Christian Book Reviews

Healed, Healthy, and Whole: Miraculous Hope

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Deb HaggertyJanuary 14, 2016

Deb’s Dozen: Healed, Healthy, and Whole: Good Medicine, Great Research, and God’s Marvelous Miracles.

In June of 2012, Marion Pyle’s husband, Russell, was diagnosed with an especially malevolent variety of bladder cancer. Devastated by his prospects, the couple decided to fight—to fight by every means possible. They met with a specialist; a surgeon who would operate to remove the tumor. As all of us would, they gathered their resources and waited.

On the day of the operation, the surgeon located them in the cafeteria—in fact, they saw him there when they thought he was still operating on Russell. The doctor came to talk with Marion and the friends with her supporting her with her presence and with prayer. Very unprofessionally, he showed them pictures of the surgery.

By the third day after surgery, the catheter he was required to wear began to hurt, and he began to bleed. They searched for another surgeon and found one of the best. But they would have to wait: Russell needed to heal completely after the first surgery before the new doctor could operate again.

They gathered friends and stormed the gates of heaven. They researched and collected information on alternative treatments. They began to eat healthier and more natural foods as well as to exercise as Russell was able. They signed up for several of the alternative treatments.

God is always good. You will want to read the story of the journey the Pyle’s undertook. Healed, Healthy and Whole is a narrative of health and healing and wholeness, yes, but most of all, hope in God’s miraculous powers. I was encouraged and uplifted by reading the steps they took in their fight against this malicious malignancy. Three stars plus!

Marion M. Pyle is an award-winning author, producer, and television host. She has appeared on the Joni Lamb show, the 700 Club, the Dove network, and American Family Radio among others. She is also a popular speaker, media trainer, and presentational speaking coach. Marion and Russell live in southern California.

Not By Sight: a WWI Romance

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Deb HaggertyDecember 30, 2015

Deb’s Dozen: A wealthy suffragette crashes a ball and starts an unforeseen ball rolling.

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin is set in England during WWI. Grace Mabry, daughter of a wealthy tea shop owner in London, is appalled at the seeming indifference of some upper-class men to the war in Europe. How can they ignore the war, not enlist, and continue gamble, drink, and party as if nothing were happening? She and her maid, Agnes, decide to crash an elegant costume ball to which they were not invited and hand out white feathers of cowardice to those dilettantes.

Arriving at the ball, Grace, costumed as Pandora with her box of woes, approaches Jack Benningham, heir to the Earl of Stonebrooke, who typifies the young, able-bodied man who refuses to get involved in the War. As Grace’s own brother, Colin, is off fighting in the trenches, she does not understand this brand of indifference and lifestyle.

Grace has little idea of what her action begins. The chain of events proceeding from the “gift” of the feather include Grace being banished from the city, Jack being terribly injured, and a spy hunt encompassing all they know and love. Grace and Agnes join the Women’s Forage Corps, an organization training young women to work on farms and gather hay while the men are fighting overseas. Grace has no idea going into this endeavor how hard the work will be and what she will learn about herself and others.

In the meantime, the terribly scarred and blinded Jack Benningham has retreated to Roxwood Manor to lick his wounds and retreat from life. Because of the mask he wears to protect his burned face, he is known as the Tinman and thought of as a monster by the locals. An accident involving a load of pigs (you’ll love the description) brings Grace and Jack to an abrupt meeting. Circumstances conspire to convince Jack to hire Grace as his driver. Little do either of them know what will come of their meeting and what courage will be required when their fervent beliefs are challenged.

Kate Breslin is fascinated by this era in our history. She manages to paint a picture of the life of the gentry in England in the World War I era as well as the contrasting picture of the poor and underclasses. The war impacts them all impartially. Changes are coming: the automobile has been introduced, women are forced into and enjoying roles formally the purview of men alone. Using the artifice of Grace’s desire to write, Breslin is able to describe the beauty of the countryside and the people without diverging from the plot. The characters of Grace and Jack are well-written as are the secondary characters of the women serving with Grace in the WFC. You’ll enjoy this journey into rural England as well as the twists and turns of the spy plot. Well done, Kate. Four stars. Not by Sight is a fun read.

Kate Breslin hails from Florida but now resides in the Pacific Northwest. Her first book, For Such a Time, was a Christy Award Finalist, a double finalist for the RITAs, and won a Carol Award. She lives with her family near Seattle, Washington. Find out more about Kate at KateBreslin.com.

Every Crooked Path Leads to the Piper

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Deb HaggertyDecember 27, 2015

Deb’s Dozen: Patrick Bowers is Back but Will He Have to Pay the Piper?

Steven James has brought back Special Agent Patrick Bowers in an exciting prequel to the Chess series, and I am delighted. This Bowers is a younger, less sophisticated version, yet still astute and adept at solving conundrums. James still delights in twists and turns and dead ends and captivating characters.

Patrick has been loaned to the NYPD to work on a task force attempting to shut down a large child pornography network headed by “The Piper” as well as solve the kidnappings and murders of many children over the past few years. His geospatial take on crime and criminals intrigues one of the task force members, Tobin Cavanaugh, whose daughter, Adrienne, was one of those kidnapped and killed. Together, Tobin and Patrick, along with Patrick’s partner, Jodie, attempt to follow the traces of these high tech pornographers and pedophiles.

The topic is terrible but timely. Child pornography and child sex-trafficking is at an all-time high level. Today’s technology enables abusers to pander to their filthy habits with great facility by tapping into the Dark Web—one hidden behind firewalls and ever-shifting URLs and IDs. James does not describe the images, thank goodness, but the horror of the reactions of those faced with them in the pursuit of justice.

We also meet Christine Ellis, Patrick’s first love, and her daughter, Tessa. I enjoyed watching Patrick learn to talk with and interact with the highly intelligent Tessa. Reluctant to engage with him at first, they start to bond over logic puzzles and an interactive video game. Tessa loves her mother above all else and recognizes she loves Patrick—Tessa, therefore, wants Patrick to stick around.

Although the topic is unpalatable, the intrigue is not. You’ll be entranced by the stratagems and webs woven both by the police and the perpetrators. Steven James has provided us an excellent introduction to Patrick Bowers, and we start to learn about the man we’ve grown to love through the Chess series. I’d give Every Crooked Path: The Bowers Files
four stars—not because of the writing, which is superb, but because of the topic, which is distasteful though the subject may be timely and one that we should be cognizant of.

Steven James’ bio reads: “… is the national bestselling author of nine novels including the critically acclaimed thrillers Checkmate, The King, Opening Moves, and The Queen. He has won three Christy Awards for best suspense and was a finalist for an International Thriller Award. His thriller The Bishop was named Suspense Magazine’s book of the year. Visit Steven James online at StevenJames.net.”