WHERE FREEDOM GROWS BY BONNIE LEON

WHERE FREEDOM GROWS by BONNIE LEON takes place in 1930 during Stalin's rule of terror in Russia and the Great Depression in America. The story is sensitively told and we do indeed see freedom growing in the hearts of Yuri and Tatyana Letinov as they turn to God to help them cope in dreadful circumstances. I am looking forward to finding copies of the sequels in this "Sower" series and also to reading more novels by this very talented author.
We see Tatyana struggling to let go of her homeland as she finds a new family in America, and her fierce loyalty to the true Russian people who are not to be judged by the corrupt and murderous dictator who rules them with a rod of iron. There is a sharp contrast between the communist axiom of "for the collective good", in which individuals are cast aside, and the loving goodness that is found in the godly families who work together, sharing what little they have. Although there is poverty in America it is nothing like the poverty in Russia where people are not allowed to keep anything for themselves from what they grow, or to own anything, and are literally starving.
Yuri's story runs parallel to Tatyana's, and it is here that we see unbelievable suffering. We see how God saves him and Elena from the firing squad, the kindness they receive at the hands of Daniel and his family, and the way he is arrested for preaching the Gospel. He struggles with hatred and bitterness and finds it hard to see where God is in all the evil, feeling the Lord has abandoned him.
I can highly recommend this novel.

A PROPER PURSUIT BY LYNN AUSTIN

A PROPER PURSUIT by LYNN AUSTIN is the charming story of Violet Hayes, a young lady of twenty living at the end of the nineteenth century, who goes to Chicago to find her mother, to find love, and to find evidence against widow O'Neill in order to stop her father from marrying her!
Violet has just finished her education at Madame Beauchamp's charm school but finds herself ill equipped as far as life in the real world is concerned. Her father grudgingly allows her to travel to the big city to spend time with her grandmother and great aunts, each of whom has the "ideal" suitor for her, except for her rather eccentric Aunt Birdie who keeps telling her to marry for love and Aunt Matt who feels that she should rather remain single than become some rich man's slave! Her father expects her to come back to Rockport and marry the very boring Herman Beckett, whose mother is a great friend of Maude O'Neill.
Violet has a sharp wit, a vivid imagination, and fancies herself to be quite a detective! These attributes have been fed by the crime and romance novels that her best friend smuggled into school.
Violet is a beautiful young lady and causes quite a stir in her Aunt Agnes' social set, where she practises the decorum learnt at Madame Beauchamp's school whilst suppressing her boredom! Aunt Matt gets her involved in marches for women's liberation, and her grandmother takes her to the slums where she works among the poor. She tries hard in all these situations and learns a lot from her grandmother and great aunts, but doesn't feel like following any of their specific paths.  Her grandmother is a godly woman who tells Violet to seek the calling God has chosen for her.
She feels betrayed by her father and used by her suitors who each have a reason for their courtship of her which has nothing to do with true love. It is only when she comes to know the One who loves her the way she is, her Heavenly Father, that she realizes that He has a special plan for her life and that He has been searching for her just as she searched for Aunt Birdie when she wandered off, and as she is desperately trying to find her mother. The story of the prodigal son becomes very real to her when she hears it told by Dwight Moody. She also realizes that she herself has used people to further her search for her mother and in order to find the truth behind the death of widow O'Neill's husband.
There is a lot of depth in this novel and the story is told in a delightful way. We get to know the characters and to understand why they act the way they do.
The city of Chicago is celebrating mankind's progress at the World's Fair, and it is against this backdrop that Violet comes to grips with her true self and what it is she really wants in life. I first read this novel some years ago and have just re-read it with great enjoyment. It is a really good read.


