TRUTH STAINED LIES BY TERRI BLACKSTOCK

TRUTH STAINED LIES by TERRI BLACKSTOCK is an exciting thriller with a definite Christian message.
When Jay Cramer is suspected of murdering his estranged wife, his three sisters, Juliet, Cathy and Holly, and his best friend Michael Hogan, are totally committed to getting him released from prison and reunited with his five year old son, Jackson, who has been placed in the custody of his very sick maternal grandmother and uncaring uncle.
Cathy is a lawyer who is no longer practising - she now writes a blog where she tries to get justice for victims of crime by giving her slant on court cases. When her brother is proclaimed guilty by nearly everyone, she realizes she must be more careful what she writes in future and should even ask for God's guidance beforehand! She sees how easy it is to ruin someone's life by what one says or writes about them.
Her relationship with The Lord was badly affected when her father, a pastor, left his family and ran off with his secretary. Holly was also badly affected, and we see how the trauma they go through trying to save their brother and nephew draws them back to The Lord and even leads them to visit their father and to forgive him. We also see Holly, who has lived a wild and selfish life, show compassion to old Mrs Haughton, and gain self esteem when she is asked to help Michael, who is now a P. I., after disgracing himself and his family as a cop by withholding evidence which led to his brother's killer being set free, asks her to help him solve the crime.
Juliet learns to be more understanding of Holly and is impressed by her maturity. When Holly sees Warren Haughton's disregard for his nephew's unhappiness she makes a major decision in her own life.
Michael battles with guilt for being thrown out of the police force, but he mostly feels that, as a Christian, he has let his Lord down! Cathy was engaged to his murdered brother, Joe. They both feel guilty when they find they have feelings for one another.
The plot is well worked out, the characters are believable, and the story is fast paced. I like the way the characters work through their feelings and relationships. It is good to see ordinary people dealing with what life throws at them, and coming out stronger when they realize that God is not the source of their problems, but is indeed "a very real help in the time of trouble." I enjoyed this novel and can recommend it.


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