A New Creation
One Tuesday Lunch by T.K. Chapin is the next instalment in the marvellous Diamond Lake series but can be read as a stand-alone. It is a contemporary Christian murder mystery romance. I loved it. It had me guessing until all was revealed.
There is the theme of PTSD as the main character Hunter is an Afghan war vet who lost his leg in action. T.K. Chapin shows that not all wounds of war are visible, there can be scars on the inside.
The theme of prejudice rears its head in the novel. People believe things about others because of past behaviour. “He was a bad seed. He always has been, he always will be.” People wrongly assume we cannot change. T.K. Chapin shows how with God we can have a fresh start, a new beginning. God takes the old, heals and makes it new. As it says in the novel he was “a little broken but mended together by God’s bandages of love.”
The novel explores the importance of praying and handing our burdens over to God. “I stormed the alter of God with my problems.” Burdens in God’s hand can be transformed. God always hears and answers our prayers but in His time. Sometimes we get impatient waiting. “If God’s the one on the other end of those prayers, He’s tuned me out for quite some while.” God’s silence does not mean that He is not working on our behalf.
Jealousy and hurt are powerful motivators to act in unthinkable ways. When we do not deal with our hurts in a healthy way, we may be consumed to the detriment of our character.
One Tuesday Lunch is written in the first person from the point of view of twenty eight year old Miley. The reader ‘sees’ what she sees and gets to know her intimately. The mystery that puzzles her, puzzles the reader too.
I am really enjoying this Diamond Lake series. It is good to hear the different stories and to meet up with familiar characters. God is at the heart of every novel as T.K. Chapin dispenses good advice within the tales as to how to live a life pleasing to God.
A fabulous series.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON