Moon Water

Moon Water by Pam Webber 280 pages

I didn’t know this novel was a follow-up to author Webber’s “The Wiregrass,” until I looked up the page count. Doesn’t matter, while it may be a follow-up novel, this is a true stand-alone.

It’s the summer of ’69 in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Lots of changes are happening in the country, but they don’t seem to touch these small mountain towns. Sixteen-year-old best friends Nettie and Win have a “project” to complete. Win’s grandmother, Nibi, is a Monacan Indian medicine woman. She knows “the darkness” is coming, hard times, but she cannot put her finger on what will happen. In order to prepare the girls for the event, she teaches them how to build a dreamcatcher. Nibi warns them that it won’t be easy—it will be journey that will shape the girls’ lives.

It wasn’t easy mining for the amethyst for the middle of the dreamcatcher, killing a dear in order to get the sinew, searching for golden eagle and white owl feathers and digging for arrowheads. These scenes bring in the setting as a character, which becomes important in the last third of the novel.

Other than the dreamcatcher, Nettie’s summer plans include trying to figure out her relationship with her longtime boyfriend Andy, even though they have broken up. Andy seems to be dating by her arch-nemesis, Anne.  And more than anything, Nettie wants to get baptized in the local Baptist church, but her doubts, and the fact that she voices them, stops the local preacher from baptizing her. The preacher has turned Nettie’s doubts over to the assistant preacher, which creates a “darkness” of its own.

Then the darkness arrives, seemingly out of the blue. The only ones prepared are Nibi and, somewhat, the girls, and Again, setting place an important part of the story in the tragedy that unfolds. I would love to say more, but I don’t want to give it away.

I really enjoyed learning about Nibi’s life as a medicine woman and life in the mountains. “Moon Water ” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Sons of Blackbird Mountain

Sons of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof   352 pages

Welcome to 2018’s first “must read! This is a powerful and haunting novel of family, life and love in 19^th-century Appalachia.

An Irish lass, Aven is the widow of the Benn Norgaard. She’s been through a lot in her short life. She grew up in a workhouse and once she aged out, she was circumstantially forced to marry Benn. Readers don’t see any of her life in Norway, which in my opinion was both good and bad. I was very interested in her prior life, but there were really no opportunities for a lengthy flashback.

She has just traveled across an ocean and traveled more miles than she can count to the foot of Virginia’s Blackbird Mountain. She is expecting to find her late husband’s great-aunt who is raising three boys.  As she begins to trudge along the dusty trail, she encounters a man who only responds with gestures.

Along with a friendly dog, she follows the quiet man up the mountain until she reaches a large red house and a scattering of outbuildings. She learns that great-aunt Dorothe has recently passed and the “kids” are full-grown men.

The men---Jorgan, Haakon and Thor---are each in need of more than what Aven can offer them.

They grow apples on 300 acres; the mortgage almost fulfilled. They make their living selling hard cider to the neighbors. Jorgan keeps the buildings and machinery in perfect working order. Haakon makes the deliveries, but it’s Thor who tends the apple trees.

Jorgan and Haakon are well-drawn characters, complex and shallow at the same time. But it’s Thor who leapt off the page for me.  Deaf and mute, Thor can read lips. He has a hardness and a softness that comes takes center stage depending on what part of the story is being read.

Author Bischof does an excellent job explaining how Thor communicates with other with American Sign Language. It doesn’t interfere with the story and is as a natural part of the story as the plot. Bischof’s prose is beautiful. Sometimes I had to stop and re-read a sentence it was structured so beautifully.

A character-driven story, readers come to know Aven and the brothers as if they were real people, living their lives through good times and bad times. I found lots of gasping moments as the story moves from late summer in 1890 to early fall. 

