Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso

Hi Everyone,

Gripping, moving, and fascinating are good words to start to use to describe Darkness Follows. Mike Dellosso created a drama filled book with this one. On the surface Sam Travis is just your average hard working husband with a daughter until his accident. He starts hearing civil war noises, but scarier yet, he is finding writing that he doesn't remember writing! The darkness is taking over him, while his daughter keeps telling him that she loves him, and that Jesus loves him. Eva says a man named Jacob keeps telling her what to tell Sam.

But Sam isn't listening well, he is consumed in trying to figure out what is real and what he is dreaming. He keeps winding up seeing things that aren't there, or are they? What is his connection to the man in the Civil War he is writing about? In the middle of no one believing him much, and saying that he is getting really scary, now people are being murdered. A killer with out all of his faculties is moving on Sam's trail.

Sam has to find God's love, hear his daughter's love for him and that God has for him before everything has gone way too far, and it is way to late to change. A very dramatic read that touches on some major issues.

Carol

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Darkness Follows  Realms (May 3, 2011)
by

Mike Dellosso  ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mike now lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Jen, and their three daughters. He writes a monthly column for Writer . . .Interrupted, was a newspaper correspondent/columnist for over three years, has published several articles for The Candle of Prayer inspirational booklets, and has edited and contributed to numerous Christian-themed Web sites and e-newsletters. Mike is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, the Relief Writer's Network, the International Christian Writers, and International Thriller Writers. His short stories have appeared with Amazon Shorts and in Coach's Midnight Diner genre anthology. He received his BA degree in sports exercise and medicine from Messiah College and his MBS degree in theology from Master's Graduate School of Divinity.

Mike Dellosso writes novels of suspense for both the mind and the soul. He writes to both entertain and challenge. In addition to his novels, Mike is also an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College and a faculty member at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sam Travis lives in a Civil War era farmhouse in Gettysburg, PA, where he awakens one morning to find an old journal with an entry by a Union soldier, Lt. Whiting…written in Sam’s own handwriting. When this happens several more times, both at night and during waking “trances,” Sam begins to question his own sanity while becoming obsessed with Lt. Whiting and his bone-chilling journal entries. As the entries begin to mimic Sam’s own life, he is drawn into an evil plot that could cost many lives, including his own.

Can the unconditional love of Sam's daughter, Eva, break through his hardened heart before a killer on the loose catches up with them and Sam’s past spurs him to do the unthinkable?


If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of Darkness Follows, go HERE

Watch the book video:



The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616382740 

A Killer Among Us by Lynette Eason

Look!

Time for another great book from Lynette Eason! I do love watching writers become more and more skilled. I hope that one day people will be able to say that about my books as well! Meanwhile I really was pleased with A Killer Among Us.

Kit Kenyon is one amazing woman. She is surrounded by amazing women as well! She is wrestling with the truth of her adoption, but at the same time she has a twin sister, and another sister who are all involved in police work or have husbands in the "field" in one way or another. She has a darling nephew. And at work, well she has a new partner, Noah Lambert.

Kit has just pulled through a horrible hostage situation, where she is the one doing all the negotiation, when  a very strange murder calls for Kit and Noah to work on it quite closely. This serial killer is killing law students, or so it seems. In the first murder the killer not only takes an item, but has a particular way of making a statement out of the victims. The killer is presumed male,  it is obvious that the victims knew him, and were totally unable to defend themselves.

Past the reader just getting to know Noah and Kit and the romance budding between them, Lynette Eason also has us "inside" the mind and thoughts of this serial killer. What makes him tick, and why he is doing what he is doing is revealed more and more as A Killer Among Us progresses. With Kit and Noah now part of his targets, it is a race to find out who the killer is, and what it will take to stop him. Very few loose ends were not tied up. God wasn't absent, nor was wonderful food, fast paced action, drama, suspense, and a really good plot.

This is one you will enjoy!
Carol

“Available May 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Local Detectives Close In On Serial Killer!

Just as Noah open his mouth to respond, the passenger window beside Kit ruptured, glass flew, and Noah yelled. Kit gasped, “Noah!” Kit felt something hit her arm then pain radiated upward toward her neck. “The shooter is on the roof, I’m going for that parking garage,” Noah gritted. “Noah? I think I’m gonna pass out.” Kit’s eyes shut and this time she couldn’t shove the blackness away.

