Passions of the Soul

A Killer Watches You ****

Title:  The Eyes of Justice: A Triple Threat Novel
Authors:  Lis Wiehl with April Henry
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2012
320 pages; Reviewed: Kindle Edition 

This is the fourth book in the Triple Threat series. The “Triple Threat Club” consists of Allison, a federal prosecutor; Nicole, an FBI special agent; and Cassidy, a crime reporter for Channel 4 news. All three women live in Portland, OR. They knew each other only a little, in high school, but when they met again at their tenth high school reunion, they realized that their respective careers were related. From there they began to work on cases together, whenever possible and in time became good friends. In Face of Betrayal, the first book in the series, because of their work together and in honor of a favorite dessert they sometimes shared among themselves, the three women dubbed themselves “The Triple Threat.”

The publisher’s blurb about The Eyes of Justice tells that one of the three woman is killed, in this fourth novel. But how can we have a “Triple Threat” with only two women?

Two of the three women discover their friend’s body in her own residence, hidden in a gruesome manner, leaving homicide the only possibility. But both are warned, repeatedly, by their respective employers and by Portland police, that they must stay out of the investigation. Right.

The remaining two friends quickly begin to realize that the same killer is targeting them, as well—and it appears more and more likely that he will succeed. Indeed, before the killer has been identified, he has made attempts on both of the remaining friends’ lives, killing yet another woman in a mistaken identity, and sending one into hiding and a changed appearance. The other stays temporarily with a friend, but continues working to identify the killer—and stop him.

Enter Ophelia, a new character with a different set of skills and a different way of working. Introduced as “a little odd, a little intense,” she is brought in to help in the unapproved investigation. Just as she discovers the killer’s identity, he bursts into her own house, where one of the women is staying, setting into motion the actions that form the climax and the denoument of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Eyes of Justice—if enjoyed is the best word, here—and, until I reached the final pages, would have given it five Stars. However, it left me with unanswered questions and seemed to suggest that, possibly, the Triple Threat Club could continue with a new third member and her different set of skills. While the book is billed as the final novel in the series, it simply did not end as I would expect a series to end, with no loose ends, no glaring questions. Still, I do highly recommend the book, particularly for anyone who has read any or all of the previous Triple Threat novels, or for anyone who likes a good thriller.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Tanzania! (Updated)

See the two widgets in the right sidebar? They're new, just added, because some Compassion bloggers are on a trip to see Tanzania--more specifically, to see Compassion-assisted children and some of the student centers, the Compassion Tanzania country office, and probably a few sights. They might even do some work for a project, while they're there. Each blogger will be writing about the experience and sharing photos, every day. Some posts will bring smiles, some tears, possibly other emotions, as well. To follow their experiences, click on the top widget.

I wish I were with them. I sponsor two girls in TZ, Tausi (15 yrs.) and Warda (7). I'm not hopeful that the bloggers will get as far south as they would need, to have a hope of seeing either of my girls or their projects, but if I were there, I would move heaven, earth, and the gates of Hades to go see them!

We sponsor children in 9 different countries, in every region except South America. Tanzania is the only country from which I ever receive photos (other than bi-annual photo updates) of my girls, showing or wearing gifts for which we have sent money. So while we love all of the children we sponsor, Tanzania is especially close to my heart. (But, then, so is the Dominican Republic, where I have two girls and have visited; and Rwanda, where I sponsor a girl; and Kenya, and . . . sigh.)

Sponsoring has eternity woven through and written all over it. Sponsoring a child through Compassion International is one of the best investments you can make; it's a way to send money ahead, as Randy Alcorn says (Managing God's Money)--storing up treasures for yourself in heaven. Your sponsored child will also have many opportunities to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and will be discipled, while also being developed in every identifiable area of life. And (back to earth, now), usually around 12 or 13 years of age, she or he will begin to learn at least one life skill, helping to provide some income for her or his family. 

I know about our economy in the U.S. Trust me--it's a heckuva lot better than the economies these kids live in. Please consider sponsoring a child in Tanzania. Just click on the smaller of the two widgets and choose your child.

Please. So many children struggle to survive, often having not even one meal a day. You can change the story for one child, today. Please.

The Higher They Fly

Title: Downfall (An Intervention Novel)
Author: Terri Blackstock
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 978-0-310-25068-5
Format: Softcover, 282 pages; Kindle (format reviewed)

Wow!! What a page-turner!! That became my thought, every time I had to force myself to turn off my Kindle, right through the crisis. Downfall is, according to my lexicon, a thriller, which is not my favorite category. The “bad guy” is introduced immediately, though his identity is not revealed until much later (but the savvy reader can guess before that!); worse, he succeeds in his first several, terrible crimes. He seems not only to be getting away with them, but increasingly making Emily Covington, a drug addict with two years of good sobriety, look guilty of the crimes and guilty of a relapse.

The story begins with a glimpse at the continuing tension between Emily and her mother, Barbara, who lives in constant fear of Emily’s relapsing into active addiction. From the moment she learns Emily’s car has been bombed, all of Barbara’s fears rise to the surface. Those fears, fueled by memories of all the family had experienced as a result of Emily’s involvement with drugs, nearly crush her spirit. As the situation worsens for Emily and the family, Barbara wonders: Can she go through that, again? If Emily really is in relapse, could Barbara find the strength to put her own daughter out on the street?

After her car is bombed—incompetently, thank goodness—Emily learns that Kent Harlan, her mother’s boyfriend cop, is working on a murder case. Discovering the victim’s identity convinces Emily that the two crimes are related; she recalls a conversation she overheard months earlier, at the rehab’ center where she works and tells Kent what she remembers. She then becomes convinced that another woman may be in danger, but an attempt to warn her lands Emily in jail, charged with the woman’s murder.

Downfall depicts the realities of addiction, relapse and recovery, showing us through Emily and her family that an addict’s restoration does not come easily; the danger of relapse is always there. Other dangers can arise when, as in Downfall, an active addict who is never motivated to get clean begins to wreak havoc with her or his own and other people’s lives.

The story’s crisis comes with palpable threats to life and limb for Emily’s brother and his friend. The immediate resolution is followed by a bit of romance, a nice touch. And then we reach the final chapter, which mostly dragged, for me, after the constant tension and action in the story. Except for that, I would have given this book 5 stars, as this story fought me, every time I had to put it down, for the night. I would give it 4-1/2, but I can’t; thus, my rating of 4 stars. However, I have now purchased Books 1 and 2 in the Intervention series, Downfall being Book 3. That should tell you something.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free Shelton Interactive/Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

On Christian Community

Title:  In Visible Fellowship: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s Classic Work Life Together
Author:  Jon Walker
Published by Leafwood Publishers, 2011
174 pages

Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  pastor, teacher, writer, and a pacifist who “struggled over the moral responsibility of believers to oppose evil when it is incarnate in a government, such as Hitler’s Nazi Germany” (pg. 11) He joined the resistance movement in Hitler’s Germany, was arrested on the order of Hitler, himself,  in 1943 and hung to death in a concentration camp on April 8, 1945.

Bonnhoeffer’s writings necessarily came out of his observations and experiences during Hitler’s rise to power and the resulting carnage of his reign. Bonhoeffer taught that Christian discipleship must necessarily take place in close-knit Christian community.

Jon Walker also authored Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship (2010). In the current book, he takes us through Bonhoeffer’s teaching on Daily Worship, from morning to evening.  Nearly all of these chapters speak of communal worship; daily worship with other believers has not been part of my experience, so I found these chapters difficult to relate to. However, in “The Day’s Beginning: God’s Word,” the following paragraph resonated with me:

Bonhoeffer notes that we often hear people argue from experience or opinion when faced with a crucial decision; yet, even among believers the argument of Scripture is missing. If we give greater credence to experience or opinion, then we reveal we don’t “seriously read, know and study the Scriptures.” Bonhoeffer says, “One who will not learn to handle the Bible for himself is not an evangelical Christian” (pg. 54).

How do we learn to “handle” the Bible for ourselves? The same way we grow, spiritually, in all other ways: in close-knit community with other believers; through the teachings of those more mature in their spiritual walk and, perhaps, training; and in daily meditation on God’s Word. But meditation sounds, and for many people is, so mystical, that it is off-putting to others. But Bonhoeffer taught that meditation “is simply thinking seriously about God’s Word” (pg. 94).

All of the chapters in In Visible Fellowship are short. Each of the first five chapters deals with a part of what “We were created for….” The next several focus on daily worship, all in the context of community. Daily worship with other believers sounds inviting, but how to make that work, in our culture, especially in our evangelical Protestant culture, I don’t know.

