Archive | August 2018

Caught By Surprise by Jen Turano

Aug2

Murder, Marriage And Mayhap

Caught By Surprise by Jen Turano is another absolutely delightful Christian historical offering. It is the third book in the Apart From The Crowd series but can be read as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces.

The book has an air of frivolity with much light hearted humor that has the reader smiling throughout. Botched attempts at kidnap are greeted with amusement by both the heroine, who is very much a modern miss, and the reader.

Women play a prominent role in the novel. Their outlook is philanthropic and forward thinking. A school is set up to improve the lot of young women. “You will attend school… because it’ll give you a future.” With education comes more choice and the possibility of breaking out of poverty.

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The Mind Of God by Bevan Frank

Aug1

Interlinking Lives

The Mind Of God by Bevan Frank is a contemporary suspense that will have you questioning from the start. It is definitely a thinking man’s novel as the plotline is all intricately connected. With its base in scientific invention, I didn’t ‘get’ all the minute details but I did follow the bigger picture.

World events are linked as the action plays out in Cape Town. A series of coincidences and misinterpretations of events keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

There is the question of trust. It seems that even those closest to us are not always trustworthy. In contrast there are some old friendships and good friendships that will support and go the extra mile.

The Mind Of God was a fast paced thriller that would make a fabulous movie. I can picture Liam Neesan in the lead role.

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A Curve In The Road by Julianne MacLean

Aug1

Beautiful, Emotional Overdrive

A Curve In The Road by Julianne MacLean is a contemporary novel that deals with grief, betrayal and learning to live again. I read it in just one sitting. It was totally beautiful and heart wrenching. Tissues were needed as my emotions were shot to pieces.

Julianne MacLean writes novels that go straight to the heart. Her characters are realistic and likable. Dealing with grief is complex. We go through a range of emotions. “I’m so angry… Yet I can’t bear his absence.” Anger is normal. We hate the person for leaving us to cope alone. “Part of me wishes he were alive so I could kill him myself.” This paradox is totally understandable – in our hurt and pain we just want to lash out but really all we want is the arms of our loved one around us again. Grief stinks. We just need to work our way through it in whatever way we can.

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Deceit by Kerry Barnes

Aug1

Hook, Line And Sinker

Deceit by Kerry Barnes, oh wow what an amazing, heart racing, fabulous contemporary psychological thriller. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down.

The novel breaks down long held preconceptions as we enter the world of a women’s psyche and see inside the prison walls – both literal and psychological. The walls we build in our mind are as much a barrier as actual brick walls. Life deals us a certain hand, what we do with it is up to us but we must remember “actions have consequences.” No matter how much “I wish I could turn the clock back,” we cannot.

The novel is about truth and lies. “Plotting the next lie.” It is up to the reader to work out the fact from the fiction. The problem with lies, is the more we tell, the deeper we go until even we find it hard to distinguish the truth.

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