Within a sleepy farm community along the South Carolina coast, two families coexist. The Thaines and their neighbors enjoy hard work, hospitality, horseback riding, pie, ice tea, kittens, and each other. The Darlingtons favor extortion, white privilege, domination, abuse, dog fights, and freedom from the consequences of their nefarious activities. […]
The King’s Prey, by Susan Peek
Terrible but true, Princess Dymphna flees Daemon, her father who, in his madness believes her to be his late wife, Odilla. He demands that Dymphna marries him. With the aid of her confessor and a few companions, Dymphna flees across Ireland and eventually reaches Belgium. Susan Peek stays true to […]
The Perfect Blindside, by Leslea Wahl
At sixteen, Jake Taylor is an Olympic medalist, a snowboarding prodigy, and a big fish transplanted to a small pond. He annoys Sophie Metcalf with his arrogance. She plans to expose him for the thoughtless egotist she thinks he is, but she discovers Jake’s considerate and haunted side. A warm […]
Finding Patience, by Virginia Lieto and Carole Hahn Panzner
When the Livingstone family relocates, their daughters miss their old neighborhood and friends. The eldest, Faith can’t wait for school to start so that she can make new friends. Unfortunately, Faith is shy, and the children on the school bus, her classmates, and the lunchtime crowd seem more interested in […]
Rightfully Ours, by Carolyn Astfalk
Rightfully Ours tells of buried gold, but more importantly, it reveals something far more precious in rural, North Central Pennsylvania. The treasure hunters, Rachel Mueller and Paul Porter, find themselves in the Mueller’s kitchen early in the school year, flummoxed by their improbable and unforeseen encounter. Blame it on Ron […]
Rejoice! Gospel Meditations, by Louis Evely
Lent invites us to refresh our souls, to refocus our lives, to set things right. Rejoice! by Louis Evely, has a way of growing us out of our comfort zones into the light. It challenges us to lift our crosses and follow Jesus. Evely writes: “There were times when Jesus […]
Racing the Devil, by Charles Todd
Racing the Devil is the nineteenth book in the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery Series and a tantalizing read. Like many previous Rutledge Mysteries, in Race with the Devil, the Inspector chases after a mass murderer who attacks anyone who obstructs his or her dark ambitions. Targets include Rutledge. THE PLOT Seven British Army officers pledge […]
Moriarty Meets His Match: A Professor and Mrs. Moriarty Mystery (Book 1), by Anna Castle
When writers strain their brains for new ideas, they might consider revisiting an old idea. For instance, Gregory Maguire applied the rules of “alternative fiction,” in his retelling Frank Baum’s classic 1900 story the Wizard of Oz. Forget Dorothy, Maguire wrote from the point of view of the Wicked Witch […]
The Long Cosmos, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
He may have died in 2015, but Terry Pratchett’s spirit lives on in more than seventy of his books. His feel-good novels consistently advocate not only for the underdog, but the under-troll, the under-gremlin, the poor, the powerless, and the downtrodden. His stories and novel-series create new worlds and even […]
The Piper: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Story, by Charles Todd
Charles Todd’s Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery Series guides readers across early twentieth-century London, the English countryside, and occasionally on trips to the continent. Readers observe as Scotland Yard’s ace investigator solves the cases everyone else finds impossible. Wherever Rutledge goes, Hamish MacLeod is sure to follow. Normally, Todd offers Rutledge […]