The Penny

Although The Penny by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford is a work of fiction, Joyce has shared glimpses into the abusive relationship with her father during her childhood through her conferences and television shows. In this book, the main character, Jenny Blake, and her sister Jean endure a similar childhood.

Jenny is convinced her life changed the day she found a penny stuck in hot asphalt and is offered a job at the local jewelry store. She soon discovers the owner, Miss Shaw, harbors secrets of her own and an unspoken bond forms between them. At the same time, Jenny befriends Aurelia and her family where she finds the love of family, hears the voice of Jesus for the first time at the Antioch Baptist Church and witnesses the ugliness of racism firsthand.

Cry in the Night

Colleen Coble's Cry in the Night takes the reader to Rock Harbor, Michigan (the setting for previous Rock Harbor mysteries) where search-and-rescue worker Bree Matthews and her dog Samson find an abandoned baby in the woods. Bree ignores the objections from Kade, her second husband, takes the baby girl in and continues to search for the baby's mother. But, when her search reveals a strange connection to her first husband's mysterious death, it unravels her faith.

This was another easy-to-read "who done it" story. The characters draw the reader into the setting while keeping the reader intrigued with solving the mystery.

Deceit

Brandilyn Collins' Deceit opens with Joanne Weeks' quest to prove Baxter Jackson killed her best friend and his former wife six years prior. It then follows two story lines with the first one taking place in 2010 and the other in 2004.

In the 2010 story line, Joanne uses her professional skip tracing skills to locate the missing Jackson foster child, Melissa, to help her prove Baxter killed her best friend. The second story line begins in 2004 when Melissa moves in with the Jacksons and discovers that the rich, Christian couple are not as they appear to be on the surface.

It was an easy-to-read mystery; however, some of the scenes moved too slow for the speed reader in me. I also figured out "who done it" so there was no surprise at the end. It was not the suspense thriller I expected, but Collins fans will still enjoy it.

Without a Trace

Colleen Coble's Without a Trace is the first book in her Rock Harbor Mystery Series. The story takes the reader on a winding road of search and rescue while it weaves a cast of 'who did it' characters into a small imaginary town on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

When Bree Nichols' husband and son disappear in a plane crash, she and her search-and-rescue dog Samson begin searching the wilderness for the crash site to recover their bodies. After months of searching, Bree is forced to come to terms with the fact that she may never find them. Then the town is rocked by murder and the murder becomes strangely linked to her husband's plane crash.

First Dawn

Judith Miller's First Dawn is based upon the settlement of two western Kansas towns in the post civil war era.  Nicodemus was predominately settled by African American sharecroppers from Kentucky while Hill City was being settled by Caucasians. Although the story is fictional, the author notes that she made every attempt to accurately portray the harsh circumstances of the frontier settlers.

The story revolves around a small group of first settlers led by Ezekiel Harban and his three daughters, Thomas Grayson, a young man with a secret past, and Miss Hattie, the group's matriarch. The group was sold parcels of land near a town called Nicodemus; however,  when they arrive at an open prairie, they find no buildings and limited supplies. The settlers that stay and fight for the dream of landownership and freedom struggle to survive their first winter on the prairie.

Coinciding with the settlement of Nicodemus is the settlement of Hill City where Dr. Samuel Boyle moves his family. The doctor soon develops a relationship with the people of Nicodemus that bonds his family and the two frontier settlements together.

Where Are You Now?

Mary Higgins Clark's Where Are You Now? is the story of a sister's quest to find her missing brother. The sister, Carolyn, has been haunted by her brother Mack's sudden disappearance and mysterious annual phone call on Mother's Day for ten years.

After Carolyn tells Mack she is going to find him on the latest phone call, her uncle receives a mysterious note in a collection plate that says Carolyn must not look for Mack. This cryptic note turns out to be only the beginning for Carolyn. Her determined search leads her right into the path of the serial killer and a confrontation with someone close to her who has been hiding deadly secrets for many years.

Fans will love this quick read while trying to figure out the killer's identity.

A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity is the autobiography of Bill O'Reilly, executive producer and anchor of The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel. The author points out in the introduction that he parted from the traditional memoir method to focus on those experiences that shaped his belief system. This lets the reader know up front that the book is not the typical examination of one's life laid out neatly in chronological order. Instead, the book is divided into topical chapters laced with pertinent stories about his experiences.

Since I'm a fan of the television show, I enjoyed reading those stories while learning how the events influenced his belief system. It was also interesting to read about events that happened in previous decades from his perspective. Some things I agreed with and some I did not. Did it dramatically improve my life as claimed in the introduction's title? No. Did it cause me think about the events that shaped my own belief system? Yes.

Fans of The O'Reilly Factor will enjoy the book. Critics will not.

Going Rogue

Going Rogue is Sarah Palin's memoir. Although scrutinized and criticized to the nth degree, I enjoyed the book. I wasn't looking for the errors, exaggerations, and "gotcha" moments I'd heard so much about from mainstream media since the book was published. I was looking for the story of the ordinary woman who became the 2008 vice presidential candidate. The woman who believes in many of the same things I do.

