WORDS OF CONVICTION by LINDA J. WHITE

In WORDS OF CONVICTION Linda White shows the importance of words in analyzing a person's character and state of mind. It is an exciting thriller and I can highly recommend it. The characters and their struggles are very real and are well portrayed.
F. B. I. agent Kenzie (Mackenzie) Graham is a psycholinguistics specialist who is in Washington to help uncover the underhand dealings of senator Bruce Grable, when the senator's five year old daughter, Zoe, is kidnapped. She is asked to stay on and help with the case using her special skill, namely uncovering what people may be hiding by analyzing their words and behaviour.
We see how the senator, and eventually his wife, change from being rude and demanding to being grateful for all that the agents are doing to help find their little girl. Their priorities change and the things that used to be important to them fade into insignificance. In the end we even see how their marriage relationship improves when they begin to understand one another.
Kenzie, whose mother is cold and critical, unlike her father who she loved dearly, comes to understand how Beth Grable feels left out of her daughter's life, due to Zoe's devotion to her father.
Kenzie finds herself in dangerous situations and overcomes her fear of enclosed spaces and spiders, amongst other things, with the help of the God who she has been ignoring since her father's death when she was twelve. Scott, the agent in charge of the operation who is an old friend of hers and a committed Christian, encourages her with the Word of God at just the right time. The novel clearly shows how people are convicted by God's Word and how He draws us to Him through His truth and the witness of those who live out their faith.
Both Kenzie and John Crowfeather are afraid of loving because of each losing the most important person in their lives, and need to let go of their negative feelings towards God before they can love again. What they go through in trying to find Zoe before it is too late helps them to do this and draws them to one another.
We are kept guessing right to the end of this nail biting drama!




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IN PERFECT TIME by SARAH SUNDIN

IN PERFECT TIME Is the third book in SARAH SUNDIN's WINGS OF THE NIGHTINGALE series and is just as well worth reading as the first two. Although I always like to read books in sequence, the novel can be read on its own. The story takes place towards the end of the Second World War. The author paints a picture of the joys and struggles of the characters against a backdrop of horror, fear and pain.
When flight nurse Kay Jobson first takes an interest in Roger Cooper, the good looking pilot, she sees him as a challenge. She has just dropped one of her many boyfriends and doesn't see any reason why she can't put Roger into the empty slot! She is mortified by the fact that her flirting doesn't have the desired effect on this clean living Christian man.
In the beginning neither of them know the reasons behind the other's behaviour. Roger is attracted by Kay but is afraid of losing control of his emotions, having been pretty wild as a young man, even getting a girlfriend pregnant, with disastrous results. Kay, for all her flirting, doesn't let any man get past first base. She has been brought up by a strict preacher father, who never went further than the book of Job, which he interpreted in quite the wrong way. This has left Kay with a feeling of unworthiness. With her it is all about controlling the men who lust after her. Because she was never good enough for her father she feels that she can never be good enough for God. Roger's family, particularly his father, tend to ridicule him and keep telling him he will never amount to anything. Roger is led by the Lord to give his precious bible to Kay and he gently leads her into the truth of God's word as his friend Lou did for him.
Kay and Roger go through a lot together and their relationship is full of ups and downs. Roger is afraid of hurting Kay as he did his high school girlfriend and Kay feels he sees her as a tramp. Underneath it all they are very similar, both having a poor self image. It is interesting to see how they relate to one another as they allow the Lord to lead them. They each have a burning ambition - Roger to be a drummer and Kay to be chief nurse - and they try very hard to impress those they know can help them in these areas. Eventually they see the importance of letting go of the past and letting God have His perfect way in their lives and of accepting His forgiveness for all they have done wrong, whether real or imagined.
In this novel we are reminded of the Father's loving presence in His children's lives and of His redemptive power. We also see how He can turn things around for good and how His timing is always perfect. I can highly recommend this book. It is not only very exciting but it is full of biblical truth.


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STRANDED by DANI PETTREY

I can highly recommend STRANDED by DANI PETTREY as an exciting read with strong Christian content. I have read the first two novels in the series and am reading SILENCED, the fourth novel, at the moment, but each can be read on its own.
When Darcy St James joins the Bering cruise ship in order to help her friend and former partner in investigative reporting, Abby, find out what is going on on the ship, she has two surprises. The first is scary and unpleasant as her friend disappears after a brief conversation with Darcy, and the second is pleasant but also a bit scary when she finds that Gage McKenna, the man she is in love with but knows she can never have an ongoing relationship with, is also on the Bering in charge of the island adventure expeditions.
We meet the McKenna family, together with Landon and Jake, who we met in the first two books, and I really enjoy the way the author handles the characters and their relationships with one another and with the Lord.
Darcy, who is determined to find her friend before it is too late, asks a lot of questions and finds herself in great danger. Gage, who has had a bad relationship and has lost his baby boy, is drawn to Darcy's God through what they go through together, and no longer blames Him for his misfortune.
It is a story that keeps you guessing and is hard to put down. Things are not always as they seem and it is hard to know who to trust. In the novel we see how determination and trust in the Lord go a long way in uncovering hidden evil.