Of the thirty-two books I have read so far this year, this is by far the best, and the one that will linger in my soul for months to come. Sons of Blackbird Mountain receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Almost Amish

Almost Amish:  One Woman’s Quest for a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life by  Nancy Sleeth             Paperback Book:  272 pages                        

Nancy Sleeth and her husband gave up the materialistic lifestyle to pursue a simpler more Christian less capitalistic way of living.    Not only did they sell or giveaway half of their belongings, their children opted to do so, too.    They returned to doing more things by hand and less out of pocket paying others to do.   They took lessons from their Amish neighbors in learning to live simpler more minimalistic lives while putting their religious beliefs first.    They help their neighbors, they spend time with each other instead of t.v.s, computers, or video games.    They spend more time outside, open their home to visitors and the needy and live in about a 1/10 of the space they once did.    They find having the basics at hand, in the garden, in walking distance or simply borrowing distance has made their lives better and less stressful (and cluttered) and has improved their faith and their friendships so improving life, love and community with a deeper relationship with God works for them.   This was a very enjoyable read with lots of tips on how to do complicated things simpler and how to let go of the actually unnecessary.    

Surprised by Oxford

Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber, 440 pages

Surprised by Oxford is Carolyn Weber's tale of finding herself and Jesus - not necessarily in that order - as a provincial Canadian girl pursuing a graduate degree at Oxford.  Raised in a well-off family thrust into poverty as a result of her father's mental illness, Weber describes how she came to terms with her own troubled emotional background while struggling to find her place in what turned out to be a very big world.

At the beginning of her memoir, Weber relates a conversation she had with a professor in which he explained to her the importance of learning "to discern the real thing from the" BS, "and then to choose the" non-BS.  It is an excellent anecdote.  Unfortunately, the memoir seems to itself contain a substantial amount of BS.  Perhaps Weber was concerned that the reality was insufficiently interesting, or was reluctant to share personal details (especially of other peoples' lives), or fictionalized around gaps in decade-old memories, or had an overactive editor, or is simply a poor writer.  Whatever the cause, throughout Surprised by Oxford, characters and events seem to obey the laws of drama rather than the ways of life.  While there is no reason to doubt the broad outlines of Weber's story, the air of unreality is a fatal flaw in a book about the search for the Real.

The Benedict Option

The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post Christian Nation by Rod Dreher            Audio Book:  8 hours, 24 minutes     Hardback Book:  272 pages        

The Benedict Option is the author’s way of imploring the Christian Community to return to the orthodoxy of the church as Jesus originally set forth.    He talks about the ways the church has fallen away from the original precepts layed down and today’s modern church is nearly unrecognizable in its political correctness, tolerance and acceptance of many issues that were strongly preached against in the apostolic times.    He sees family values and the Christian faith at odds with the coming onslaught of anti-christian discrimination.   He discusses how Christians need to return to the original teachings and adhere strictly to the words of the Bible and not the modernized watered down version that church goers are fed today.     Standing on the righteousness of his deep faith he upholds the Ten Commandments as guidelines for living not the 10 suggestions.    Dreher does not mince his words, he does not apologize for clearly speaking his  mind and he does not back down.    He sticks his chest out for the arrows that will come from the sector of society today that has discarded the traditional values of the early church to accept as normal behaviors and attitudes less stringent moral turpitude than Jesus and His apostles preached.    Dreher offers warnings and gives reasons as to why and when he believes the integrity of the religious Christians in today’s society will be brought up on charges and disregarded as anything but fanatics in the very near future.   He cites examples of how Christians are being black balled in several ways already from legal procedures and Christian college graduates in the field of Law are being disregarded in Canada for their views on gay marriage, abortion, etc.  with groups calling for them not to be allowed to practice due to their fundamentalist beliefs.    St. Benedict is known in the Catholic Church for his adherence to a strict life of prayerful devotion and service.   Dreher calls for a return to pure Christian values and living in community with like minded Christians eschewing as much as possible the watered down form of Christianity permeating society today to return to the life of Christian devotion modeled by St. Benedict.   Not in a scary cult kind of way but in a let’s get back to basics organic kind of way.    Well written in a format that is both teaching and reaching out.   A good biblical work.    His straightforward approach will offend some.

Deadly Pursuit

Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon, 340 pages

Alison has only been recovering from a bad car accident and subsequent break-up with her boyfriend for the past year.  Although her leg (and her heart) are still healing, she has been handling everything pretty well.  When Mitch, a police co-worker of her brother’s, needs a date to a wedding, Alison reluctantly agrees to help out.  Mitch is also a reluctant participant in the date Alison’s brother set up but they both quickly realize that they are attracted to each other.  Unfortunately, Alison is being stalked by someone and it is up to Mitch and Alison’s brothers to find out who is responsible for the sinister messages she has been receiving before the stalker reaches his end game.  This was a very typical formulaic Hannon story but she is a good writer and the characters are likeable and relatable, which make the stories fun to read.  I would definitely recommend it to fans of romantic thrillers.

Life After

Life After by Katie Ganshert  352  pages

I was intrigued by Life After’s dust jacket. There is a fascinating picture of an elevated train juxtaposed by an old-fashioned lamp. I was hooked when I read the back copy:

            Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in 

            Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her               seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through

            the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on              the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are 

           lost.

The Prologue does a great job in capturing that moment without going into a lot of detail…it works perfectly. It lets the reader know that this is a story of survival, not of the horrific event the Chicago media dubbed, “Tragedy on the Tracks.”

The plot line then moves forward one year. Autumn Manning is the “One life spared.” She is still dealing with survivor’s guilt. She spends her days and nights virtually bound to her apartment, flicking through Netflix, doing jigsaw puzzles, and pouring over the other passengers’ obituaries that she has organized in a binder. When she does go out, she visits the graves of the deceased. She’s even been getting letters from one of the victims’ daughter, Reese Rosamund Elliott.

With the one year anniversary of the tragedy quickly approaching, the city was to erect a memorial to those who perished. One of the people is Vivian Elliott. She left behind an 11-year-old daughter, a seven-year-old son, and a loving husband. Or so the world thought. Paul was a psychiatrist who did work with his church. He is known as the Marriage Doctor.

One day, without warning, Reese goes to visit Autumn. It’s weird for Autumn, and even weirder for Paul Elliott. The Elloitt’s and Autumn are forced together, and whether that swings good or bad most often depends on the day.

Life After has many layers that are slowly revealed as the story progresses, yet Ganshert’s flow is steady and easy. This had the potential to be an incredibly sad, depressing story, but in Ganshert’s hands, it becomes an uplifting story about the power of forgiveness.

I stayed way past my bedtime a couple of nights; I just had to discover what happened next. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to read more of Ganshert’s work. Life After receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Newton and Polly

Newton and Polly by Jody Hedlund    400 pages

I have never given the author of one of the world’s most well-known hymns, Amazing Grace, much thought. I guess I assumed it was a priest or a reverend, perhaps even a nun. I was surprised when I saw on the cover of this fictional biography a beautiful young woman and a sailing vessel from the 1700s. One of the things I love about historical fiction is that I learn about things I may have never known.

Newton and Polly is the story of John Newton and Mary “Polly” Catlett. They met when he was seventeen and she was fifteen. Their chemistry was as explosive as a nuclear bomb.

John was a rapscallion as a young man. He liked to drink and carouse, until one cold December night in 1742 when he heard the voice of an angel. The sweet sound came from a young woman, Polly, out wassailing (or caroling as we know it) with some Quaker friends. John was instantly smitten. Thankfully, he followed them as they headed toward home. Seems Polly’s aunt had orchestrated the wassailing as a cover for the release of several slaves. As they were about to be apprehended, John came to their rescue and escorted them to Polly’s parent’s home.

From the moment he laid eyes on her, John was in love, passionately and deeply. Polly returned the feelings. And so began the story of a devoted love that everyone seemed to want to come between.

