Positive Grace by Deb Haggerty

Deb’s Dozen: One child plus one random call. Two lonely people. Add God=Happiness

I was delighted to read Travis W. Inman’s When Love Called. The writing is simple and lovely. The characters are flawed, but very human. The story is one of love and redemption. Our God is great and can do wonderful things when we trust Him.

Caton Harvey is mourning the loss of his wife, Mary. Mary had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and thought she’d be unable to conceive, but God granted them a child. When she was carrying their daughter, Mariah, Mary was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. By the time Mariah was born, Mary could not be saved despite aggressive chemotherapy. To assuage his grief, Caton sets out to build Mary’s dream house in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

Lily DeMar is a violinist with the Boston Orchestra. After her marriage ended in divorce, she is determined to remain single and chaste until she finds true love. One day, while Lily is on tour in Chicago, her phone rings—“Mommy?” she hears a sweet little voice say. Mariah has dialed her number while playing with the telephone. Caton notices that the phone is in use and picks up the line only to hear Mariah singing “Jesus Loves Me.”

After apologizing for the interruption, Caton and Lily end up talking for over an hour—sharing things about their lives they’d not told others. Although this seems to be a God-ordained call, Caton still loves Mary and feels guilty for having talked with Lily.

Enter Mariah. While Lily is in San Francisco, she gets another call—“Mommy?” The odds of Mariah dialing that number again were astronomical, but Lily and Caton find again that talking with each other is the most natural thing in the world.

You’ll love Lily and Caton’s story—you’ll also love Mariah and Mrs. Davis. The setting is beautiful, the romance has some bumps in the road—literally—but you’ll want to join them on their journey. If you like happy endings and a nice, clean romance, you’ll want to get this one. Four stars.

Travis W. Inman and his wife, Sarah, live in northern Idaho with their two children whom they homeschool. When Love Called is Travis’ first novel, although he has been published in a number of magazines and websites.

To purchase this book, click the link: When Love Called (The Glenfield Series Book 1)

My new Facebook friend, Travis Inman, gave me a copy of When Love Called in exchange for my candid review.

Deb’s Dozen: Zeta drug cartel wreaks revenge. Alpha and Omega’s in control: Romans 8:28.

You can count on Richard Mabry’s novels to have three things: medicine and doctors are involved, there is a romance, and there is suspense. Fatal Trauma didn’t disappoint in those three arenas. The action begins in the ER of a Dallas hospital. A gun-waving drugged-up man pushes a wheelchair in through the doors demanding treatment for his brother who’s been shot—everybody dies if he doesn’t get help. ER doctor, Mark Baker, and ER nurse, Kelly Atkinson, and the rest of the staff are definitely in harm’s way. They can tell the victim is already dead, but have to attempt treatment until help arrives. A cop in the next cubby hears them talking, comes in and tells the gunman to give it up—whirling around, the man shoots and the patrolman shoots back, killing the gunman. All this action in the first six pages of the book!

Dr. Baker and Nurse Atkinson hear from the police that these men were probably with the Zetas, a drug cartel from Mexico that’s been moving north. The Zetas have a habit of killing anyone involved in the death of one of their own.

Twists and turns abound on every page. Are the detectives on the case clean or dirty? Does the hospital administrator have something against Mark or is he just protecting the hospital. Is the other ER doctor friend or foe? How about Tracy, Kelly’s best friend—is she wrapped up in this?

You’ll be intrigued all the way to the end AND you’ll never figure out the ending until Mabry tells you. Great job, Dr. Mabry – four stars!

Richard Mabry, MD, is a retired physician who writes, in his words, “medical suspense with heart.” He and his wife live in Texas, excuse me, northern Texas. For more information and to find out about his other books, go to Richard Mabry, MD.

To purchase Fatal Trauma click here

Thanks to Abingdon Press and the Litfuse Publicity Group for giving me a copy of Fatal Trauma in exchange for my candid review.