Review: Hiding in Plain Sight by Amy Wallace

Ashley Walters has recently moved to Montezuma, Georgia, a small town with a sizeable Mennonite community. She is still mourning the death of her brother, Eric, who died ten years ago when she was eighteen, an unsolved crime that inspired her decision to join the police. One night, a callout to a store robbery introduces her to Bradley Yoder, a thirteen-year-old Mennonite boy who is searching for his birth mother following the death of his adoptive father. She befriends Bradley and his handsome uncle, Jonathan, and finds that Bradley is implicated in a series of accidents at the Yoder farm.

She has also started dating for the first time since Eric’s death, after being set up by a neighbour. Patrick is a marriage and relationship counsellor and a Christian (even though Ashley hasn't been on speaking terms with God since Eric died). He is on the town's revitalisation committee, which has plans to revitalise Montezuma by capitalising on its Mennonite heritage. But the investor wants to forbid the Mennonites from sharing the faith that defines them as a group, which causes friction.

I thought I knew where Hiding in Plain Sightwas going after the first few chapters, but then it changed to become more of a romantic suspense, with the addition of the farm accidents and occasional scenes from the point of view of the vandal, as we try to puzzle out his identity. I liked the subtle way the author introduced this, and the way it gradually grew in importance as the story progresses, while other plot points that I had thought would be important turned out not to be.

I really liked the way Hiding in Plain Sightdealt with Ashley's attitude towards God. She softens gradually throughout the story, in a way that felt a lot more realistic than many Christian authors manage. I also liked the strong underlying theme of faith and forgiveness, and the way the author built it in without preaching, but without compromise. 

There were a couple of conversations that I had to reread to work out who was actually speaking, although that could have been because I was reading an ARC with some formatting issues and a couple of typos. (An ARC is an advance reader copy of the book, provided to people like booksellers, librarians and reviewers in advance of publication. Sometimes these are the 'clean' ebook version of the printed book, but often, as in this case, they are unproofed copies so there can be mistakes.)

Overall, Hiding in Plain Sightwas a well-written book with a solid underlying Christian theme, and some lovely poetic language hidden between the more suspenseful scenes. Thanks to Harvest House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Cuts Like a Knife by MK Gilroy

The opening chapter of Cuts Like a Knifeis narrated by a psychopath planning his next event, and is spine-chillingly outstanding. The main narrator is Kristen, and her point of view is interspersed with short chapters from the murderer and from a online vlogger.

Kristen is a Chicago Police Department detective, soccer coach for her niece’s team, and almost-ex girlfriend of Dell (it would be a lot easier to become the ex if Mom didn’t keep inviting him home for dinner). She’s just been appointed to a team investigating the murder of a young woman, because the FBI suspect she isn’t a lone victim: instead, she is the 48^th victim of a serial killer that has struck six previous cities.

Kristen is a very matter of fact narrator with a dry sense of humour. She's not a girlie girl, but that fits her tough persona, a hardnosed cop in a family where her sisters have achieved as stereotypical women (one is a pastor's wife, the other is a beautiful TV news reporter). Kristen is not even close to perfect, unlike many Christian fiction heroines. She has anger issues stemming from her father's death, she disobeys orders and while she can hold up her end in a fight, she is not great with a firearm.

It soon becomes apparent to the reader that the killer is setting Kristen up to be his victim, which raises the ante and makes finding him even more important, but then there is a twist... I don't put spoilers in my reviews but I have to say that this one kept me on the edge. Gilroy is good at employing flashes of humour to cut through the tension, and at giving us a feel for the level of horror without needing to spell out the gory details.

As a Christian literary agent, Mark Gilroy will have seen thousands of manuscripts, and must have a pretty good idea of what is good and what sells. Knowing what is good and what is not does not automatically mean that you (or I) can write something that actually is good. But Mark has managed to cross this barrier, and I recommend Cuts Like a Knifeto anyone who likes a good thriller.  I hope the ending is setting us up for a sequel, because this is an excellent first novel, and I would certainly read more from Mark Gilroy. Just not late at night...

Thanks to Worthy Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Mark at his website.

Review: Making Life Matter by Shane Stanford

Making Life Matter: Embracing the Joy in the Everyday begins with the stories of three historical figures, and how they overcame significant personal challenges to achieve, to make their lives matter. In the same way, the author of this book, Shane Stanford has overcome his own challenges. He was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1986, having caught the disease from contaminated blood. Remember that at this time there was a huge stigma attached because AIDS was seen as a homosexual disease, God's punishment on the gay community. I first heard of AIDS in around 1984, and a diagnosis was seen as a death sentence. I am amazed that someone diagnosed that long ago is still alive.