While some parts of In Visible Fellowship seemed dry, I did dog-ear quite a number of pages in which I found nuggets of real worth to me. Some of these had to do with meditation on scripture; some with prayer or silently waiting on God; and others with corporate fellowship or various ministries. I will review these, from time to time, and I recommend the book for anyone wanting a deeper look at Christian community.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers as part of their ACU Press Bookclub Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Finishing Well

Title:  Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well
Author:  Billy Graham
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle Edition

While the Bible doesn’t gloss over the problems we face as we grow older, neither does it paint old age as a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth. . . . Nor does it picture us in our latter years as useless and ineffective, condemned to spend our last days in endless boredom or meaningless activity until God finally takes us home.

Instead the Bible says that God has a reason for keeping us here; if He didn’t, He would take us to Heaven far sooner. But what is His purpose for these years, and how can we align our lives with it? How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but also actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties? How can we face the future with hope instead of despair? [Introduction]

When I read the part I’ve quoted from the Introduction, I hoped Dr. Graham would have some clear answers to his own questions. What he offers is some wise counsel for preparing for our later years. The challenge that Dr. Graham lays out for us is first to recognize that God does have a purpose for each of us for as long as we are here; and second, to actively seek to know His purpose for us, individually, and to live accordingly. 

The author did offer some help in such aspects of life as “Dealing with Grief,” which includes a section on “Looking to the Future.” The next chapter deals with the future by “Influencing the Impressionable,” and offers some guidance for doing that well. They are good tips, if we are going to have a legacy worth leaving behind. There is a purpose for the elderly.

Graham writes about the need for a sure foundation for our lives. Most people focus on financial success and providing financially for their family’s future. But Graham looks to the words of Christ, in Matthew 6:25: “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” We need something more, something deeper and unshakable. . . .  We need a solid foundation . . . that will give us strength and stability no matter what happens. And the time to build it is now.

He adds, “Instead of the elderly taking a backseat in the twilight years, we need to faithfully proclaim as Joshua did, ‘Incline your heart to the Lord God’ (Joshua 24:23 NKJV).” There is a purpose for the elderly.

Then there is the matter of spiritual maturity, also phrased as a question: What does God want to do in our lives . . . or in my life or yours? The Bible makes it clear that His primary purpose—perhaps His whole purpose—for each of His people is for us to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. This ongoing process begins as soon as we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our part is to learn to trust Him, which we learn best by obeying His commands and following His direction for our lives. There is purpose not only for the elderly, but for every believer.

On the same subject, the author examines five spiritual resources God has provided to help us grow up in Christ: The gift of God’s word, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of prayer, the gift of fellowship with other Christians, and the gift of service.

Near the end, Graham encourages us not to live without hope, and not to see this life as “all there is.” Is there really life beyond this one? Is heaven real? Graham draws on scripture to support an affirmative response: Jesus said “I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). He also assured His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

This book encouraged and, in places, comforted me, although I still have some apprehension about my coming years. Graham acknowledged, several times, that some people reach a point where they are weak in body and in mind, but if he offered any answers for how these people can find a purpose in God’s leaving them here, I missed them. And that has been one of my questions for 45 years, as my grandmother slipped further and further into the grip of Alzheimer’s. But I do encourage readers to buy this book, read it, and share it with others—especially aging parents, but also with young people, if they will read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Trust Issues Abound in An Amish Wedding

Title:  An Amish Wedding ****
Author:  Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Kelly Long
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle Edition

Trust Issues Abound in An Amish Wedding

An Amish Wedding consists of three novellas with characters who overlap from one story to the next. I have read previous Amish-based volumes of novellas, written by any or all of the same authors, and have enjoyed each of them very much. I like the continuity of characters, with the shifts in focus. This volume and its interwoven stories is no exception.

In "A Perfect Secret," Kelly Long opens with Rose's reaction to a perfectly unromantic proposal of marriage. Rose knows and understands all of his stated reasons, but she longs for a little romance. Luke seems utterly lacking in any such sensibilities. Rose is hampered by the belief that she knows Luke fully, because they have been best friends all their lives.

            Rose's secret desire for adventure sends her out in the night after the thief who has been stealing from the community, and who has now stolen the pies Rose had baked and set outside. Through her quest, we learn that Luke, too, has kept secrets from her, from his family, and from the community at large. These revelations set both Rose and Luke free to be who they are. They also relieve Luke of a burden he has carried and tried to meet all by himself. But will these revelations bode well for Rose and Luke's marriage?

