Portrait of Vengeance - A Review

Portrait of Vengeance

by

Carrie Stuart Parks

A Review

It was a story that had its start 20+ years ago. And the fact that it was happening on the Nez Perce Reservation made it that more difficult to investigate the deaths - but it was the job Gwen Marcy, Forensic Artist and trained interviewer, had been given to do. Well, almost. She had volunteered for this case - after all, it was near where her own parents had been killed. And she raced to be on scene as fast as her legs and automobile could move her from Missoula, MT.

The double homicide and a missing four-year-old child would require all of her skills and some that she had yet to develop to solve.

What she did not know was that during the next few days this new case would also force her to look at the murder of her own parents and put her own life in jeopardy.

Portrait of Vengeance is a non-stop thriller. A bit more than the average cozy mystery, it was an exciting read. Though the author is a believer and there are a few hints of faith (see the discussion questions provided at the end of the book), but that is not the focus of the book. The story is well written and attention grabbing - the reader is not likely to be disappointed.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

NIV Color Code Bible (deluxe leathersoft version) - A Review

NIV Color Code Bible

(deluxe leathersoft version)

A Review

This volume is a kids Bible that has much in common with the widely available Rainbow Bible. The major difference is that not every verse is marked with a highlight color, but only a limited number of verses focused on ten sub-topics:

Animals Family Love God Sin

Jesus Praise/Prayer Washed Clean Growth Heaven

A Scripture Index (located near the front of the book, allows the reader to locate each verse assigned to the various categories. The marked verses will make the make the Bible attractive to the young person.

A number of other essays/features will make this Bible increasingly valuable as a child uses it. Brief, but helpful, articles are included on a number of topics:

• What Is the Bible?
• Who Wrote The Bible?
• Why Should You Read the Bible?
• Why Did God Send Us the Bible?

Mixed in with the essays are several daily Bible reading plans, the Scripture Index mentioned above, and a summary of the meaning of the color code used to highlight scriptures. Note, the essays are aimed at the older elementary school or middle school child - do not expect to find complex, scholarly, responses to the questions asked. This leathersoft edition would make a great reward Bible for kids reaching some milestone in Sunday School, Awana, etc,

This would make a good first Study Bible for the fourth grade student through the first year of middle school. On the same note, it is too simplistic for the typical high school student. For the right student, it would make the perfect birthday or Christmas gift. I will be passing my copy onto a multicultural ministry associated with my church to be provided to a student as a gift or to be added to that ministry's library.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

NIV Color Code Bible - A Review

NIV Color Code Bible

A Review

This volume is a kids Bible that has much in common with the widely available Rainbow Bible. The major difference is that not every verse is marked with a highlight color, but only a limited number of verses focused on ten sub-topics:

Animals Family Love God Sin

Jesus Praise/Prayer Washed Clean Growth Heaven

A Scripture Index (located near the front of the book, allows the reader to locate each verse assigned to the various categories. The marked verses will make the make the Bible attractive to the young person.

A number of other essays/features will make this Bible increasingly valuable as a child uses it. Brief, but helpful, articles are included on a number of topics:

• What Is the Bible?
• Who Wrote The Bible?
• Why Should You Read the Bible?
• Why Did God Send Us the Bible?

Mixed in with the essays are several daily Bible reading plans, the Scripture Index mentioned above, and a summary of the meaning of the color code used to highlight scriptures. Note, the essays are aimed at the older elementary school or middle school child - do not expect to find complex, scholarly, responses to the questions asked.

This would make a good first Study Bible for the fourth grade student through the first year of middle school. On the same note, it is too simplistic for the typical high school student. For the right student, it would make the perfect birthday or Christmas gift. I will be passing my copy onto a multicultural ministry associated with my church to be provided to a student as a gift or to be added to that ministry's library.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Cold As Ice - A Review

Cold As Ice

by

Julie Mulhern

A Review

Ellison Russell has a habit. Nobody likes the habit. Ms. Russell did not like the habit. Her habit? Finding bodies, dead bodies.

Ellison Russell and her family are not poor. You would think they would avoid the kind of people that lived among dead (i.e. murdered) people, but not Ellison Russell. But not only did Ellison find bodies, she also put herself in the middle of the police investigations trying to solve those murders. The police did not like that, not even her boyfriend, Anarchy Jones, a police detective.  But she could not help it, she stumbled on clues as easily as she stumbled on bodies; and when she stumbled on clues, she ended up in the middle of the murder investigation. And the ending was not always pretty.

“Cold As Ice” is a bit grittier than many cozy mysteries, but entertaining none the less. This reader sometimes felt he was out of the loop because he had not read earlier books in the series, but that did not distract from the enjoyment and adventure found in the current book.  For the reader looking for a good Thanksgiving read, “Cold As Ice” may just fill the bill.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Classic Hymns - A Review

Classic Hymns

A Review

I am not a musician, but I do want to know something about the hymns that the church has adopted over the last 2000 years. I do have a number of books in my library that discuss that history, but this book is one the best that I have seen augmenting one’s personal devotions based on those hymns.

The editors have chosen 90 classic hymns.  Each selection includes a selection of the lyrics (some have all the lyrics, others a small portion).  This is followed by a brief 4-10 question Bible Study, including a selected Biblical passage.  About half of these questions focus on the scripture, the other half allow for “personal reflection”.  The devotion concludes with one or two sentence prayer.  A table of contents makes important hymns easy to find.