John misses the ship that he was supposed to take for a job in Jamaica that his father had arranged. And he misses a second ship and another job his father arranges. His lack of ambition worries Polly’s father, who refuses to give Polly’s hand in marriage and bans John from seeing.

One night, John is pressed into service in England’s Royal Navy. He is forced to fight in the war against France. Feeling he’s lost Polly forever, his life descends further and further into sin. Year later, when the ship is nearly destroyed in a storm (more likely a hurricane), John realizes his mistakes. When he is spared, he vows to turn his life over to God. He returns to England and becomes a preacher.

John and Polly’s story is well-written, but moves a bit slow. There isn’t much going on for most of the book except for the two pining over each other. The storm that almost killed John and his shipmates was tense and kept me on the edge of my seat. However, I thought that John’s conversion came a little too quickly. One minute, during the storm, John hates God with all his might; the next he is a devoted follower. It was a little annoying that during he was referred to as John half the time and Newton the other. I did like the story and am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

I received Newton and Polly from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

An Eye for an Eye

AnEye for an Eye by Irene Hannon, 299 pages

Mark Sanders, FBI agent, has just run into an old flame, Emily Lawson, in the park.  Minutes later, Emily is shot by an unknown assailant.  Unsure if he or she was the target, the local police and the FBI have both of them under protection.  During this time, Emily and Mark begin to rekindle their old romance.  But both are hesitant.  Emily has already lost someone who worked in a risky job and doesn't think she can go through that again.  Mark isn't sure he's ready to make a commitment and he is supposed to go back to Quantico in a few weeks anyway.  And nothing can be completely settled until the gunman is found.  This is a typical story for Hannon but well written and entertaining.  Readers of Christian romance books will probably like it and so will fans of mild suspense.

Together at the Table: A Novel of Lost Love and Second Helpings

Together at the Table: A Novel of Lost Love and Second Helpings; Book 3 in the Two Blue Doors Series by Hillary Manton Lodge    320 pages

When I saw that this third book in Hillary Manton Lodge’s Two Blue Door Series was available for review from Blogging for Books, I jumped at the opportunity to review it (and it didn’t hurt that I got it for FREE!).

I was highly irritated at the end of Book Two. The story just stopped; literally it just stopped. It was a wonderful read until that point. I was eager to know what happened between Juliette and Neil. And would she learn the truth about the man she thought was her grandfather and the man who may have been? Book Three does not disappoint.

When we last saw Juliette, her mother had been diagnosed with cancer; the restaurant she opened with her brother, Nico, was off to a good start; she had traveled to Italy to meet both her paternal and maternal relative and try to solve the mystery of who was her grandfather; but her long-distance romance with Memphis-based immunologist Neil McLaren had ended.

Since then, her mother has died, leaving a gaping hole in the family. No one is quite over the shock. The restaurant is a success. She is dating the sous-chef Adrian. She has read the letters she discovered by her grandmother, but hasn’t had the time to follow up, and she is not over Neil McLaren, no matter what comes out of her mouth.

Taking a break from her hectic schedule, she takes a walk on Portland’s riverfront with Adrian. There in the distance is a familiar figure. Could it be Neil?  Her heart tells her it is.

In a delightful novel, Manon Lodge ties up all the loose ends and give readers a satisfying conclusion. I’ll miss these characters and hope that she reconsiders and gives us a fourth Two Blue Doors. I think it’s doable.  

Against All Odds

Against All Odds by Irene Hannon, 334 pages

This is the first book in the Heroes of Quantico series.  Monica Callahan, who has been estranged from her father, David, for most of her life, finds his world crashing into hers abruptly.  David is negotiating a hostage situation with a group of terrorists and they have made a threat against Monica.  David has managed to get FBI protection for her in the form of Evan Cooper and his partner.  Monica is reluctant to cooperate, but as she and Coop get to know each other, a mutual attraction begins to develop.  And through their conversations, Monica even starts to consider the possibility of forgiving her father, assuming that she can get through the current crisis alive.  This was a fairly typical Christian romance story but Hannon is a good writer and I enjoyed this book as much as I've enjoyed her others.

