Twisted Innocence not much of a Twist

Posted on by July 8, 2015
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Deb’s Dozen – Loss of innocence, an innocent baby, father a murderer? Drugs, death, danger!

Holly Cramer has always been the party girl, playing her way through life until a one-night-stand results in pregnancy and the birth of her daughter, Lily. Chastened by the consequences of her behavior, Holly has attempted to set her life straight by driving a taxi and working for her brother-in-law’s P.I. Firm. Still, she can barely make ends meet.

Mugged by a fare, her billfold and money stolen, Holly teeters on desperation again. Then the baby’s father, Creed Kershaw, enters the picture, as does Howard Miller – the drug lord believed to gunned down several members of her family. Could things possibly get any worse? Will Holly’s fragile faith take her through this trauma? What will happen to Lily now that her father’s in the picture?

Terri Blackstock leads us through curves and chaos in Twisted Innocence, the third book in The Moonlighters Series. Although the book supposedly stands alone, unless you’ve read the first two books, you’ll be confused by the characters and find them very ill-drawn. The plot, although twisty, is predictable as is the ending.

I’ve loved Terri Blackstock’s writing for years and have read many of her other series. However, I was disappointed by this book — seemingly written just to tie-up the loose ends in the series. I rarely write a review when I dislike a book, but unless you have recently read Truth Stained Lies and Distortion so that you know the back-story, you’ll be disappointed.

Three stars–hope the next series is better.

Zondervan gave me a copy of Twisted Innocence for my candid review.

Checkmate – The Denouement of The Patrick Bowers Series

Posted on by July 8, 2015
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Deb’s Dozen – Pawn to Knight to Bishop to Queen to King – Checkmate – I Win!

The game ends now … those words saddened me as did the title, Checkmate. Why? Because those words spell the end of Steven James’ most excellent Patrick Bowers series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and been intrigued, horrified, and thrilled by every book in the series.

I love the way Patrick plays out his love for Lien-hua, “Sometimes the most eloquent things are shared wihen you’re not saying anything, and now she put her hand on mine and we sat together in silence, the unspoken language of the moment enveloping us.” And when she makes him promise never to lie to her, “I wondered if I would really be able to offer only the truth if it came to the place where I could offer her hope instead.”

We’ve learned so many lessons in relationships from Patrick’s interactions with those close to him. He opines, “Tragedy can either send us spiraling of into our own private oblivion or it can draw us closer to other people.” Tragedy drew him closer to Tessa, to Lien-hua, to Ralph—even to Margaret Wellington, his boss.

About his work, Patrick recalls, “my mentor once told me that every dead end shows you more clearly the pattern of the labyrinth, that each one you encounter gives you one more piece of information that’ll help you as you methodically fail your way to success.” What successes might we have if we kept that as our viewpoint?

We’ve watched Tessa grow up—once an angry, hurting young teen who inflicted pain on her own body by cutting to lessen the pain in her heart from her mom’s death from cancer. Now Tessa, eighteen, is on the verge of coming into her own as a woman. “A soul is only set free when it becomes constrained by the bonds of love … Intimacy is the license that you give to someone else to hurt you the most. And also to set you the most free.”

Summing up his philosophy, Patrick muses, “You strive for justice, you move toward the light when you can, and you shake off the darkness that clings to you from living on this fractured planet of lost dreams and sharp heartache. Because it’s also a place that hope calls home. Justice wrestles with the darkness and we are, each of us, caught up in the fight. We strive for the first, but have a weakness for the second and between them is a chasm that spans all of our souls.”

And so, in my heart, and in the hearts of millions of fans, Patrick Bowers will continue to fight evil and make our world just a little bit better. Thanks, Steven, for following your gifts and giving us The Bowers Files. I’ve loved the ride!

You’ll want to read Checkmate to see the finish of the games and what happens to Patrick, Tessa, Ralph, Margaret, and the villains we’ve loved to hate—Basque and Kurt Mason. A five-star book and series!

“After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.” —Italian proverb.

The Penguin Group gave me a copy of Checkmate for my candid review.

Instant Action, Instant Intrigue, Insurmountable Circumstances—Interwoven with Romance and Alaska’s Beauty.

Posted on by July 8, 2015
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Deb’s Dozen – Instant action, instant intrigue, insurmountable circumstances—interwoven with romance and Alaska’s beauty.

Reef McKenna, the rash rapscallion of the family McKenna, has reformed. After being accused of and acquitted of murder, he turned his life around. Finding a relationship with Christ was a huge part of his journey.

Kirra Jacobs, the girl he’s cared for since he was a young boy, is paired with him on the Iditarod Search and Rescue (SAR) team. Kirra’s always been the good girl, always ready to chew him out when he screwed up, so Reef’s concern drives him to follow her when she sneaks out of quarters in the middle of the night.

Kirra is incensed when Reed stops her, then admits she is concerned because her uncle, Frank, is missing. He alone of all the teams in the race has not checked in. This kind of behavior is highly unusual for Frank, so Kirra is determined to take one of the snowmobiles and go looking for him. Reef’s not about to let Kirra go off on her won and finally convinces her that where she goes—he goes.

They find Frank, who warns them off—kidnappers have taken his daughter, Meg, and unless he meets the their demands, she will be killed. Willing to do anything to save his daughter, Frank has agreed to do what they have asked. Hearing the noise of another snowmobile, Frank is quickly off.

Reef and Kirra at first think the snowmobiler is part of the SAR team, but find out otherwise when the man pulls a gun. Kirra makes it safely to the trees, but a shot grazes Reef. After she pulls Reef to safety, they elude the man and make their way safely to a cave Kirra knew about from working the race with her uncle and Meg previously.

With Reef and Kirra now missing, too, Darcy and Gage and the rest of the McKennas get involved. What has Frank been asked to do? Where is Meg? Who shot Reef and disabled their snowmobile? Will they make it to camp safely? Mush along with them on the Iditarod and elsewhere to find out.

Sabotaged is Dani Pettrey at her best. Instant action, instant intrigue, seemingly insurmountable circumstances, all interwoven with a growing romance and beautiful Alaskan scenery. Sabotaged wraps up the Alaskan Courage series nicely except for those of us who have fallen in love with the McKenna family and would love to read more of their adventures. My husband said he would only give the book four and a half stars-because it ended! Five books in the series—five stars for each!

Dani Pettrey is a delightful, personable author with a number of awards to her credit. She’s won the Daphne du Maurier Award, two HOLT medallions, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, and Christian Retailing’s Best, among others.

Last January, as I sat in the lobby after the Writer to Writer Conference, I thought I saw Dani walking through the lobby. I messaged her to ask if she was indeed in Hershey—she was! She nicely came down, and we had the opportunity to chat for a few minutes—what fun and how kind of her to do so!

I look forward to reading many more Dani Pettrey books in the years to come!

Bethany House Publishers gave me a copy of Sabotaged for my candid review.