burn down, some more than once. Mail order brides date back in U.S. history to before the revolutionary war. So the historical part of the story is interesting and the characters along with the storyline kept my attention even with being only able to read it in 30 minute spots.
Happy Reading

Kristen Heitzmann

Dear Readers,
Kristen Heitzmann has been a favorite author of mine for years now. A couple years ago she had a fabulous book written and in the process of being printed. Her publisher pulled it just before it was to be released. I still bug the rep from that publishing house to print that book, but in the mean time we have these other books by her. Indivisible is her newest that just came out.

Jonah is trying to get over his past. When he finds a couple of raccoons killed in a bizarre way, he is sure that there is more to the crime than what meets the eye. With a rising drug threat and his old flame becoming more involved with what is going on, Jonah is not sure this job or life is worth it. He is 9 years sober and everyday is a struggle.

Tia and Jonah's lives are mixed together in several ways. Most too painful to want to remember. Tia is just living a life forced on her when her family left town and her mother told her to take care of the family store. Tia has turned it in to more of her than her mother and is very proud of the crafts and candles she makes. She feels like she deserves the life chosen for her. Her past proves it.

I liked this book. It is a bit more creepy than others of Kristen's but it is also still very much a "normal" book for her. She is such a good author, one who is able to weave a very good story in with a mystery. I don't usually even list her in with the suspense writers, her stories are some much about the storyline of of her characters that I forget that the mystery is happening.

Happy Reading

Terri Blackstock/Beverly LaHaye

Dear Readers,
I am beginning to feel like every other book I am reviewing lately is a recover. Well I hate to say it, so is this one. But this is a great deal. 10 years ago Terri Blackstock and Beverly LaHaye released a series loosely called the Season series. They never really gave the series a title, but readers and stores alike started calling it that because of the titles.

Season Under Heaven and Showers in Season are now in one book together and Times and Season and Season of Blessings are in the second combined book. Which makes them a great deal. The plot line behind the series is 4 different families that all live on the same cul-de-sac. Because each family is at different points in their lives you think they won't have much in common, but their lives intertwine together.

Each of these 4 books are just a delight to read and they are some of my favorite stories I had read.

Happy Reading,

Ted Dekker

Dear Readers,
I know Ted Dekker is not everyone's cup of tea, but he is one of my favorites. The Bride Collector is going to be one of my favorite of his novels. It is a psycho-thriller. It is dark and plain and simply scary. I actually put off reading for a couple of days as my husband was out of town and I really didn't want to be home alone while reading it.

Why would someone kill anyone? Why would this mad man kill the most beautiful women? He says it is because he loves them. Brad Raines is trying to track him down before he kills again. With 6 women to his credit already the Bride Collector has vowed to continue to kill women until he finds the most beautiful of them all. Brad isn't sure who to turn to for help. He finds the Center for Wellness and Intelligence with the last hope that the patients there will help him get ahead of the killer and help Brad catch him.

When Brad finds himself attracted to one of the young woman helping him, he begins to see that she may be the center of all that is going on. Paradise has been a patient a long time, and yet she seems to be the only one who can help Brad. Will Brad be able to catch up with the Bride Collector before he claims his next bride? Or will someone close to Brad pay the ultimate price?
If you like Ted, read this book. There is no reason to not read it. Yes, it is intense. Yes it is creepy, And yes it will keep you up at night. But why else would you read a Ted Dekker book.
Happy Reading

Beth Hoffman

Dear Readers,
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman is not a book I will be able to carry on my shelves here at the store. That doesn't mean it isn't a good book, it just has a few language and some "moral" issues. I really liked this book and found myself trying to talk myself into carrying it. But by the time I got the the 3rd or 4th "problem" I decided that it isn't one that could make the cut. Which is too bad.

I don't want to talk any of you out of reading it, I just know that it will offend some people and church libraries shouldn't carry it. One of the main characters practices Karma etc... and even though it kind of pokes a few holes in the theory it still does not completely point out the wrong in it. I mostly had a problem for carrying it with the swearing. It doesn't have anything major in it like the "f-word" but it does have enough to make it a problem for some. I do have to admit that a couple of times I would have been swearing along with the character if that is what was happening to me.

CeeCee Honeycutt takes care of her psychotic mother. She is an outcast at school because of it and so she hides away in her books. Her father is a traveling salesman and so stays away from home longer and longer, which CeeCee later figures out is because he has a girlfriend, not just because of work. CeeCee does her best and yet tries to b a kid. When her mother is killed, CeeCee isn't sure what will happen to her.

When a great aunt she didn't know about arrives just after the funeral and asks her father to let CeeCee live with her, CeeCee sees it as the final betrayal by her father. Why doesn't he love her and why couldn't he help her with her mother? What it does for CeeCee is set her down in the middle of a loving house that is nothing like anything she has ever experienced before. She finds herself meeting people she never dreamed existed and being loved for herself. It is a world of women that is filled with quirky characters that are just so much fun reading about.

From Aunt Tootie to her next door neighbor, busybody Violene Hobbs, to Oletta Jones and her crazy sister. It is just a great place to be. The ladies all teach CeeCee something a bit different about the world. I am still not sure who was my favorite character, but I am leaning towards Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper. She is quite a free spirit and is worried about her Karma being good. What is funny is that is only true if it benefits her. Ask her neighbor Violene that she has a thing against. This was just a fun read. I read it while in South Carolina, not far from Savannah which made the southern setting of this book all the more fun. I also many years ago lived in a small town in SC just north of Savannah and spent time there. It is a beautiful town and one that is well worth a visit if you have never been there or a revisit.


Happy Reading

Robert Whitlow

Dear Readers,
Greater Love by Robert Whitlow is the 3rd and final installment of the Tides of Truth series. Deeper Water is number 1 and Higher Hope is the 2nd book. They have all centered on Tami Taylor, a young law student who is interning at a prestigious law firm in Savannah Georgia. This one is no different. Ok, maybe a little different in that Tami is now a full lawyer and has to decide between the law firms that have offered her a job.

Greater Love opens with Tami finishing off her last year of law school and being offered a job at Braddock, Appleby and Carpenter, the law firm she has spent the last couple of summers interning at. She is the first ever female intern to be offered a job by them. She isn't sure if she wants to take the job offer because she wants to work there or because both of the gentleman that are interested in her work there. Yes Zack and she are still courting, but Tami is still not sure he is the one God has planned for her to marry.

Tami's new case has her dealing with a teenage runaway that Tami knows is lying. Jessie is hiding something and she is willing to go to jail rather than reveal her secret. She is not talking to Tami or the cops. Jessie knows that if she reveals her secret she is a dead person, just like what happened to Rod. There are forces at work no one can see and Sister Dabney is back to make sure everyone is on the right path.

I am not sure this is my favorite of the three books. I really liked the law case that Tami is involved in, but I did find the storyline of Tami/Zack/Vince a bit slow and even annoying. But it was fun to visit with old friends like Mrs. Fairmont and Tammy Lynn's parents. I would be glad to read another book about Tami. She is an interesting character and she does make me think about how I make decisions and choices in my life. She reminds me that God is interested in every aspect of my life including my job and things I do for fun and recreation.

I have said this many times and will say it again. Robert's books are easily recommended to guys, even with a female lead but also for John Grisham readers. He writes those southern genre lawyer mysteries that John is so fond of writing.

Right now we have in the store book one for $2.99 and book #3 at 20% off. Makes the series an easy an inexpensive pick up.

Happy Reading