The Rules by Kerry Barnes

Feb12

Out Of Control

The Rules by Kerry Barnes is a contemporary crime thriller that will draw the reader in from the start.

There is a fine line between the villains and the heroes, with plenty of anti-heroes in between. It is a line that becomes ever more blurred as the novel progresses. Trust is high on the agenda but with crosses and double crosses the reader wonders just exactly who are the ‘good guys’?

Within the novel there are themes of drug taking, supply and demand, gangland wars and violence. It is not a novel for the faint hearted but it is a complex and well thought out plot.

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The Secret In The Cliffs by Kristin Tucker

Feb11

Exciting And Gripping

The Secret In The Cliffs by Kristin Tucker is a contemporary YA adventure that is entertaining and gripping from the start. I was drawn in immediately, engaged and questioning the action.

The novel is an exploration both literally and figuratively. Teenagers explore  caves as well as exploring where they have been and where they are going. The important thing at that age is to never lose face. The caves are exciting as bits from the past are unearthed.

Mysterious men who seem to be after the teens all add to the suspense.

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The Single Ladies Of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanna Nell

Feb9

Growing Old Disgracefully

The Single Ladies Of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanna Nell is the most delightful novel about love and friendship and life.

Life is for living whether you are eight or eighty. “The person inside doesn’t change just because a few years have passed.”

The novel explores how frustrating it can be when you are treated as old and infirm. Being older in years does not equal deaf and daft. If we are still breathing, we can have fun.

The residents of the retirement village are well past their first flush of youth and had forgotten how to live until a sprightly seventy nine year old breezes in and shows them how to grow old disgracefully. There are some very amusing moments as words are forgotten or substituted. Malapropisms are the order of the day.

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Mercy’s Promise by Lynn Landes

Feb8

The Father’s Heart

Mercy’s Promise by Lynn Landes is a fabulous Christian historical romance set after the American Civil War.

War is a terrible thing – some wounds are visible, some are not. War changes personalities – things that have been seen cannot be ‘unseen.’ Men returned full of anger and pain. In those days, there wasn’t any help. Today we would diagnose PTSD as nightmares reign.

Survivor’s guilt is a terrible burden to carry. “ ‘What bothered you most about being a soldier’ ‘Surviving.’ “ God does not want us to live under a burden. He wants us to live abundantly free. “You have to choose between holding onto the past or being thankful for what remains.” The past is gone. We can trust God with our future.

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors. There is the difficult theme of domestic abuse. The outward bruises are clearly visible. The inner pain runs deep.

Two hurting families come together. This reminds the reader of Esther who was here ‘for such a time as this.’ God can and does use all our circumstances. He can be trusted.

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