THROUGH THE FIRE by Shawn Grady

Writing about things that you know is one of the cardinal rules for those who wish to be seen in print.  Shawn Grady brings over a decade of service as a paramedic and firefighter to his debut novel, Through The Fire, and it shows on every page.  You may have never darkened the door of a firehouse in your life, but that will not be a hindrance.  Within 3 chapters, you will be in the “swing” of things as you join forces with Aidan O'Neill, a Reno firefighter, struggling with the loss of his father, who was also a Reno fireman. 

Someone is deliberately setting fires in and around Reno, and the signature is unlike anything anyone has seen before.  Aidan is determined to find the answers to his father’s death, and his investigation links that incident with the arsons that are occurring with increasing frequency and devastating results.  Aidan receives help from many quarters, and in the process he realizes that not all fires are bad.  The fire of faith enables one to endure, the fire of love enables one to overcome, and the fire of holiness burns to eliminate the impurities of a life not surrendered to God. 

I read this book in just three hours, because I could not put it down. 

5 stars

Through The Fire

Shawn Grady

ISBN 0764205951

Fiction \ Christian\General

Bethany House

336 pages

$13.99 U.S.

THE QUEEN OF KATWE reviewed by "Doc" Hilton

If one is blissfully unaware of the many opportunitites, advantages, luxuries and conveniences that one has been blessed with simply by living in these United States of America . . . and one wishes to remain in that state of blissful ignorance . . . please do not read this book.  Tim Crothers pulls no punches, and he makes no apologies, as he recounts the way in which that elusive (to some, like this reviewer!) game of chess has transformed the life of one young girl from the slums of Kampala, Uganda.

Phiona Mutesi sleeps in a decrepit shack with her mother and three siblings and struggles to find a single meal each day. Phiona has been out of school most of her life because her mother cannot afford it, so she is only now learning to read and write.  Phiona Mutesi is also one of the best chess players in the world. 

Phiona’s dream is to one day become a Grandmaster, the most elite title in chess.  But to reach that goal, she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world’s most unstable countries, a place where girls are taught to be mothers, not dreamers, and the threats of AIDS, kidnapping, and starvation loom over the people of Katwe.

Taking the nuances of chess as an outline, Tim Crothers chronicles the life of Phiona Mutesi from a 9-year old girl who could only see to the next sunrise to a 15-year old tournament champion in the Chess Olympiad, the world’s most prestigious team chess event.  You’ll learn lessons from Phiona herself as she shares how chess transformed not only her daily existence, but her entire philosophy of who she is, who she wants to be, and how she has the ability within her to get there.

This book is not for the squeamish, or the faint of heart.  A word to the wise is sufficient.

The Queen of Katwe

Tim Crothers

978-1-4516-5781-4

Non-fiction \ biography

Scribner

224 pages

$26.00 U.S.

5 stars

AN UNHOLY COMMUNION: BOOK 3 of THE MONASTERY MURDERS

“The tower-top choir began, “Hail the day that sees Him rise . . . Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia / Reascends His native heaven, Alle. . .”

The final Alleluia never registered in Felicity’s ears.  It was extinguished by a much nearer shriek.  Her own.

The piercing scream tore a second time from her throat as she watched in horrifying slow motion a cassock-clad figure from the back of the choir catapault across the parapet and arc over the side of the tower.”

Felicity Howard, according to Inspector Nosterfield, is “making a habit of this.”  The “this” in question happens to be an association with murders, and the subsequent victims.  The corpse in question was a former ordinand of Magdalen College, a Deliverance Minister, and a former student of Father Antony.  He was also holding a strange emblem of a double-headed snake in his dead hand.  The police ignore the telling clue and dismiss the death as a suicide.  But Hwyl’s widow is convinced otherwise, and pleads for Felicity and Antony to help her uncover the truth. 

Matters grow murkier as Felicity and Antony, leading a youth pilgrimage through rural Wales, encounter the same sinister symbol as they travel.  Lurking figures follow them.  Then a body is found face-down in a well . . .

Having never read a book by Donna Fletcher Crow, I was very excited to get the opportunity to review what has turned out to be a page-turner and a half.  While the background is solidly rooted in the Catholic faith (hence The Monastery Murders), I feel the book has universal appeal.  There are Catholic offices practiced throughout the book, and the leader of the intrepid group of pilgrims is a Deliverance Minister of the Catholic Church.  Yet one is drawn into the story effortlessly, and soon becomes one of the pilgrims as well.  This is Book Three of The Monastery Murders series, and while references are made to the previous books, this book easily stands on its own.  The characters are refreshing, true to life, and true to themselves throughout the book.  The settings are vividly illustrated through the author’s exquisite command of the Queen’s English, and the pace never falters or runs away from the reader.  History, romance and murder . . . an unbeatable combination guaranteed to keep you up nights!

5 stars

An Unholy Communion: Book 3 of The Monastery Murders
Donna Fletcher Crow
978-1-78264-004-2
Fiction \ Christian\ Suspense
Lion Fiction
383 pages
£7.99 U.K.
$14.99 U.S.