A Killer Among Us (ISBN: 978-08007-3371-1, $14.99, May 2011) is the latest thriller in the Women of Justice series from author Lynette Eason. In the conclusion of this series, A Killer Among Us is full of the heart-stopping suspense and gritty realism that fans of television shows like NCIS or CSI enjoy. Eason brings to life the lives of a negotiator and a detective hunting down a killer in the streets of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Kit Kenyon is a first-rate hostage negotiator. Noah Lambert is a good detective with excellent instincts. The new partners have hardly had time to get used to each other when they are thrown into this grisly murder case. As evidence mounts and more victims are found, Kit and Noah realize they are on the hunt for a serial killer. The problem is he's hunting one of them...but which one?

The pace never slows in A Killer Among Us as the story offers up clever plot twists, and hint of romance. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as this page-turning suspense keeps readers up late trying to discover who the killer is--and whether Kit and Noah will live to tell about it.

Lynette Eason is the author of Too Close to Home, Don't Look Back, and thirteen other romantic suspense novels. She is a member of American Fiction Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America. A homeschooling mother, she has a master's degree in education from Converse College. She lives in South Carolina.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

The Reluctant Detective by Martha Ockley

Hi All,

The Reluctant Detective  is different. I liked the English feel of the book, and how daily life and church activities were very well detailed. In this book Faith Morgan goes for a visit to her hometown, Little Worthy.
(Nice name I must add!) Before her eyes and the entire congregation, the priest presiding dies during the service when he takes communion! What a horrible event! To complicated matters for Faith, her ex-boyfriend is the one in charge of the investigation.

These "sheep" are in need of a leader, and Faith winds up in charge of them. She isn't sure she likes them, and she isn't sure who to trust. Faith is a former cop, so she has some rusty instincts to fall back on, but she is only slowly getting to know the people in this church. She isn't totally sure of her relationship with God, and she isn't at all sure she should stay there and take this job that could cause her many complications and/or many blessings.

Over all, I enjoyed the feel of the book. The story was o.k., but I was a bit put off by some of the unresolved issues with Ben. At times I was thrown by Faith's attitude or doubts, yet I know people like her. I think that her doubts and queries of God as well as the unresolved parts of the book was done on purpose to lead us to the next book in the series. I have to add that I do like British and English humor. My own roots are part English.

This is one of those books that you will have to read for yourself and decide if you like Faith, her sister, and Ben, the mystery that they solve, the issues of the heart that are looked into, or if you just don't care for it at all.

Carol

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Reluctant Detective Monarch Books (April 30, 2011) by Martha Ockley
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Martha Ockley is the pen-name of Rebecca Jenkins. She read history at Oxford University, and spent several years working alongside her father, the Rt. Revd. David Jenkins (Bishop of Durham 1984-94) during the turbulence of the 1980s. She lives in Teesdale in the North East of England where the landscape and history provide the inspiration for her Regency detective, F R Jarrett. Since September 2009 she has been Royal Literary Fund Fellow and Writer in Residence at York St John University. She is a full-time author, writing both fiction and non-fiction. (She should not be confused with a Canadian actor and singer, also called Rebecca Jenkins.)


ABOUT THE BOOK

The Reluctant Detective sees Faith Morgan arriving back in the region of her birth - Winchester in Hampshire. Recently ordained, she had been working as a curate in an Anglican inner-city church. Within an hour of her arrival at Little Worthy, she witnesses the sudden shocking death of a fellow priest during a communion service at St James's. He had been poisoned with a pesticide mixed with the communion wine. The senior police officer who arrives at the scene turns out to be Detective Inspector Ben Shorter, Faith's ex long-term boyfriend.

She is urged by the Bishop to stay on to look after the parish of Little Worthy. As she meets her parishioners she learns some surprising facts about her apparently well loved predecessor, and starts to suspect a motive for his death. And it is she who                               finally identifies the murderer.

The story gets off to a dramatic start with the previous vicar collapsing as soon as he drank the communion cup, and it holds the interest throughout. There is some romantic interest too. Inspector Ben Shorter starts by sneeringly telling his sergeant, "Ms Morgan is a vicar. One of the ordained," Ben emphasized the word. “She's a card-carrying professional at the touchy-feely stuff.” But he soon starts to feel differently about her again, although she is well aware that he "didn't understand the reality she experienced through her faith. He didn't even recognize its existence. That was the gulf between them." Her own beliefs and doubts are convincingly described, for even she can't help wondering, "What if there is no truth to it?" But for her, as for Pascal before her, it was a gamble worth taking.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Reluctant Detective, go HERE

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1854249851 

Over The Edge by Brandilyn Collins

Oh Readers,

If you have ever known someone with Lyme's disease, or had some questions about it, this book puts it into  perspective. aAt the same time Over The Edge wraps lyme's disease into a life and death race in more ways than one. The little tiny tick on the book cover is the same size as the ones in the book, the same kind that can carry Lyme's.