I wasn't disappointed. I learned a lot about how the people and situations in her life led to that momentous event. I also learned a lot about Alaska, a state at the opposite end of the spectrum from my state of Florida. And, I enjoyed the stories and the photographs inviting me into her life.

The parts that talk about the campaign and the events since losing the election that have been so vehemently attacked in the media did not appear to be vindictive to this reader. They were written from her perspective so of course they are subjective to her perception of reality. Isn't that how we all see things? From our own reality.

Conservatives and even many independents will enjoy this look into Sarah Palin's life. Liberals will continue to be outraged.

A Day at the Fair: Something for Everyone

The distinct, tantalizing smell of the fair drifted to the parking lot. Smoking ribs, sizzling sausages and swirling cotton candy assaulted the senses. There is nothing quite like fair food ... overpriced, high in calories, fat and all things unhealthy, yet, irresistible.

As a child, the rides were the reason for the tingle of excitement tinged with fear and little tolerance for food, games, and looking at farm animals.

The teenager sought out the rides for a thrill and the games for impressing friends, tolerated the food, and ignored the farm animals. The adult wanted to take it all in ... watching the children ride the "kiddie" rides, riding with them on the "big" rides, playing games, enjoying the food and looking at the farm animals.

As time passes the rides and the games lose their appeal, but the food and the farm animals still delight the senses. Alas, something for everyone.

Big Sky Dreams series

I picked up Cassidy (book one) and Sabrina (book two) of the Big Sky Dreams series by Lori Wick off the clearance rack. Since I had read a couple of her other books (Bamboo & Lace and White Chocolate Moments) and enjoyed them as light, easy reads and a change from adrenaline-laced suspense novels, I thought I would also enjoy these.

Cassidy is about a Token Creek seamstress, with a difficult past, in the Montana Territory during 1880. The story was predictable and slow-moving with an awkward thought thrown in every now and then. It also bothered me when she would refer to one of the characters as "that" lady instead of using a pronoun.

Sabrina is about a prostitute, estranged from her family, who is rescued from the streets by a policeman and his wife. After becoming a Christian, she also moves to Token Creek where she interacts with characters from Cassidy, befriends other prostitutes and eventually becomes involved with the pastor. This book held my attention more than Cassidy, however, grammatical errors in this one also distracted me from the characters and the plot.

This series is probably more suitable for mature teens.

In Search of Eden

In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols is the story of an unwed teenager who is forced to give up her baby for adoption and the subsequent search for her child.

Miranda DeSpaino begins her search after her mother's death when her aunt gives her an envelope postmarked "Abindgon, VA" containing a baby picture. While she eventually finds her child, along the way she also finds out about her family heritage explaining her deceased mother's coldness, an unexpected visit from her long-lost father, a brother she didn't know existed and a new family.

In the end, she makes a decision of love and also finds forgiveness, redemption and God's grace.

Making Waves

I love bargain books and this is one of many I've accumulated. Making Waves, by Cassandra King, was originally published in 1995 and I found this 2004 first mass market edition on the sale rack. The picket fence on the front cover first caught my eye and the title prompted me to read the back cover.

In a small Alabama town, a beauty shop and a funeral set the stage for characters with familiar traits of people we know or have read about. The story is about love, friendship, betrayal and loss with a bit of humor and mystery in the mix. But be warned, it also has offensive language sprinkled in and teetered between promoting and degrading Christianity, which I found unsettling.

This book is also written in first person by four of the book's characters using chapters to change viewpoints. I didn't think it flowed as well as staying within one first-person viewpoint or using third person. However, everyone has their preferred style of reading and writing so others may prefer this one.

The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders

The Raising of a President:The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders by Doug Wead looks at the facts, families, and psychological profiles of some of our past presidents. The characteristics, circumstances, and experiences that equipped these men to lead the free world are studied in the context of understanding how it culminated into greatness instead of destruction. The lives of the presidents studied in depth include George Washington, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Most had powerful fathers - some were abusive, such as Abe Lincoln's father, while others were inspirational. Both John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush followed their father to the White House while George Washington and Teddy and Franklin D. Roosevelt lost their fathers at a young age. Mothers also left distinct marks on the future presidents. While George Washington and FDR both had willful and seemingly emotionally disturbed mothers and JFK had a cold and distant mother, Roosevelt and Bush presidents had strong mothers and Lincoln had a loving stepmother.

In the role of family dynamics, birth order varied and played a lessor role than parental influence. Franklin D. Roosevelt was an only child, John Adams and George H.W. Bush were firstborn while George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were middle children.

While the book was interesting, it gave no conclusive formula, common parenting practices, or even dysfunctional family element that substantially influenced these men and led them to the presidency. The common denominator, with the exception of Lincoln, seemed to be a desire for influence, power, or wealth ingrain in the families themselves. In the end, however, the presidents have been as diverse as the country they served.