Kathleen Fuller introduces us, in "A Perfect Match," to Naomi and Zeke. Naomi is 25 years old, which is really "old" for an unmarried Amish woman. She was once abandoned by the one man she thought she could ever love, and had built up strong defenses against being hurt, again. Zeke is a few years older, really old for an Amish man never to have married, but he has just been waiting for the one woman who could be his match.

            Zeke lives in another state and has come to visit for his cousin's wedding, and he is struck by Naomi right away. Naomi cannot deny that he is attractive and that they do hit it off well, but she has promised to help her friend Margaret "find a man." She tries to set up Margaret with Zeke, but that does not go well. Naomi has long been convinced that she could protect herself from being hurt, again--a common misbelief.

            Later, it seems more likely that Margaret has found her man than that Zeke will be able to win Naomi. Somehow, just saying, "You can trust me," isn't enough.

Beth Wiseman brings us "A Perfect Plan." Of course, no plan is ever really perfect or comes to perfect fulfillment.  In this case, hardly anything remains that could go wrong for Priscilla and Chester, as they approach their wedding day. Priscilla always wants everything to be perfect, but Chester's and Priscilla's plans face one disaster after another, through all the months of their preparations. They love and are committed to one another, but after so many things go wrong, each begins to question whether, in fact, they are supposed to marry each other. Could God be trying to tell them something?

I enjoyed these novellas, as I have enjoyed the other stories I have read by the same authors. I suspect developing stories and characters is more difficult in a novella than in a full-length novel, and I have enjoyed their novels even more. But I do recommend An Amish Wedding to readers who enjoy Christian, and specifically Amish, fiction.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Surprised by Grace in a God-Forsaking Place

Title:  The Grace Effect: How the Power of One Life Can Reverse the Corruption of Unbelief *****
Author:  Larry Alex Taunton
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle Edition

What on earth would lead a child who had spent her entire existence in one orphanage or another, in a country that had plunged ever deeper into the abyss of Godlessness, to pray to God? Under a government whose policies continued to dismiss the poor, the weak, the disabled and the orphan as worthless, and which continued to deny the existence of God, how would a child know to pray to anyone, let alone a Being she could not see?

          Sasha, ten years old, had entered her first orphanage right after her birth. No one had any idea who, or where, her mother was, or if she was alive. Sasha was not only an orphan: She was HIV-positive and, by the time the Tauntons met her, had rickets. She had survived in a system that did not care whether she survived, or not, but wanted her off the streets and off their minds.

          One day, an adoption facilitator the Tauntons would later meet walked into Orphanage #17 and found Sasha, who normally was vivacious, despite her physical condition, in tears. Nobody around wanted to tell him why, but finally one child did: Sasha had been attacked by a teenaged boy. That night, Sasha prayed for a real family, with a mother and a father.

          Taunton’s narrative of his family’s trip to Ukraine to finalize their adoption of Sasha, not so many years after she had prayed, gripped me, as the pitfalls and the possibilities for failure lay waiting at every turn. At any time, any of the Ukrainian “players” could have stopped the whole process; one bribe too few or too small, or one judge having a bad day or too lacking in care for a child, and the family could have been sent home without Sasha, forever.

          Sasha’s resilience, faith and hope throughout the proceedings reflected what Taunton refers to as “the [Christian] grace effect.” I cannot explain that nearly as well as he has done in this book, but he has left me much more aware of the many ways my own life is touched by grace. He has also left me sobered by his discussion of how a nation moves gradually but steadily down the road to losing the gentling effect of grace, toward the ultimate end of abject denial of the human soul, of God, of any purpose in life.

          The Grace Effect fascinated me, took hold of me, and hasn’t let me go. I not only recommend it; I urge you to read it. Will you agree with it? I cannot guarantee that, but if it doesn’t make you think, then your mind is closed, perhaps irrevocably. I hope that is not so. I give The Grace Effect five ****. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. TN did not require me to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

"Wonder" Leaves Me Wondering

Title:  The Wonder of Your Love **
Author:  Beth Wiseman
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle edition

In The Wonder of Your Love we find not one, but two romances. The one purporting to be the main storyline involves Katie Ann, whom we know from Wiseman’s Plain Pursuit. In that story, Katie Ann’s husband of many years had left her for an Englisch woman. Only after he had gone did Katie Ann discover that she was carrying their first child, after many years of marriage.