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SEEDS OF EVIDENCE by LINDA WHITE

SEEDS OF EVIDENCE by LINDA WHITE is not only an exciting thriller but it is a sensitively written novel which is full of biblical truth. I actually read it through a second time as I felt I had lost a lot by reading it too fast the first time!
Kit McGovern, an F. B. I. agent, is spending two weeks' leave at Chincoteague, off the coast of Virginia, when she comes across a boy of about eight washed up on the beach. Although it would have been easy to let the local authorities take the case, she feels she needs to do so in order to obtain justice for this little boy who seems so lonely and lost lying there!
A surfer at the scene helps her drag the body out of the surf and she finds out later that he is a homicide cop who is renting her grandmother's cottage for six months. His name is David O'Connor, and he is taking time off after a shootout where he was responsible for a boy's death. The experience scarred him both physically (his shoulder was shot) and emotionally. He also carries emotional scars from an alcoholic stepfather and a failed marriage. He is used to doing things alone and can't understand how lonely he feels when he is not with Kit, seeing he has known her for such a short time!
Kit, on the other hand , bears scars from being rejected by her mother and then by her ex husband Eric. She feels she wasn't good enough and that is why they left her, and, as a result has lost faith in God, feeling He has left her too!
I love the descriptions of the sea, the bird life, and the scenery. It is in this beautiful and peaceful setting that Kit and David become involved in a case involving migrant workers, illegals, drug running, kidnapping and human trafficking. The story is well told and exciting and the book is hard to put down. The characters and their struggles with forgiveness, relationships, and trust issues are very real. In fact both Kit and David need to relinquish feelings of anger and even hatred before they can get on with their lives. There is such a message here of letting go of one's past, trusting in God's love, and living life with joy and gratitude. I can really recommend this novel.


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IN THE FIELD OF GRACE by TESSA AFSHAR

TESSA AFSHAR has done it again with IN THE FIELD OF GRACE, a biblical novel based on the story of Ruth! The fact that this is a novel does not in any way take away the truth of the biblical account. We come to know Naomi, Ruth and Boaz as people with emotions to which we can relate, and the godly way in which they deal with what life throws at them is a lesson to us all.
The meaning of the "kinsman redeemer" and of Christ being our Kinsman Redeemer is well brought out in the book, as well as that of the importance of compassion, forgiveness and devotion to the Lord and His people.
The novel is a joy to read and I can highly recommend it.



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PROOF by BILL BRIGHT & JACK CAVANAUGH

PROOF by BILL BRIGHT & JACK CAVANAUGH is an amazing book and well worth reading. It is definitely a courtroom drama with a difference! The story takes place in the time of the Fulton Street revival in America in 1857 and it is written in a style reminiscent of Dickens.
Harrison Shaw has just qualified as a lawyer and is amazed when he is given an internship with the well known J. K. Jarves. However, he is soon disillusioned with the situation when he sees the cruelty of the man, and gives up the internship.
This leads to him feeling the full measure of the man's vindictive nature, and when Victoria is touched by the Spirit of God, all hell breaks loose, ending with J. K. Jarves suing the old North Dutch Church for the "ruination" of his daughter and demanding that the Holy Spirit appear to defend Himself!
Harrison comes from humble beginnings, unlike Victoria Jarves, but they are both drawn to the notorious Five Points district, albeit for different reasons. Victoria is a determined young lady with many surprises and she torments Harrison unmercifully at first, but she makes a one eighty degree turn when she is born of the Spirit. She is particularly moved by the testimony of three wives who pray for their husbands without them being aware of it.
I particularly like the descriptions of the faith of the men and women from all walks of life who who take God at His Word, of the hunger for God at this time of revival and of the way the Lord honours the prayers of the faithful and pours out His blessings, leading men and women to deep and lasting repentance. It was an exciting time, and this story is so encouraging when we remember that this is the same God who desires to do the same amazing works in our lives today!
We see how Harrison, who feels responsible for saving the world, also feels he has let God down when he fails to prove the truth of Christianity in the courtroom! Victoria has already told him that it makes him feel good when people thank him for his works of charity and that he must not try and fight spiritual battles in his own strength. There is quite a message in that for us all!
I found this novel not only enjoyable but also deeply inspirational.



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ALWAYS IN SEPTEMBER by DORIS ELAINE FELL

I have just come across ALWAYS IN SEPTEMBER by DORIS FELL in my bookshelf, and cannot believe I haven't read this fast-paced novel before. I like the story, the setting in Paris, the believable characters, and, most of all, the Christian message. It definitely will not be the last book I read by this author!
Andrea York is an ambitious young fashion journalist who wants to have her own fashion line one day. When she is sent by her boss to follow the fashion scene in Paris, she is excited and feels her career is about to take off. However, she is loathe to leave her grandmother who is failing fast. She goes to see her and promises to visit her grandfather's grave in Normandy for her.
Andrea has no idea of the intrigue in which she will become involved, nor does she know that this trip will lead to the love of a godly man and a renewed relationship with the God she has been ignoring lately.
The novel is well written, the plots well worked out, and the character analysis excellent. I only wish the sequels were out in Kindle.


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