Ice Bound

The 2001 Ice Bound book is the true story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen and her self-discovery and survival at the coldest and darkest place on earth. She was the only doctor at the South Pole in 1999 when she performed a breast biopsy on herself and then began chemotherapy treatments, with the help of her close-nit group of friends, to battle breast cancer.

The book gives insight into living at the coldest, darkest and harshest place on earth within an isolated community and the obstacles they had to overcome in addition to the cancer. It also highlights the importance of family and friends combined with the pain of a mother estranged from her children. Choosing to live at the South Pole and then battling breast cancer in such a desolate place was inspirational to say the least. However, for me, it was reading about a mother estranged from her children who learned to live life to the fullest and continue to help others with that void in her heart that really hit home.

At the end of the book, she had returned to the United States, completed her cancer treatments and had still not seen her children. I looked her up on the Internet and learned that she wrote this book, which was also made into a TV movie, became an international motivation speaker, and remarried following her adventures at the South Pole. She was still speaking three months before she died on June 23, 2009. In a Washington Post e-article she was quoted as saying, "There is no end of your life until your last breath. We can all do something to help someone." I agree.

The Circle Trilogy

The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker consists of three books: Black, Red, and White. The trilogy is about the main character, Thomas Hunter, living in two worlds. He falls asleep in one world and wakes up in another. Although he isn't sure which world is the real one and which world is the dream one until the very end, he comes to realize his actions in one world has an impact on the other.

I must admit I struggled reading Black in the beginning and had to get past the first several chapters before I was hooked. Once I reached that point I spent several late nights (too late I'd discover the next morning) absorbed in the books and racing to find answers to Thomas Hunter's questions.

The story continues with the The Books of History Chronicles broken down into two additional series: The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos) and The Paradise Novels(Showdown, Saint, Sinner). I didn't realize Showdown was part of the this story and read it many months ago. It will fun to go back and scan through it in the context of the chronicles.

Love Comes Softly Series

One of my sister-in-laws recently sent the Love Comes Softly Series consisting of eight books. The series is about the pioneer lives of Marty and Clark Davis, their family and their neighbors. Although these are not the type of books I lean towards, I can't pass up reading a book once it makes its way through the front door.

It was good to take a break from trying to figure out a thriller plot and speed read through the stories about the frontier prairies of the 1800s. I'm sure I would have also enjoyed watching the movies on the Hallmark channel.

When I finished book eight, Janette Oke had a farewell note for series, however, it also had a P.S. note that she wrote the Prairie Legacy series picking up with Marty and Clark's youngest daughter's offspring. If you enjoy reading prairie novels and Janette Oke's books, I'm sure you'll also enjoy reading those books. As for me, I'm back to Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti novels.

CIRCLE OF HONOR

Circle of Honor is book one in the The Scottish Crown Series by Carol Umberger. Since romance is way outside of my genre preferences of mystery, suspense and supernatural thriller, you may be wondering why I chose to read this one. Simple. Carol is my mentor in the Christian Writers Guild Journeyman course so naturally I wanted to read her books.

This book is about faith, family, and love in fourteenth-century Scotland. It takes you back to a time when Scotland was in the mist of fighting for independence from England. Gwenyth and Adam - enemies by family association - are thrown together by unfortunate circumstances.

Gwenyth is torn from her family and then assaulted and forced to make a false accusation against her enemy, Adam. She struggles with her faith in God, her desire for revenge, and her feelings for Adam while living out her sentence of one year of marriage to Adam. At the same time, he struggles with guilt over his handicap, fear of dishonoring his family, and a desire to have a real marriage with Gwenyth.

The book draws you into their lives and the choices they are forced to make. The characters and the journey of unexpected twists and turns kept me turning the pages until the very end. I'm looking forward to reading book two.

The book "Murder By Family"

I met Kent Whitaker at breakfast one morning during the 2008 Christian Writers Guild conference. The table grew quiet when it came time for Kent to introduce himself and talk about the book he was writing. As soon as he began talking, I remembered seeing his story on 48Hours Mystery! Frankly, I was stunned ... not just at the circumstances, but at the way this Godly man presented his story on the show and how he was talking about it at the table.

His book, Murder By Family, is a true story about the murder of his wife, Tricia, and his son, Kevin, orchestrated by his son, Bart. As stated in the subtitle, this book is, "the incredible true story of a son's treachery and a father's forgiveness." I had forgotten about this story until I went back to the conference last month. Kent and his testimony came to mind and I searched for his book. I recommend it for anyone struggling with their faith, feeling overwhelmed by their circumstances, or just in need of inspiration.

I ask myself, "Would I be able to forgive? Would I have this much love?" I hope the answers would be yes, but I honestly don't know. Forgiveness, for what I thought were the "big" things until I heard his story, doesn't come easy for me. I have to constantly stay in the Word and work on it. What about you?

I was already blown away by the way this man handled this terrible tragedy and then I got to the last page ... all his royalties for the book go to a December 10 Fund (managed by the Houston Christian Foundation). Wow! Can you say "true" Christian and role model?