Wonder picks up a few months after the birth of Katie Ann’s son. And we find that Martha, another character from Seek Me with All Your Heart and Plain Pursuit, has forged a close relationship with Katie Ann since the close of the previous story. Martha is one of the two characters in what is supposedly the subplot, or sub-storyline. In my actual reading of the book, neither Katie Ann’s nor Martha’s storyline seemed dominant, but more as if they were “co-stories.” Martha is also the character who ties the title into the story, by her references to the wonder of God’s love. Primarily through Martha, too, we see God’s love working in its transforming power to change lives, both Martha’s and Danielle's (a new character--hmm...will the next story be about Danielle?).

Katie Ann does not expect ever to marry, again, and continues denying the possibility through much of the book. Martha, being much older than Katie Ann, does not expect to marry again, either. Her first husband, whom she had loved deeply, had died; Arnold, her second love, had moved away when he heard that his son was very ill. Martha had not allowed Arnold to come visit her, because his leaving had been very painful, and she didn’t want to go through that, again.

Katie Ann’s life takes an unexpected turn when Eli shows up for his nephew’s wedding. His wife had died 17 years earlier, leaving him to raise their six kinner (children). He is a new empty-nester who fully intends to enjoy his new freedom by working hard on his farm and traveling—a most unusual plan, for an Amish man. By tradition, he should have remarried within two or three years, at most, after his wife died. But here he is, plopped down in front of Katie Ann as an eligible bachelor. Naturally, as their friendship progresses, much match-making occurs, despite the protests of both that they are “just friends,” and that a marriage between them is “impossible.”

The resolution to Martha’s romance comes as a natural progression of Arnold’s personal situation. The resolution to Katie Ann’s and Eli’s “friendship” does not seem natural. Given all the denial from both, any reader of romance fiction knows early on that they will get together, and the only question is how it will work out. I found the solution unbelievable, or at least, difficult to believe. So I wonder: Was the author tired of the book and just wanting to wrap it up? Was she frustrated, unable to form any better resolution to the dilemmas presented by the couple? Did she wrap up both romances in one book because she didn’t have enough material for two (which is okay, I guess)?

Ms. Wiseman can do better, in my opinion, than she has done in this book—and she has done better. Seek Me With All Your Heart and Plain Pursuit were both much better stories than this one. I had looked forward to the book focusing on Katie Ann, but I am very disappointed in this one. In fact, it proved so forgettable, for me, that after I first read it, I utterly forgot to write my review. Two or three weeks later, I re-read it in order to refresh it in my mind. And then I forgot, again, to write my review. That has never happened, before. I realize most reviewers have given Wonder… high ratings, but I cannot join them. I give it two stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. TN did not require me to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Redemption in Serenity

Title:  Shadow in Serenity
Author:  Terri Blackstock
Publisher: Zondervan
ebook edition/Kindle 

Shadow in Serenity first appeared under a different title when Terri Blackstock was writing for the general market. She says, “It was my last book to be published before I changed to the Christian market, where I could write books that impacted lives in an eternal way.” I appreciate that calling. She has rewritten this book as a story of redemption. Yes, there is romance, but redemption and grace are greater and longer lasting than romance. 

Logan Brisco is a grifter. His mom died when he was only five years old, and no one ever told him that. For years, he waited for her to come back, as he was shuffled from one foster home to another. He finally went out on his own at 14, making a living of sorts off of “marks”—people who were conned by whatever pitch he was giving them. At 17, he was picked up by an older man, also a grifter, but this man was accustomed to a higher standard of living—also made off of marks. Together, they became a dynamic team, as they developed bigger and greater scams. That ended the night Montague Shelton dropped dead in their hotel room.

After serving several years in prison under an assumed name and legitimately earning a college degree in his own name, Logan decided to try a legitimate job in marketing and sales. He became the top earner, until his boss began cheating Logan on his commissions.

That’s when he decided that he might as well go back to his previous, dishonest career and began doing research on amusement parks. Having completed his research and developed his scam, he researched little towns in Texas, towns that had done very well, for a while, but were facing tough times--but towns in which enough people still held sufficient funds and hope of a comeback to make them vulnerable.

In Shadow in Serenity, we read how Logan managed to con almost everyone in town and collected a lot of money. But he met his match in Carny, the child of carnival drifters and grifters, who knew all the tricks, the looks, the tones of a grifter.

