Archive | January 2022

Cast The First Stone by Margaret Thornton

Jan7

Delightful

Cast The First Stone by Margaret Thornton is a marvellous historical novel and the first book in the Yorkshire Saga series which promises to be fantastic.

The novel is set in the 1960’s in a small Dales community (it looks like Reeth to me on the cover). The tale also projects backwards to Leeds in the early 1950’s and also covers World War II as we learn about the backgrounds of the two lead characters.

Life was a lottery during WWII especially for members of the RAF. Morals and values were different to peacetime as tomorrow could not be guaranteed so today was seized.

The early 1950’s saw a very different attitude to unmarried mothers. Single girls who found themselves pregnant were seen as bringing shame to their family and were shipped off to church-run homes for the duration of the pregnancy. Following the birth, babies were taken away for adoption. It was a time where love was in short supply as appearances were what mattered.

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On Giant’s Shoulders by Patrick McElligott

Jan6

Inspirational

On Giant’s Shoulders by Patrick McElligott is a true and inspiring account of a life lived for over thirty years as a missionary in Japan.

Patrick McElligott writes in a very personable style, with the result that the reader feels as if we are reading an account from a dear friend. We hear about the author’s poor beginnings in Deptford and about a Christ-filled, servant-hearted life in Japan.

We all have a God-shaped hole that nothing else can fill. “I set my heart seeking until I found.” God longs to be found by each and every one of us.

God has uniquely created us. “The Lord had not called me to copy others.” God has planted our own hopes, dreams and talents within us. We are called to follow our own paths and not the paths of others.

Nothing can be established without bathing it in prayer. We need to bring both our small and our large concerns to God. “She spoke to the Father as if He were right beside her.” Prayer is for our benefit, as we establish a relationship with God.

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The Commandant’s Daughter by Catherine Hokin

Jan3

Kept Me Awake At Night

The Commandant’s Daughter by Catherine Hokin is a powerful and heart wrenching historical novel that is set in Berlin.

The story opens in 1933 with “the new hope of Hitler.” Even at that time there are those who can already see the dangerous character that lies within. The story then jumps to post war Berlin, continuing on to 1947.

Post war Berlin is a place of unrest. It is already divided into various sectors. The Jewish people are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Whilst former SS are trying to blend in and carve out new identities for themselves. The commandant’s daughter has spent the war trying to document the horrors of her father’s life as she “learned that he [her father] was far worse than a liar.”

There are many hiding behind secrets. For some, it is to protect others, and for some it is self-preservation.

There is a moral conflict too – does one hide the truth and let vigilante justice prevail? Or work within the law to catch the perpetrator? This dilemma plays out in several minds.

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