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MISERY LOVES COMPANY BY RENE GUTTERIDGE

MISERY LOVES COMPANY by RENE GUTTERIDGE is an intriguing suspense novel. I found the blog theme particularly interesting.
Juliet Belleno loved the written word and was a talented writer. Her father, Lt Colonel Jim Franklin, was frustrated with her for hiding away after the murder of her detective husband, Jason, writing her feelings and opinions on her blog and on Facebook for all the world to see, instead of using her talents for writing a novel. He knew he had never been much of a father to her and the fact that he was a hopeless drunk made matters worse! He felt it was his duty to keep her from harm and when she disappeared without a trace, he was beside himself.
Seargent Chris Downey had been Jason's best friend and partner in the police force. He had promised Jason that if anything happened to him he would look after Jules. When her father told him she was missing he made it his business to try and find her. Chris and her father felt guilty that they had let both Jules and Jason down.
Jason had been a very committed Christian, and in the story we see Jules and Chris responding to Jason's beliefs as they go through very difficult experiences.
Jules' favorite author, Patrick Reagan, has a lot in common with Jules, having also become a recluse after losing his wife. They have come to know one another through their writings, and Patrick kidnaps her in order to encourage her to get on with living life, to dig deep and search for the truth, and to make the most of her talent. At times she feels he is insane and at others she feels she understands him. He also gets her to go through parts of his latest manuscript, which is very painful for her. The anguish Jules goes through in this secluded and lonely place as she is forced to face her fears, draws her to put her trust in Jason's God.
Both Chris and Patrick know there is more to Jason's murder than meets the eye and the story is full of suspense. The theme of searching for the truth runs through the novel. The plot is well worked out and the characters are likeable. I can highly recommend this novel.



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THE NIGHT WATCHMAN & THE CORRUPTIBLE BY MARK MYNHEIR

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by MARK MYNHEIR is an exciting detective novel with a good story, believable characters and a subtle Christian message running throughout.  I particularly enjoyed the sarcastic wit with which the protagonist, Ray Quinn, faces the world!
Ray is a former detective who is now working as a night watchman at a very superior apartment building which forms quite a contrast to his very basic and not very pleasant living conditions.  He is crippled due to being shot whilst on duty, and he is bitter at having lost the love of his life in the same shootout.  He feels guilty due to his inability to save her life.  He is a confused and unhappy man with a serious drinking problem.  His problems are deep seated - he never knew his parents and was passed from one foster home to another as a child, thus battling with rejection and heavy depression.
When a pastor and a prostitute are found dead at the apartment building where he works, he and his co-worker Crevis Creighton help the pastor's sister, Pam, to look into what really happened at this so called "murder-suicide".  
Pam is a committed Christian and is unfazed by Ray's antagonism to all things pertaining to her faith, and is a healthy influence in his life.  It is interesting to see how a gradual friendship is built up between the three of them.
In THE CORRUPTIBLE we find Ray and Crevis as Private Investigators. Pam, who is a school teacher, helps them in the afternoons and is also helping Crevis to pass his exams.  Crevis badly wants to become a polIceman but he has a learning disability. He is a likeable character - fiercely loyal and sometimes rather over enthusiastic.  He works out at the gym, getting tips from Ray who was a kick-boxer before he was injured, and has become Ray's protector.  Pam is also always ready to help, which pleases Ray but also exasperates him as he feels she is just waiting to pounce on him with a Scripture or a prayer!
The case they deal with is exciting and dangerous, although this time Ray gets the help he needs from the police department as he has been made a consultant.
The novels are fast paced and there is an interesting message throughout.  We can't help wondering when Ray will finally give up trying to get through life with the help of his "friend" Jim Beam and give the Lord a chance to help him get his life in order!
Although the books are better read one after the other in sequence, they can each be read as stand alone novels.  I can highly recommend them both. 