But Carny, despite her participation in the schemes and scams of her parents, Had once had dreams. She'd dreamed of having her own home, settling down, making friends; then she met Abe, the man she thought would give her the life she’d always dreamed of. They married, and Abe took her to his hometown of Serenity, TX, where he proved to be a drunk. When he died in a drunken stupor, Carny was left with her son and her home, complete with a white picket fence.

She had also, by that time, found the love and acceptance of the people of Serenity. In the little church, there, she learned that Jesus Christ loved her and could wash her clean of all sin. She received that precious gift and told her new friends of her past life, confessing her own part in the dishonest activities of her parents. They accepted her, and she was really at home.

But Carny was never going to be taken in, again, by anyone, grifter or even any honest man who wanted a relationship with her. And when Logan Brisco hit town, she had him and his scam in her sights. She listened with everyone else who came to hear his pitch, and then she tried to convince everyone present not to listen, and certainly not to give him any money. She failed, and Logan started raking it in.

One irritating pattern I have noticed in the novels I’ve been reading is that they all have two or more people—a man and a woman, or a newcomer or returning prodigal—who are in conflict. Fine. That makes a good story. But despite mounting attractions, despite growing hopes and dreams, main characters repeatedly remind themselves and the reader that “It can never work out,” “It would be impossible,” “It will never happen.” Little insight is needed to know, very early, that it will work out. I keep reading so I won’t miss the details. But I wonder: Is denial of the obvious the new style of foreshadowing?

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book, and my mind keeps returning to it. It probably won’t be long before I read it again. I recommend that you, also, read how Carny and the townsfolk begin to get to Logan—and how Logan begins to get to Carny. It is a romance, but it is primarily a story of grace and redemption on several levels, for both Logan and Carny. I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Shelton Interactive on behalf of the author or publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lessons Learned from a Good Outcome of 9-11

Title: Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero
Authors: Michael Hingson and Susy Flory
Publisher: Thomas Nelson – Kindle edition

Exactly what I expected from this book, I’m not sure. Is it a good 9-11 story? Yes, indeed—a bit unnerving, even, at times, although there was certainly no question as to the outcome: Michael and guide dog Roselle obviously made it out alive, along with Michael’s friend and co-worker, David Frank. 

But suspense was never the point; the point was how they made it out and how that story ties in with Michael’s life-long blindness and what we can all learn about blindness and interacting with blind people, as a result. At least, I think that is the point; I found myself wondering, many times, just what the main point of the book really was: Was the main point that they survived, despite Hingson’s blindness, by walking down almost 1500 stairs in Tower 1? Or was the 9-11 story the vehicle through which Hingson and Flory could educate the masses about blindness and how sighted people can interact with the blind without looking, ourselves, like total idiots? 

I think the latter option is true; certainly, that is how it turned out. I learned a lot from the book, not the least important point being that blindness does not render a person deaf, unintelligent, or incapable of doing anything for him- or herself. Not that I thought it did; yet, many sighted people act as though any or all of those are true. According to Hingson, blindness is not the tragedy many of us think it would be, if we were suddenly to lose our sight. Still, I suspect it would seem more tragic to me, at this stage of my life, that if I had lived with it from birth. But according to Hingson, putting up with the ignorance of most of the public with regard to blindness and dealing with the blind is perhaps the biggest hurdle a blind person faces—and faces virtually every day. 

Thunder Dog is worth reading, if only for the chance to learn a wealth of information, in one volume, about blindness and how to interact with blind people without robbing them of dignity and looking like an idiot. But the format--the interweaving the 9-11 story with Hingson’s life experiences as a blind child, adolescent and adult—often felt disjointed to me. I often found myself really “into” whichever part of the total story I was reading, only to be jerked back to the alternate story with little or no transition. I’m not sure whether a single volume with Parts 1 and 2—the two main story lines of the book--would have worked; it may be that the connections would be lost, altogether. Most likely, all that was needed were smooth transitions—easily followed segues.

I am a re-reader; I often turn to books I have previously enjoyed and read them again and again and…you get the idea. I am glad I read this book, but I don’t know that I’ll read it again. I do think you should read it, and maybe give it to someone who has a need to learn about blindness to help him or her cope with the blindness of a loved one, a co-worker, or some other person.

It might be a good gift (it is available in audiobook format, unabridged) for someone who is losing or has lost his or her sight, and feels devastated. I suggest this because Hingson also says that far too many blind people believe the negative misconceptions about their blindness and allow that to limit their life experiences, unnecessarily. If hearing the book will help them live a fuller life, then it’s well worthwhile.