4 stars out of 5
"...one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line..."
From the start of this one, those lyrics from Simon & Garfunkel's "Keep the Customer Satisfied" ran through my head in this fast-paced, exciting book that I read in a single day (partly because it's only 318 pages long and mostly because it was very hard to put down).
You see, Casey Cox is a woman on the run; her DNA has been found at the scene of the stabbing murder of her best friend Brent, a journalist. In truth (or truth as she tells it), she really was at the scene - meeting him at his apartment at lunchtime at his request - but what she found was his bloody body. Believing her story wouldn't be convincing to the police, she ran away in hopes of finding a new identify and a new life. She's also trying to escape some haunting memories of her own youth - memories that comprise another reason to be wary of talking to the police.
Enter Dylan Roberts, a former Army cop with three deployments and a nasty case of PTSD who'd love to get a job on the local police force. Turns out he also was a good friend of Brent, and when Dylan attends the memorial service, because of his background he's hired to track down Casey (with approval from the time-challenged local police). As the chase ensues, chapters shift from Casey's perspective to Dylan's; in most instances, I'm not a big fan of that technique - nor of first-person writing - but they really do work well here.
Despite her efforts to stay off the grid, Casey leaves a trail that's almost amazingly easy for Dylan to follow. The closer he gets to finding her, though, the more he begins to realize there's far more to her story than he's being led to believe - bringing into question what happened to Brent, who actually did him in and why.
Meantime, a second story line comes into play as Casey - who now has a new identity - tries to get her new act together in an Atlanta suburb. A new friend, it seems, has a daughter who went missing a couple of years earlier. In the course of her new job, Casey inadvertently uncovers clues that could mean the daughter is still alive. Risking the loss of her precious anonomity, she sets out to learn the truth. The book comes to a riveting conclusion that brings closure to one of the two story lines (but I won't reveal which).
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book - but with two reservations. The first is that there's a doozy of a cliffhanger ending. This is the first of a two-book series (which I knew ahead of time and, under those circumstances, certainly expected some carryover business). But this goes far beyond that, literally forcing readers to get the next book (If I'm Found) if they want closure. And not knowing that was gonna happen till the end of this one made me very grumpy.
The second is that it's in-your-face clear from the beginning that this book belongs in the category of Christian fiction (which I didn't know at the time I accepted an advance review copy from the publisher based on what sounded like a great story). Mind you, I have nothing against organized religion; in fact, I consider myself to be somewhat of a student of it. Over the years, I've enjoyed, and learned much from, books on the history and beliefs of faiths from Baha'i to Judaism to the Society of Friends to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
What I do not want to read about, however, is some character's "search for the God I used to believe in" or, God forbid, proselytizing. Both are in here from the beginning, though thankfully, not in large doses (with a couple of exceptions). Still, it's more than I want to encounter, and I firmly believe potential readers should be made aware of this ahead of time.
If I Run by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan, February 2016); 318 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Looking for a good legal mystery? Consider giving this one a try - seriously. Top-notch young attorney Hayden McCarthy has just earned her chops by pulling off an almost unbelievable win - a feat that doesn't go unnoticed by her hoity-toity law firm. But instead of a few days on a sunny beach or a hefty bonus, her reward is being assigned to a seemingly unwinnable wrongful death case. A young Mexican boy who attempted to enter the United States illegally was caught and stashed in a government-run juvenile detention facility in Texas - where he was murdered. Now, Hayden's firm has been asked to build - and more important, at least to Hayden's future career, win - a case against the government.
Add to the mix Hayden's roommate, who just happens to have a very hunky and eligible cousin named Andrew Wesley. And he just happens to be the son of an ambitious congressman. It goes without saying that Hayden and Andrew are wary of but attracted to each other. But even though Andrew claims to eschew his father's chosen profession of service to America, the fact that Hayden is going head-to-head with the government isn't exactly a relationship booster.
Tracking down the facts she'll need to build her case takes Hayden from her job in Washington, D.C., to Texas and back - with plenty of dangerous turns in between. Although almost none of it takes place in a courtroom, there's plenty of action and legal details as Hayden tries to ferret out the truth.
So we have likable, well-developed characters, a story that's intriguing, timely (immigration) and believable. So what was missing? Although I certainly should have known, I failed to pick up ahead of time on the fact that this book falls into the Christian category - and there few things in this life I do not want to read about more than someone's religious "journey."
But wait, there's more.
Other than one horrific moment when I was convinced the book would end with Andrew's asking Hayden to marry him only if she agreed to quit the high-profile job she loves and stay home to be a proper mother to their kids, matters of faith were for the most part unobtrusive. In fact, what few references there were seemed to be inserted haphazardly, almost as an afterthought, sometimes where they really didn't seem to fit. It was almost as if someone said, "Oops, God hasn't had a mention in 50 pages - better throw one in!"
And somehow, it strikes me that a "Christian" book should have more on that subject (or at least what was there should have been more fully developed). Ironic, isn't it, that the biggest downside (a mild one, I hasten to add) is that there wasn't enough of what I didn't want to read in the first place? But there it is.
That said, this is a very enjoyable book that's well worth reading no matter what side of the religion coin you're on. Many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for providing me with an advance review copy.
Beyond Justice by Cara C. Putman (Thomas Nelson, April 2017); 384 pp.