This book is about a mother and wife, Janessa. Her life is turned on end when a mad man infects her with Lyme's disease in order to try to get at her husband. Her normal world has becoming a living nightmare. Pain that reminds us of  Fibromyalaga, or Chronic Fatigue, becomes Janessa's daily life, as she struggles just to think! The doctors think she is just gone over the edge mental, they can't find anything medically wrong with her!

Meanwhile untraceable threats continue. This angry man is going after her daughter next if she can't convince her husband that her disease is real, and that the great Dr. Brock McNeil needs to admit it publicly and do something. One not so small problem, Dr. Brock doesn't care about his wife and child like he use to. Other things are on his mind, leaving Janessa and Lauren in great danger.

Only God is going to be able to keep Janessa and Lauren safe in the upside down world that has been come their lives. It will take God moving to lead Janessa to anyone who might be willing to risk thinking she has Lymes and start to do something about it. After all, the wife of a Dr. who has proven this doesn't exist is not likely to be welcomed when seeking treatment for an illness that so many don't believe in.

A very worthy read, heart wrenching and educational at the same time that it is a quick paced mystery.
My heart goes out to those I know who have dealt with Lymes, and to those who currently are working through the effects of it. I think it took a good bit of guts for Brandilyn Collins to write so well about what she has been through. I pray it helps many!

Carol

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Over the Edge B&H Books (May 1, 2011) by Brandilyn Collins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline "Don't forget to b r e a t h e..."® Brandilyn's first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is now working on her 20th book.

In addition, Brandilyn’s other latest release is Final Touch, third in The Rayne Tour series—young adult suspense co-written with her daughter, Amberly. The Rayne Tour series features Shaley O’Connor, daughter of a rock star, who just may have it all—until murder crashes her world.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Torn from the front lines of medical debate and the author's own experience with Lyme Disease, Over the Edge is riveting fiction, full of twists and turns—and powerful truths about today's medical field.

Janessa McNeil’s husband, Dr. Brock McNeil, a researcher and professor at Stanford University's Department of Medicine, specializes in tick-borne diseases—especially Lyme. For years he has insisted that Chronic Lyme Disease doesn't exist. Even as patients across the country are getting sicker, the committee Brock chairs is about to announce its latest findings—which will further seal the door shut for Lyme                        treatment.

One embittered man sets out to prove Dr. McNeil wrong by giving him a close-up view of the very disease he denies. The man infects Janessa with Lyme, then states his demand: convince her husband to publicly reverse his stand on Lyme—or their young daughter will be next.

But Janessa's marriage is already rocky. She's so sick she can hardly move or think. And her husband denies she has Lyme at all.

Welcome to the Lyme wars, Janessa.

“A taut, heartbreaking thriller. Collins is a fine writer who knows how to both horrify readers and keep them turning pages.”
--Publishers Weekly

“Tense and dramatic. Holds its tension while following the protagonist in a withering battle.”

–NY Journal of Books

“A frightening and all-too-real scenario. Very timely and meaningful book.” –RT Reviews

“If you know someone who suffers from Lyme, you need to read this compelling novel.” –Lydia Niederwerfer, founder of Lyme-Aware

If you would like to read the Prologue of Over the Edge, go HERE

Watch the book video:


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/143367162X

The Ale Boy’s Feast by Jeffrey Overstreet (Book 4 of The Auralia Thread)

Hello Readers! 

Welcome to book four of The Auralia Thread, The Ale Boy's Feast. The first three books in this series are listed below, and linked to my reviews. I had so much happening that I know I didn't give Raven's Ladder near the review it deserves, so maybe I can make up for that now. 

