DISTORTION by Terri Blackstock - Carefully Crafted Fiction That Won't Let You Go!

Actor Danny DeVito, in the movie RENAISSANCE MAN, made the statement:  “All I know is, the choices we make dictate the lives we lead.”  Bob Cole, gunned down in the parking lot of a U-Haul dealership, learned this truth the hard way.

Unfortunately, life’s hard lessons don’t take place in a vacuum.  Juliet Cole, her two sons, and a myriad of other family, friends and colleagues are left to deal with the collateral damage.  In so doing, Juliet Cole makes chilling discoveries that lead her to believe that this was no random drive-by shooting.  A threatening voicemail merely clinches the deal.  Now Juliet realizes that she and her children are in danger, as well.

What the killers don’t realize is that they’ve just unleashed a powerful force guided by faith and driven by the need for justice.  And while the investigation continues, Juliet asks herself over and over again; was Bob an innocent victim . . . or a hardened criminal?

The quest for answers by New York Times bestselling author Terri Blackstock will keep you riveted to your seat and flipping pages to the shocking conclusion.

5 stars for carefully crafted fiction that won’t let you go.

DISTORTION

Terri Blackstock

ISBN  978-0-310-28314-0

Zondervan

361 pages

$ 15.99 (U.S.)

CRITICAL CONDITION by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”

   Zechariah 13:9 (KJV)

It’s been said, “What doesn’t kill you, will only make you stronger.”  Shannon

Frasier is discovering the truth of those words first hand.  As her fiancé lay dying in her arms, medical student Shannon Frasier received his dying words, “Help me!” as her life’s mission.  Blazing her own trail into the inner sanctum of medical surgery, Dr. Frasier has determined that never again would she allow Death to win a battle uncontested.

Years later, another gun-shot victim lay in her front lawn.  Once again, Shannon’s hands are covered in blood.  Once again, Death had claimed another victory.  But what happens in the ensuing weeks will make this event seem as peaceful as a Sunday morning.

For the man who lay dying on her lawn held a secret; a secret that he whispered with his last breath.  A secret that will rock Shannon’s world, which is already complicated enough.  Struggling with the return of her sister, a recovering addict; her pastor father’s recent sudden weight loss; and her seeming inability to commit to a long-term relationship with her “almost- fiancé,” Shannon finally comes to the conclusion that she is the one who needs help.  And there’s only One Person who could possibly bring her through this crucible in one peace.

The twists and turns that author and retired physician Richard Mabry bring to this book will keep you turning the pages to the stunning conclusion.

5 stars for a fine combination of suspense, faith and romance

Critical Condition

Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

ISBN 978-1-4016-8740-3

Fiction/Christian/Suspense

328 pages   

$15.99 US

THE MANUAL TO MANHOOD . . . EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!

A plethora of miscellany.  Or “Much Ado About Everything.”  You pays your money, and you takes your choice.  The Manual To Manhood is almost encyclopedic in the things that it covers, and it claims to cover all the skills that “a man” needs to survive. 

Each “skill” is organized sequentially step-by-step.  For most men this is a bonus – it’s idiot-proof!  If you can read, you can do it.  Whatever “it” happens to be.  And they don’t just throw it out there; they actually explain “why” you need to be doing whatever “it” happens to be at the time.

I just wish I’d had this manual when I was growing up.  The school of hard knocks provides a sterling diploma – but you really have to earn it.  This book will take some of the lumps out of life for many a young man. 

5 stars for a manual that I wished I’d had growing up.

The Manual To Manhood

Jonathan Catherman

Revell

ISBN 978-0-8007-2229-6

Youth / Nonfiction

284 pages

$14.99

IT'S SWEEPSTAKES TIME!!! FOLLOW THE LINKS FOR A CHANCE TO WIN FABULOUS PRIZES FROM DAVIS BUNN!

“Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."

                                                                                     Matthew 26:38-39 (NKJV)

A relationship with the Lord God Almighty is not for the faint of heart.  It is not so much a series of tasks as it is a lifelong commitment which demands ones best at every instance.  Five individuals are about to discover the truth of these words.

Five unique people.  Five very different walks of life.  Yet they have two things in common; they believe that they have heard the voice of God, and they have responded in obedience.

As John, Ruth, Alisha, Jenny and Yusuuf simultaneously arrive in New York for very different reasons, they are inextricably drawn together to the same hotel lobby.  Led by the Spirit, introductions are made and the purpose for their meeting is revealed in a flash mob:  Hope Is Dead.

Trent Cooper has his priorities in order.  Me, myself . . . and I.  He lives with the fury of one who sees, and has been denied, his hearts desires.  Always striving, Trent is never going to be content with a brass ring.  Visionary, and with a clear understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, Trent Cooper will not rest until he has it all.  Trent lays it all on the line for the one roll of the dice that will either make him . . . or break him.  He doesn’t realize that in so doing, he’s already lost.

The Turning is a contemporary allegory of an eternal story; a story of rebellion and reconciliation, of romance and redemption.  A story of sin and salvation, and the eternal struggle between the god of this world and the King of Kings.  And while the adversary may wish you to believe that there is a pitched battle raging throughout the ages, and the outcome is precariously balanced on the edge of a knife . . . nothing could be further from the truth. One little word shall fell him. 

I received a complimentary copy of The Turning from River North Fiction in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars, for a story that reveals the impossible . . . and makes it possible.