Archive | May 2021

The Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma

May27

Blending Fact With Fiction

The Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma is a marvellous Christian historical novel and part of the True Colors series.

It is a fascinating novel set in Denver in 1900 and based on true crimes. Fact blends with fiction to produce a cracking tale.

We witness the plight of women. They were seen as the weaker sex who need to stay protected in the home. It was deemed unsafe for them to walk the streets after dark. Women may have received the vote but were still viewed as unworthy by some. There were some plucky women who were determined not to be put down by chauvinistic attitudes and who actively sought out the perpetrator of the crimes against women.

Women were prejudiced against in the workplace. The leading lady longs to be a serious journalist but is given the frivolous social events of females to cover. Her writing skills are not taken seriously by either her employer nor her father.

The characters were well drawn and realistic. The women with their caring attitudes, looked out for each other.

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Revealing Light by Marilyn Turk

May26

Shine His Light

Revealing Light by Marilyn Turk is a delightful historical Christian novel. It is the second book in the Coastal Lights Legacy series but can be read as a  stand-alone. I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces. This book is set in 1883, twenty two years after book one and follows Sally Rose who was just a baby in the previous book.

There is the theme of identity. Jim Crow laws forbids mixed race marriages in the South. This forces a character to hide who she truly is. It is also an alien concept to her as she was brought up in the North. “Colour didn’t matter where she grew up.” It is also plain wrong and was one of the issues the Civil War was fought over.

Life has been hard and a character has drifted from God. “I thought God had forsaken me… so I decided I wouldn’t bother Him anymore.” God never leaves us but walks with us through all the seasons of life. In times of desperation, a character decides calling out to God really is the only option.

We are called to live out God’s Word. “Both men knew the Word. And lived it.” To truly walk in the way of Jesus is very beautiful to witness.

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Both Of You by Adele Parks

May25

A Clue Or A Red Herring?

Both Of You by Adele Parks is a marvellous contemporary psychological suspense that will have you looking this way and that as you try to guess the perpetrator.

Two women go missing, two husbands are distraught, two police officers lead the hunt – and what they discover will be the moment that everything changes for the reader – we have to try to guess the ‘who’ as we believe we know the ‘why’.

I suspected several characters – leaning first towards one and then another and then back again – as I tried to guess who had orchestrated the crime.

Adele Parks created a thrilling read told from several alternating points of view and time periods. There were clues and red herrings peppered throughout but which line to follow?

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Mission Bandits by Sarah Sawyer

May25

Exciting

Mission Bandits by Sarah Sawyer is an exciting historical Christian novella and the second book in the Doc Beck Western series. It can be read as a stand-alone.

The beautiful bond of loyalty between Doc Beck and her side-kick Just Jimmy continues. I love their banter which deepens and cements their relationship.

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, there are some amusing moments to give light relief.

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