Auralia's Colors 

Cyndere's Midnight

Raven's Ladder

The Ale Boy's Feast is as delightful as Jeffery Overstreet's other books in this series. This series started with Auralia, a baby found in a footprint. Many say the Keeper sent her. Auralia's special gift of colors captivated us, and made us long for the wrongs of the world she lived in to be righted. Auralia's colors made her sought after by those with both good, and evil intent. The ale boy is a friend to Auralia, and this is where we first meet him. His gift is not colors, it is the control of fire - thus firewalking. As the houses in power start to fall apart, and the earth starts to rip apart as well. Auralia is most likely dead, but the Ale Boy lives. 

Having left the House Abascar we move to House Bel Amica and continue with Cyndere's Midnight. Our much loved ale boy was here in this book, but not nearly as much as before, which brings us to Raven's Ladder. Here Cal-Raven, who is a king, is the most important character in this book. I don't recall much mention of our ale boy, but now at last, he has returned! 

In a dying world with things going all wrong, the firewalking Ale Boy- now called "Rescue" finds himself front and center. He must lead a rather bedraggled group upstream, in search of answers, hope, and help. The fighting is by no means over, and frankly, things are rather bleak in many areas. 

There is indeed, so much going on here, that I can't get it all in this post. Jeffery Overstreet is answering a few of our questions, while leaving us with many that aren't answered, and some that I worry will never be fully answered for us. The Seers, who are quite evil, are still present. Deathweed and the drink that makes people addicted are still around. There is a great deal of fighting, such as we might have expected more of in book 2, or 3, but it came at the end of this series. 

This book is still incredible, but you NEED to read the first 3 so that you aren't lost. That is as it should be, in a series, that is held together by threads that aren't all knotted, and more threads that are, so that while we see most of the picture, we don't see it in the whole as of yet. 

Carol 

About the Book from the back cover:

The king is missing.
His promises lie in ruins.
His people are trapped as the woods turn deadly.
Underground, the boy called Rescue has found an escape.

The world has been poisoned. The forests, once beautiful, are now bloodthirsty.

But the people of House Abascar will risk their lives on a journey through those predatory trees. Inspired by Auralia’s colors, they’re searching for Inius Throan — a legendary city where they can start over again.

But they journey without a king. Cal-raven has lost his faith in himself and in that mysterious creature — the Keeper who inspired him to lead. His broken heart needs a miracle.

What of those Abascar survivors still enslaved to the beastmen? As the ale boy leads them upstream on an underground river, their deliverance depends on a miracle.

And where is the wandering mage, Scharr ben Fray? He’s discovered that the world’s history is a lie, one only a miracle can repair.

Time is running out for all of those whose stories are tangled in The Auralia Thread. But miracles happen wherever Auralia’s colors are found.

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. 


Book link - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9781400074686
Author’s web site - http://lookingcloser.org/fiction/

Gillian Adams
Red Bissell
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Beckie Burnham
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Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Sarah Sawyer
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Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
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Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler

Hidden Affections by Delia Parr

Ahhh! Here is a nice distraction!  I was reading Hidden Affections during the time we had no power for almost a week thanks to the horrific tornadoes in our area. I enjoyed being transported into this story.

One man and one woman, handcuffed together over night. We all know how that looks! Maybe if it was another man she had been "attached" to she wouldn't have had this fate. Because he is who he is, and the reputation he has, Annabelle finds herself forced to be married to this man because of a stage coach robbery!

Annabelle doesn't trust men. She has already been divorced, and so far in her life men have not lived up to her expectations. In the day and age of this book divorce for a woman still has the stigma that so many of us feel today, even though society now isn't as harsh about being divorced. The man she has married at gun point, isn't any too happy about being married period! It seems that Harrison has quite a reputation, and he promises her a hasty annulment to this horrific situation. He has no desire to be married anymore than she does.

Arriving back at Harrions's family mansion, the word is already out! People are rather determined to take Harrison off the "playing field" so that their wives and daughters are not drawn to him. Harrison just wants to be free, because love is painful. You love, and you loose, and he can't bear any more losses. But nothing is ever as easy as we think it will be. Harrison's plans to get the marriage annulled aren't work out, and Annabelle is growing to love the people in the country estate. Worse yet, she is constantly being told that she alone is the one who can reach through Harrison's walls and lead him more towards God as well as figuring out what an amazing woman he has married.