Fatal Judgment

Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon, 330 pages

 

Jake Taylor is a U.S. Marshall assigned to Federal Court Judge Elizabeth Michaels after her sister was killed in what may have been an attempt on her life.  The FBI and the Marshalls are trying to figure out who was behind the shooting while Liz is kept in protective custody.  Liz is actually the widow of Jake's best friend from college.  Jake had been under the impression that Liz had not been a very good wife to his friend and may have even been indirectly responsible for his death.  After meeting her again though, Jake is being forced to revise his opinion and thinks he may even be falling in love with Liz and the feeling may be mutual.  If they can manage to keep Liz alive, perhaps their love could have a chance.  Hannon's books are formulaic but she's a pretty good writer so the story is still pretty compelling.  These are for people who like Christian suspense romance.

The Awful Mess: A Love Story

The Awful Mess: A Love Story by Sandra Hutchison  410 pages

When Mary and Roger Bellamy’s marriage falls apart, Mary seeks solace in the small community of Lawson, New Hampshire. Lawson is typical of a very, very small town. “Everyone in town knows about the young divorcee from Boston who bought Miss Lacey’s house.”  And she’s hardly unpacked!

Mary isn’t a religious person, but she has made her first new friend in Arthur Tennant, the rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. She looks forward to their meetings on the Main Street Bridge. She enjoys Arthur’s company. She knows he’s in an unhappy marriage and can both sympathize and empathize his position. Before long, each falls into a serious case of like.

Arthur is also helping Mary and introducing her to some of the other locals…in particular the town cop, Winslow. Each feels the attraction. Winslow is single and extremely handsome.

Mary is enjoying settling down into her new life. She was able to keep her job as an editor thanks to telecommuting. Now she’s gotten word that the company is getting ready for a big layoff.  She is hopefully that she’ll get lucky and survive. After all, there isn’t any publishing industry job sin Lawson.

There’s a lot going on in Mary’s life: Arthur, whom she had a one-night stand; Winslow, whom she’s unsure of her feelings; and the potential of having to pack up and move when she’s just settled in. And oh yeah, she’s pregnant. After years and years of being told she was incapable of having children, it looks like a miracle has happened! Then Roger reappears to wreak havoc on her life. His interference is shocking.

Mary is a no-nonsense kind of gal. She picks herself up and dusts herself off when the going gets tough. And boy, oh boy, are things getting tough.

I’m a new fan of author Hutchison. I thoroughly enjoyed her other novel, The Rib and Thigh Bones of Desire. Her characters are down to earth and believable, the story lines realistic, the pacing is superb. I was pulled in immediately with the first sentence. Hutchison creates vivid worlds and characters.

I highly recommend The Awful Mess; A Love Story. It’s the perfect book to curl up on the couch with…I wasn’t able to put it down.

 I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Buried Secrets

Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon, 378 pages

Even though these books have a definite rote story to them, I still have liked all of the books I've read by Hannon so far.  Basic story has been that the male protagonist is in or related to law enforcement, the female protagonist meets him, becomes somehow involved in an investigation and thus, is endangered because of the criminal element, and is then saved by the male protagonist, who she ends up engaged to by the end of the book.  In this particular story, the female in question is also in law enforcement, Lisa Grant, who, as chief of one of the St. Louis County municipalities, is actually in charge of the case.  A group of human bones have been found and she is in charge of solving the mystery that may or may not involve homicide.  Called in to help is Mac McGregor, a detective with St. Louis County.  As the two uncover more and more information, they grow closer and also find that the case may be more dangerous than they ever dreamed.  I enjoy Hannon's writing and her stories.  There's just enough of an element of danger to keep things interesting, even when you know that the protagonists will be fine in the end.

A Table by the Window

A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge   320 Pages

I got tired of waiting for this novel from the St. Louis Public Library, so I read Book 2 in the “Two Blue Doors” trilogy, Reservations for Two a while back. I had a love/hate relationship with that one.  I posted reviews for it, so you can go peek at my thought, if you so desire.

Still I was interested in reading Book 1 so I could get the backstory.  Basically it’s the story of Juliette and Neil’s long-distance romance. All the other plot points from Book 2 are here: The passing of Juliette’s beloved grandmother, her mother’s cancer diagnosis, the introduction of Juliette’s family members, and the restaurant world/food writing world that Juliette loves. 

It becomes clear the how and why of Juliette learning that the man she called Grandfather may not be her biological ancestor. Still, I think I’m going to have to wait for Book 3 (Coming May 2016, according to the end of Book 2) to have this issue resolved.

I’m glad I read Book 2 first. Maybe because A Table by the Window didn’t pull me in as much. However, I was familiar with the characters, the plot, and the writing style so that may have had something to do with it. 

I give A Table by the Window  3 out of 5 stars.

Reservations for Two

Reservations for Two by Hillary Manton Lodge     305 pages

Reservations for Two is the second book in the “Two Blue Doors” trilogy. I wasn’t able to get my hands on the first volume, A Table by the Window, before I started reading this installment. When I first started reading, I wondered if I should wait to get a copy of the first novel. However, Juliette and Neil pulled my quickly into their story.

Juliette is a food-writer turned restaurateur, soon to open her own place with her brother Nico in Portland.  Neil is a scientist living in Memphis. The only thing they are sure about is that they love each other. Neither is in a position to pull up roots and move across the county. Not only is the new restaurant keeping Juliette in Oregon, but her mother is rapidly deteriorating from ovarian cancer. I never did get how they met, and I think that’s probably in the first book.

They are headed to France and Italy where Juliette is not only spending time with her extended family, learning more about cuisine and her relatives. One of the things that has sent her on this trip is the knowledge that the man she called Grandfather was not her biological ancestor. She’s hoping that some of the family, especially a grand-aunt suffering from dementia, can provide some information.

None of the family seems to have the answers. Yet Juliette finds a treasure-trove of letters between her grandmother, her great-aunt, and even the man who may be her ancestor that were written in the late 1930s and through the 1940s. She photographs the letters into her laptop so handling them doesn’t make them crumble.

Juliette doesn’t have much time to read them with all the things that are on her plate. But beginning about halfway through the book, she starts to dive into her grandmother’s past.

I was pulled quickly into the story. Before I reached page 20, I felt as if what happened in Book One no longer mattered. Reservations for Two is a great read until the end. Then the story just ends; it just stops. I went to turn the page and was greeted by a Reader’s Guide. I was so irritated that I wanted to throw my paperback copy across the room. There’s not conclusion to what’s happening now. There are a few clues as to what Book Three will bring, but I have to wait until May 2016 before it will be published.

I have mixed emotions about whether I would recommend this book to my friends. I LOVED the plot and characters, but that abrupt ending did me in. I hate to inflict that on any reader.

 I received this book for free from Blogging for Books.

Deceived

Deceived by Irene Hannon, 408 pages

This is the third book in the Private Justice series.  These books are related in the sense that they are the same characters but they definitely do not need to be read in order.  Three years ago Kate Marshall lost her husband and son in a boating accident, but her son’s body was never recovered.  Now she is living in St. Louis and is convinced that she saw her son at a shopping mall.  Knowing that it’s almost certainly not true but desperate to get to the truth, she hires Connor Sullivan to track down the boy and find out if he is her son or not.  This is more of a suspense and romance than a mystery.  We get to see all sides of this story and are well aware that the boy is Kate’s son but he man that has him will go to any lengths to keep him.  We also get to watch the budding romance between Kate and Connor.  Hannon is a good writer and this is a good story, as are all of the books in this series.  Readers that enjoy this genre will enjoy these books.