I started reading this one Sunday afternoon. The theme of that Sunday’s sermon was to 'choose life' and that was exactly the choice that Slade was faced with after his diagnosis. His grandfather challenged him to choose life, “choosing to live each day to the fullest, choosing to make his life matter”. But this book is not about Pastor Shane Stanford (as inspiring a story as that would be). It is about you and me, working to improve our relationships, to change, to make our lives matter.

Why is this important? Stanford quotes a study from Willow Creek Community Church, famous for leading many changes the way church functions, from worship music to how people joined in community. They found that these changes “provided little to no impact” on whether or not people remained in the church. Put simply, “the people studied said they felt shortchanged by the glitz and glamour”, and “what they really wanted were ministries that drew them closer to God, closer to each other, and closer to who God had created us to be from the beginning. The real issues on their minds and on their hearts were about identity—about what really made life matter.”

While this is a short book, it is not intended to be a book that one reads and forgets in the hurry of reaching for the next book in the pile. Rather, it is meant to be read slowly, one chapter at a time, and to be meditated upon. This is not a long book - just an introduction and seven chapters and an epilogue that takes the message of the book for the indivdual and applies it to the organisation, the church (I’ve decided that I like reviewing non-fiction, because I can say what happens at the end without it being a spoiler).

At the end of each chapter is a weeks' worth of Bible readings, a Psalm, some questions for reflection or discussion and a prayer. Making Life Matter could therefore be used as the basis for personal devotions or for a weekly group study. Recommended.

Thanks to Abingdon Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Whatever is Lovely by Marsha Maurer

Based on the product description, I was expecting a themed 'how to' book looking at our spiritual values (“design for an elegant spirit”). Instead, Whatever Is Lovelyis a compendium of musings, stories, and quotations from throughout history, divided into 52 chapters taking us from Anticipation to Wisdom. It can be read from cover to cover, or it can be dipped into in random order, a subject at a time, as each chapter is complete in itself.

When I read a novel, I tend to read it over a couple of days (the more I am enjoying it, the faster I tend to read). Books like Whatever Is Lovelycan't be read in the same way. It needs to be read slowly and savoured a chapter or two at a time. The passages are meant to read slowly, and savoured to relax and open our senses to the beauty that surrounds us. Whatever Is Lovelyis not a page turning thriller. Rather, the evocative language invites us to be calm and at peace (and I was). Maurer has a beautiful way with words that both illustrates and echoes the beauty and simplicity she seeks in life and relationships.

It is apparent that Marsha Maurer is widely read across a range of writers, and her education and experience is that of a life lived, not merely books read. As well as having the expansive worldview that comes from having lived in different countries and cultures, the author also has the authenticity and authority that comes simply through age and experience.

Whatever Is Lovely would make a lovely gift book, something to browse through as a pick-me-up, although the format means that I think it would work better in the hardcover edition than as an e-book – the black-and-white pictures disrupt the flow of the text and don’t show to their best advantage on a Kindle screen.

Thanks to Carpenter’s Son Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review - Eyes of Justice by Liz Wiehl and April Henry

The Triple Threat Club is back in Eyes of Justice. Cassidy Shaw, Allison Pierce and Nicole Hedges met in their exclusive Portland high school, but only became close friends six years ago at their ten-year reunion, when they realised they all worked in different aspects of law enforcement, Cassidy as a TV reporter on the crime watch, Allison as a prosecutor and Nicole as an FBI agent. Over the years they have covered many of the same cases, and it appears they have made enemies.

When one of the Triple Threats is found under her kitchen sink, murdered, the other two are soon seeking justice. But investigating a case they have no official right to be investigating is going to tread on someone's toes... possibly even those of the murderer. The police quickly make an arrest, but the women are concerned that the police may not have the right man, which means the real killer is still out there, planning his next move.

This is a well-written and fast paced thriller, and the fact that the victim is someone that readers of the series know and care about brings the whole thing closer to home in a way that an unknown victim doesn’t. The main characters are likeable but not perfect, and we get to know a little more about some of the secondary characters as well. If there is a weakness, it is that there is a lot of focus on the crime and the Triple Threat women, and not much development of their family and colleagues.

Eyes of Justice is the fourth of the Triple Threat Novels, following Face of Betrayal, Hand of Fateand Heart of Ice. It can be read as a standalone, but is probably more enjoyable if read in sequence. I thought Eyes of Justice was excellent, and I will certainly be keen to read the next in the series. Although published and marketed as Christian fiction, only one of the main characters is a Christian, and there is very little ‘preachiness’, so I think this would appeal to all thriller fans, not just those in the Christian market.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and Booksneeze® for providing a free ebook for review.