Annabelle has to use a lot of wisdom, prayer and tough love. She grows quite a lot in this book. Harrison has some deep soul searching to do, and he has to make some major life decisions. There are several good characters in Hidden Affections. As a charter Annabelle is brave, and also feminine. She is smart, weak, and strong all at once. In essence, she is very real. Harrison, as some men are prone to be, is a bit slow on the "up take" where matters of the heart are involved. Annabelle's ex-husband, is a loathsome man. As bad as it was for her to be divorced from him, I was quite glad she wasn't having to spend her life with him. God is present in this book, and I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book at all.

Carol

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Hidden Affections Bethany House (May 1, 2011) by Delia Parr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Delia Parr, pen name for Mary Lechleidner, is the author of 10 historical novels and the winner of several awards, including the Laurel Wreath Award for Historical Romance and the Aspen Gold Award for Best Inspirational Book. She is a full-time high school teacher who spends her summer vacations writing and kayaking. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Betrayed by her husband, Annabelle Tyler wears the burden of legally being a divorcee, a difficult position for an upstanding young woman to find herself in.

While attempting to start a new life for herself, an unexpected turn of events once again has Annabelle married--this time to Harrison Graymoor, the most eligible, yet elusive, bachelor in Philadelphia. Harrison assures her that he will secure an annulment immediately, unaware that the constable has sent word of the marriage to the press in Philadelphia. And here things continue to go awry.

Harrison's past, a philanthropic cousin with his eye on Annabelle, and the appearance of Annabelle's ex-husband threaten the tentative relationship growing between Harrison and his "wife." For two individuals set against marriage, there are certainly a lot of second thoughts regarding the one forced
                                           upon them.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Hidden Affections, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764206729 

The Gift by Bryan Litfin

Hi There,

Well, having just gotten power back this afternoon, and Internet about 2 hours ago, I am so glad I can post this review! I also feel like I was with these characters more in their adventure than normal because I have been dealing with several issues this past week! Whew!

The Gift is a wonderful, very very well written read. Teo and Ana are on the adventure of several centuries. The world as we know it has been demolished, and a new civilization has developed. Anyone with any imperfections is an outcast, a Defective. But the Defectives have a hidden secret growing among them. The All-God Creator, Deus. His Old Testament has survived, but oh how they long to find the New Testament and to learn more about the Pierced-One, and to find out what role he played in the Promised King, or was he one who died to help the coming King?

Teo and Ana have vowed to find out, to find the New Testment. Meanwhile, they have lives they are living. Lives that will pull them away from Deus and His word if they don't take care. The Gift is full of adventure. Good and evil are clearly shown, as well as those who are mislead. There is so much I can say about this book, but so little time to write today!

I want to read the first one that came before it, and I want to read the next one. I want to know how Bryan Litfin is going to finish this story that moves hearts, minds, and souls towards the one true God.

Carol

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThe GiftCrossway Books (April 30, 2011)byBryan Litfin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bryan earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Tennessee as well as a master’s degree in historical theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. From there he went to the University of Virginia, taking a PhD in the field of ancient church history. He is currently professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago, where he has been since 2002. He teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from the ancient and medieval periods. He is the author of Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Brazos, 2007), as well as several scholarly articles and essays. Bryan has always enjoyed epic adventure stories as well as historical fiction, but most of his reading these days is taken up by academia.
Today Bryan lives in downtown Wheaton in a Victorian house built in 1887. He and his wife Carolyn are parents to two children. For recreation Bryan enjoys basketball, traveling, and hiking anywhere there are mountains. The Litfins attend College Church in Wheaton, where Bryan has served on the Board of Missions and as a deacon. He also helped start Clapham School, a Christian primary school in Wheaton using the classical model of education.
ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Chiveis Trilogy takes readers hundreds of years into the future. War and disease have destroyed civilization as we know it. Much technology has been discarded and history is largely forgotten. Slowly, the few survivors have begun to build new communities, and kingdoms now prosper in a kind of feudal order. But the Word of God has been lost for centuries.

After the finding of an Old Testament in book one of the trilogy, The Gift picks up the story of Teo and Ana. Exiled from their homeland and trying to survive in unknown and dangerous lands, they search for any record of the missing Testament.
Their journeys lead them into the region we know as Italy. An elite society welcomes Ana, who finds she must choose between her new life and her dream of returning to Chiveis. Will Teo and Ana’s relationship withstand the circumstances and new enemies pulling them apart? And can Teo keep ahead of a powerful and mysterious force opposing his search for the New Testament?

If you'd like to read the first chapter of The Gift, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:



The Gift Trailer from Crossway on Vimeo.