Trapped

Trapped by Irene Hannon, 393 pages

This is the second Private Justice novel.  These books do not have to be read in any sort of order.  Although this books refers to some things that happened in the first book, it’s not at all necessary to have read it to follow this story.  Laura Griffith has hired a detective to help find her runaway 16 year old sister, Darcy.  The detective at the agency who catches her case is James “Dev” Devlin.  These books are not mysteries.  We see what is happening on Laura and Dev’s side of the search but we also get to see what is happening from Darcy’s perspective.  It is more of a thriller since there is the worry that Darcy won’t be found before she is in serious trouble and it is also a romance as things heat up between Dev and Laura.  Hannon is a good writer and this series has been pretty enjoyable so far.  I’m looking forward to the third book as well.

Vanished

Vanished by Irene Hannon, 328 pages

Moira Harrison hits someone in an accident on a deserted road one rainy night.  Lost and confused from the accident, Moira was relieved when someone else shows up assuring her that he called 911 and help is on the way.  Moira passes out and when she comes to, an hour has passed and there is no sign of the man who stopped to help, the person she hit, or any emergency service people.  The police, when she calls them, obviously don’t believe her story, thinking that she was disoriented from the accident.  She decides to speak to a private investigator, and, with a recommendation in hand, contacts Phoenix, Inc., and speaks to Cal Burke.  Burke is intrigued by the case and agrees to check it out pro bono, since Moira can’t pay their fees.  Moira, a reporter so no stranger to investigation, also helps him out on stake-outs and other tasks.  As the two spend time together, they become aware of a growing attraction that neither wish to act on until the case is solved.  As readers, we get to know a lot more information than the characters and are clearly introduced to the perpetrator early on in the book.  However, the intrigue and suspense are still fun.  The Christian romance is also handled pretty well and doesn’t overpower the rest of the story.  People who like any of these aspects will probably enjoy this story.

Thief of Glory

Thief of Glory by Sigmund Brouwer  326 pages  (waiting on SLPL to get)

  

 

Prolific author Sigmun Brouwer sets this 2014 release in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II.

Ten-year-old Jeremiah Prins live a luxurious life. His father is a school headmaster, his mother stays at home, and he has five siblings.  He spends his days in school and playing marbles. Jeremiah is an avid marble player and wins more often than not. He has two pouches of marbles that he carries with him at all times and that are tucked neatly below his belt and beneath his shorts.

Life is idyllic. Until the Japanese invasion of the Southeast Pacific in 1942. Jeremiah and his family are sent to an internment camp, where life is brutal. His father and two older step-brothers are sent to a work camp; while the rest of family stays together.

Houses in the camp are divided so that each family gets one room. There is no privacy. There are long, long lines for food and medicine. Brouwer’s descriptions of life in these camps seems much harsher than the accounts that I have read about the American internment camps of the same period. Jeremiah does his best to stand up to his new role in the family: protector and provider. His mother has a much weaker constitution than he imagined. Luckily for Jeremiah, he has his marbles and his friend Laura, with whom he is besotted as he takes on these new responsibilities.

At one particularly harrowing adventure, Jeremiah finds a way out of the cap. He is able to do into the nearby city and trade for the medicines and foods. On one such journey, Lara is ambushed by a python. I must admit, it gave me nightmares.

What is the most interesting of this book is style in which it’s written, and it’s also the most disconcerting. As a contemporary/historical novel, the book opens with Journal 35. That doesn’t give the reader many clues, until about halfway through the novel, the reader learns that the book is being narrated from a much later period. For me, that took some of the wind out of story. Memories are often clouded and exaggerated.  Toward the end of the novel, without notice, Brouwer shifts from a historical prospective to a contemporary one. The transition is confusing and awkward; it’s like I’m reading another story. I didn’t enjoy it as much as it the historical aspect of the story. Also, this book is labeled as Christian, but it did not feel like a Christian novel. 

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.