4.5 stars out of 5
When I see books compared to multi-million dollar sellers, the hair on the back of my neck starts to curl; never yet have I found one that justified those claims. So when the author wrote to ask if I'd be interested in reading and reviewing this one - and I saw "If you love Dan Brown..." - my first instinct was to run the other way. But the fact is, the subject matter intrigued me (yes, I've loved all the Brown books). And when I learned the author, like me, is a native Hoosier, well, how could I say no?
Now that I've finished, I'm delighted to say I enjoyed it thoroughly.
The story begins as Jaqueline Quartermane, a relatively young, attractive (and uber-Christian) U.S. State Department lawyer, learns that her missionary fiance has been killed in Ethiopia. Amazingly unemotional under the circumstances, she decides to fight, not mourn; off she hops on a plane to go investigate. There, she meets up with a relatively young, attractive Jewish antiquities thief. They hit if off, although almost in the literal sense; being wanted by the law she can forgive, but his being a Jew turned atheist? Not so much.
Having little choice if she wants to get to the truth, she agrees to team up, and that takes them on an eventful, sometimes life-threatening journey to several ages-old countries as they try to solve the mysteries of ancient markings and thwart a religious conspiracy that could jeopardize the world as they know it.
As all this takes place, readers are reminded of the subtitle; at the heart here is the "real" story of Christopher Columbus and his voyages to the New World. Chapters shift back and forth from the days of his youth-to-adult life and the present day, slowly bringing together the connection of the secrets of Columbus to the present-day attempt to show the world that the promised Messiah of the Apocalypse has arrived.
The excellent writing held my attention throughout, and I got an extra kick here and there out of some really great lines: A burly old barkeep's grin, for instance, "could have been the model for a warning poster in a dental office." By profession, I'm a writer/editor - but writing like this reminds me that while I love reading fiction, never in a million years would I even attempt to produce anything that can't be corroborated with facts. But since I'm never without my editing hat (and I'm a stickler for such things), I have to note I ran into an occasional typo and even an entire repeated paragraph.
For others who may be interested in reading this book (and - dare I say it - if you love Dan Brown you should give it a go), I also offer the following advice:
Allow plenty of time. Put another way, this ain't a James Patterson; you won't be able to skim through it; the detail is endless and borders on excruciating. Fairly early on, I gave up trying to remember much of anything except the characters' names (and even that was a tough go because several of them hail by more than one). A little of that, I admit, is attributable to my advanced age; hey, I routinely can't find where I put my glasses, so how could I possibly expect to recall that an inverted "S" with a colon next to it signifies that what follows is to be interpreted exactly the opposite of what it says? Instead, I relied (rightfully) on the author to provide the "connections" that led to the somewhat surprising ending.
Keep an open mind. If nothing else, this book is about religious history - rooted in fact, yes, but also in folk lore and the author's vivid imagination. So if you're a Christian Bible literalist as is our heroine Jaqueline - "I believe that every word of scripture happened just as it was written," she huffs at one point - be prepared to get your panties in a wad now and again.
The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Christopher Columbus Thriller by Glen Craney (Brigid's Fire Press, October 2013); 407 pp.
3 stars out of 5
If a mystery/thriller has a medical or legal focus, it'll get my attention. If it's part of a series, even better; I love to have something on the back burner to turn to when my supply of favorite-author books starts to dwindle. I had high hopes for this book about the trials and tribulations of Dr. Cathy Sewell, who returns to her home town to set up her own practice. It's the first of three books in the "Prescription for Trouble" series by the author, a retired physician.
What I didn't realize is that the book might be more accurately listed under Christian fiction. Certainly I should have known; it's published by Abington Press, an imprint of The United Methodist Publishing House. But even though that's not my style (not even close, in fact), I must say I wasn't overwhelmed with the "I hate God for allowing my parents to die" followed by a lecture on why that's not true kind of thing. Only in a couple of places did talk of converting to true believer status become intrusive, and I was able to speed-read my way through those and get on with the story.
Cathy, it seems, returned home after ending a bad relationship - still grieving at the untimely loss of her parents in an accident just as she finished medical school. But sometimes it just doesn't pay to go home again; early on, it appears someone wants her to turn tail and get outta Dodge. Or maybe it's several someones; she has trouble getting a loan to set up her practice, trouble getting privileges at the local hospital, trouble driving down the road without being attacked by a mysterious black SUV and trouble when patients she treats end up in worse condition than when they came to see her. Given all that plus her past life experiences, she's lost the ability to trust - not even a local (and hunky) lawyer who promises to take care of her - and certainly not her own judgment.
All things considered, it really wasn't a bad story. I'll emphasize that the religious slant isn't the reason for my mid-point rating, nor is the technical quality of writing. In fact, it was nice to read a book that doesn't have grammar, punctuation and spelling errors splattered throughout every other chapter. Rather, it's because the overall plot is a little simplistic, and some of the details - which I can't mention without issuing a spoiler alert - just didn't have real-life plausibility. What happens to Cathy borders on overkill, so to speak; you think you're having a bad day? After reading only a few chapters that detail what she's going through, your life will seem like a walk in the park.
Still, at just 288 pages, it's a quick, easy read - ideal for my "fill-in" series requirement. And while it's far from the best book I ever read, it was good enough that I'm not calling in the crash cart for this series; in fact, I'm likely to try the next two, Medical Error and Diagnosis Death. I'll keep you posted!
Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Abingdon Press, April 2010); 288 pp.)