STRESS TEST reviewed by "Doc" Hilton

Have you ever had one of those days?  Days where not only is nothing going right . . . but everything is going wrong, as well?  Meet Dr. Matt Newman.  He’s having one of those days.  Unfortunately for him, it just doesn't seem to end.

Someone wants him dead.  Someone wants him framed, convicted, and put away for life on murder charges.  Someone else has just booted him out of her life.  Matt just wants to get on with his life.  But even his own body won’t let him get away with that. 

On the plus side, Matt has a missionary brother who is interceding on his behalf, and a fiery, red-headed lawyer who chose her faith over the world. 

With the police convinced he’s a killer and the kidnappers still trying to finish what they started, finding the truth – and the faith to keep going – will be the toughest stress test Matt has ever endured.

Dr. Mabry is one of my favorite physicians . . . I mean authors.  Maybe, just maybe . . . I mean both!  He has the unique ability to take the world of medicine – the good, the bad and the ugly – and make it understandable to the man on the street.  Really understandable.  And he doesn't need three pages of confusing (sometimes terrifying) medicalese to do so.  In Stress Test, Dr. Mabry skillfully weaves together the story of – well, life.  Because life happens, and when it does, it’s not pretty.  But underlying Matt’s story is The Story that explains everything.  This book is one that will keep you up nights.  You won’t just want to find out “whodunit,”  you’ll want to find out why it all happened in the first place.  And the answers may very well keep you up for many nights afterward.

Stress Test

Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

ISBN 976-1-4016-8708-3

Fiction / Christian / Suspense

Thomas Nelson

312 pages

$15.99 U.S.

5 stars

10 Prayers You Can't Live Without: How To Talk To God About ANYTHING

10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without

Rick Hamlin

ISBN 978-0-8249-3218-3

Religion\Christian Life\Spiritual Growth

B&B Media Group,Inc.

246 pages

$14.99 U.S.

“When you hear a loved one’s voice on the phone, you can usually recognize them in a word or two.  Your voice is just as unique to God, and he is waiting, wanting to listen to you personally, about anything and everything.  Yet sometimes we can’t find the words to pray.”

I’ve never met Rick Hamlin.  Never even heard of him, before I received the book, 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without:  How To Talk To God About Anything for review.  But from the opening pages, I felt like I was visiting an old friend.  In a winsome, down to earth style Rick shares spiritual truths about that most difficult of spiritual exercises – prayer.  Illustrating the principles with personal anecdote that illuminate the message without taking over the spotlight, Mr. Hamlin writes with an easy familiarity concerning prayer.  Would that we were all as at home with prayer as Rick Hamlin. 

10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without has now become my devotional, because I want to learn how to talk to God better, and I think that this book is going to get me there.

5 stars

Landmarks:  Turning Points On Your Journey Toward God

Bill Delvaux

ISBN 978-1-4336-7922-3

Christian Life\Discipleship\Spiritual Life

B&H Publishing Group

190 pages

$14.99 U.S.

“The well-worn rut most of us live in is safe, comfortable . . . some would call it dead.  By contrast, coming alive requires a willingness to journey into the unknown.  Following Jesus is just such a path . . . there are risks involved, and there is no point A to point B map.  But there are landmarks . . .”

Sometimes the story gets in the way of the message.  Unfortunately, this is my experience with Landmarks:  Turning Points On Your Journey Toward God.  While author Bill Delvaux provides an interesting outline to consider, and a good visual aid ( “landmarks” while one is on a journey ) the principles that are considered in each chapter serve to jog his memory about “the time when I . . .” Upon further reflection, the subtitle might well have been, “Turning Points On MY Journey Toward God.”  I’m not biased against personal anecdote, providing it keeps its proper place; sort of a signal flare that guides the reader into a deeper spiritual truth.  But when the anecdote becomes the main point . . . I tend to lose interest.

I appreciate everything that Bill has gone through, and there are many “landmarks” that he and I have in common.  But, for me . . . the story got in the way of the message.

2 stars

ORDAINED IRREVERENCE reviewed by Steve Hilton

ORDAINED IRREVERENCE

If you've ever been curious as to what goes on behind the scenes at larger churches across the United States, here's your invitation.  Follow Elmo Jenkins as he interns at the First Baptist Church, completing his final assignment before graduating seminary.  You'll laugh . . . no, you'll roar, as Elmo learns the finer points of visitation, counseling, and baptisms.  McMillan Moody pulls back the curtain and reveals "the code" of church-ese, communication, and church protocol.  Mr. Moody invites you to become a staff member, along with Elmo, and learn first-hand how to organize your day and a youth-group all-nighter in 15 minutes or less. And witness the most romantic marriage proposal you've ever seen.  Yes . . . I'm a man.  Yes . . . I cried.  I'm a seminary graduate and minister myself, and was once on staff ( I was Dunston ) at a larger church, and can vouch for the veracity of Mr. Moody's research.  As the British are fond of saying, Mr. Moody is "spot-on."  And since Mr. Moody is constantly stealing lines from the rich and famous, I'm going to take the same liberties:  Mr. Moody, "thanks for the memories."