LOVE IN A BROKEN VESSEL BY MESU ANDREWS

In LOVE IN A BROKEN VESSEL MESU ANDREWS tells the biblical story of the prophet Hosea and his unfaithful wife, Gomer, with incredible insight and sensitivity. The novel is "up there" with some of the best Christian books I have read!
Whilst following the story and backing it with scripture throughout, the author introduces fictional characters who add their part to the novel without taking away from the truth. The characters, their struggles and their feelings are beautifully portrayed against the background of day to day life in Israel and Judah during the time of Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Jonah.
We see God's judgment on His adulterous people, but we also see His incredible love and compassion as He restores those who turn to Him.
The Lord speaks to Hosea and tells him to marry a prostitute and to stay faithful to her even when she turns back to harlotry. This mirrors God's unconditional love for His people and His longing for them to turn back to Him. We see the consequences of sin and the importance of obedience. Hosea's patience with his rebellious wife and his obedience to God's voice show his total trust in Yahweh..
The theme of restoration runs right through the story. It is when Gomer is broken like the pottery vessel she throws at the cave wall in frustration, that she finally lets the Lord in to restore her. Then we see Amoz mending the broken vessel and making it into something beautiful.
There is also a lovely parallel of Christ purchasing us by his sacrifice on the cross when Hosea buys his adulterous wife back from slavery.
Altogether a lovely book, beautifully written, and one I cannot recommend highly enough.





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BETRAYED BY JEANETTE WINDLE

BETRAYED by JEANETTE WINDLE is a suspense novel which takes place in Guatemala.  Like all the books that I have read by this author, it is most thought provoking.  
Vicki Andrews has no idea what secrets she is about to uncover when she arrives in Guatemala, nor does she have any idea that she is about to be challenged personally as far as her belief in God is concerned.  Through a lot of "coincidences" she uncovers the truth about her early childhood and her birth parents, and through the faith of people like Evelyn and Cesar she is drawn back to the Lord.  
Vicki is an anthropologist who works for Children at Risk, and comes to Guatemala to look at the children's home, Casa de Esperanza, at the municipal rubbish dump, in order to see if the funding they have been given is being used properly.  She has great compassion for people in need, especially children, and cannot understand that a loving Heavenly Father can sit back and do nothing when there is so much suffering in the world.  She is different to her sister, Holly, who is a veterinarian and loves animals and the beauty of the world around her, and has never lost her faith in a loving God.  
In her search for the truth about what happened to Holly, Vicki takes up a position as interpreter at the Wildlife Rescue Centre, where Holly used to work, and it is here that she faces her greatest fears and shows great courage in the face of danger.  Faced with so much corruption, she doesn't know who to trust. In the end she turns to the Lord who came through for Sarah when she was abandoned in the king's harem, trusting Him to do the same for her!  In fact, the idea of being "a woman like Sarah" runs right through the story.   
The novel is exciting and the characters are very believable.  It is an enjoyable read and one I can highly recommend.

BLIND JUSTICE BY JAMES SCOTT BELL

 BLIND JUSTICE by JAMES SCOTT BELL is a courtroom thriller with a twist. There is definitely something going on behind the scenes in Hinton where Howie Patino is suspected of murdering his wife, Rae, and when he screams out that the devil is after him, it puts a whole new slant on the case!  In fact he says he saw the devil at the murder scene!
Jake Denney is a lawyer who has a drinking problem, and as a result he has not been very successful. He is divorced and unhappy and the only thing that keeps him going is his love for his five year old daughter, Mandy.
Howie had a hard time at school as he has always been slow, and it is there that he and Jake become friends. When Jake is asked by Howie's parents to be his defense lawyer, he accepts, not only because Howie is his friend but also because he needs the money.  Howie is confused about what happened the night of the murder, which doesn't make Jake's job very easy.
Jake's childhood was not happy. Because he could never please his overbearing father, he has the wrong idea about God and feels he will never be able to please Him either. His friend Trip, who is a private investigator, tries hard to lead him to the Lord.  Howie's sister, Lindsay, makes quite an impression on him with her steady trust in God, and the way she recognizes the demonic power at work in Hinton.  I like the way the story is written in the first person.  We really get to know and understand Jake as he expresses his feelings.
It is not only an exciting story but there is a strong Christian message. I can highly recommend this novel.



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