My only concern is the binding. The simple wrap around cover blends well with the book’s binding, but it appears flimsy. Once removed, the binding looks like a 1960s paperback rebound for use in a small library.

This book would be a great gift for a single pastor of a church or for the church’s worship leader.  The last three hymns are Christmas Carols – I am considering using these studies as the basis for my advent sermons (alas, I will need to find one additional carol to fill in the four weeks of advent).

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.  

Evidence That Demands A Verdict - A Review

Evidence That Demands A Verdict

(The Completely Updated and Expanded Classic)

by

Josh McDowellSean McDowell, PhD

A Review

Let me begin with a bit of truth in advertising. I was an invited member of the original Launch Team for the newest version of “Evidence That Demands A Verdict”. In return for being a part of the Launch Team, I received an e-book version of ‘Evidence” and a tee-shirt promoting the book. However, the e-book was flawed. By design, the pre-publication version that we were sent included a large watermark in the middle of each page, making it very difficult to read (at least for this reader). In spite of being a part of the Launch Team, I decided it would be unfair to review a book I could not fairly read.  Two months later I found (using my normal review book resources) an opportunity to receive and review a hard copy of the book. This review is based on both the original “Launch Team” version which I received last June and the hard copy I received earlier this month.

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I remember receiving the original version of “Evidence” as a junior or senior in college. I devoured it. As a new believer, I wanted to know and understand as much as possible about this faith to which I belonged. Later, after graduating from seminary, I discovered a new version and purchased it. I remember trying to become as excited about it as I had the original - it was not to be. I do not if it was further education, my personal faith journey (which took an unneeded bounce during those years), the fact that I had changed the immediate direction of my career (from pastoral ministry to Computer Science college professor), or the book itself which caused the loss of interest; but I had lost interest.

The year is now 2017 and the third (or is fourth?) edition of this classic book is being published. The newest version is not one I would not want to sit down and devour (though I know there are some readers who have done that), but I would not want to miss having the newest edition on my shelf. Rather being aimed for the newly converted college student, this new book is aimed for the college or seminary classroom or for the desk and shelf of the pastor or scholar. For many, not sitting in a classroom, it will become a reference book, rather than late night reading. But it is a reference book that many (or most) believers will want on their shelves.

At just under 800 pages, the book addressed most of the issues attacked by modern critics of the Christian faith. Whether it be philosophy, religions, history, or science (plus more) the reader will be challenged to examine evidence for the Christian faith. Whether a believer, skeptic, or atheist, the critical reader will need to respond to the author’s arguments. The book is thoroughly referenced with in-text notes and a Bibliography providing complete details of each resource quoted or used in the book. The only missing element, for most students of the scripture, is a set of sources allowing followup to the many topics discussed in the book. It will become the responsibility of the pastor, the teacher, or the individual reader to provide access to additional resources on topics of interest.  It is this missing element that prevents this reviewer from giving the book a 5-star review.

The book is not general reading - it is aimed at the scholar. Few (are there any?) diagrams can be found within the covers, though charts are present as needed which will help the reader to process the evidence presented.

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This review is based on free paper and electronic copies provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Mathematics the Truth

Mathematics the Truth

by

Malcolm Cameron

A Review

An interesting book that begins with an error on its cover makes this reader doubt the usefulness of the book. First of all, the error - the author’s name, as best I can tell, is spelled wrong. Now, this does not define the entire book, but does make one want to read it carefully.

I did find the book of interest. It is written to a beginning master’s level mathematician. It might be handled by a well-equipped calculus student with a bit of exposure to differential equations, ultimately the focus seems to be helping the student jumping into his final years of training to see the parallels between mathematics and the physical world. The author firmly that this connection to the physical world should become the real motivation for studying mathematics:

Currently mathematics is taught like Latin, without motivation, restricted to the period from Euclid in the BC to the Renaissance. Those few proceeding to university mathematics and mathematical physics are re-educated without the benefit of previous orientation while the rest are abandoned to popularisations. This is not right …

The author attempts to weave mathematics with these physical concepts that either underlay or that are supported by the mathematical truths. The book, obviously, does not a cover entire field of math or physics, but enough parallels are drawn to aid the student or teacher to take these initial thoughts further.

I do wish the book included a bit more documentation, allowing the student to continue his or own self-study of the topics presented. Too much material is presented as “common knowledge” that might be so to the fully trained mathematician, but not to the student making progress through the field. That being said, the book is readable - provided the student has a basic understanding of the mathematics. However, once the reader reaches the point where his mathematics training has progressed, a set of good math texts will be needed to fill in some of the gaps.

Physicists and mathematicians would do well to find ways to add this book to their courses as a supplementary text. Those already in the field will find the book to be of help understanding the contribution each has made to their respective fields.

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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

Crisis Shot - A Review

Crisis Shot

by

Janice Cantore

A Review

Tess O’Rourke had shot a 14-year-old boy. The review board had cleared her, but the community was not so sure. When the opportunity came to move from Long Beach, CA, to Rogue’s Hollow, OR, with some trepidation, she took it. It was a promotion in name (from Detective to Chief), if not in pay.  She was leary of the job; alas, there were those in the community who were leary of her. But it was her new job and she was determined to do it to the best of her ability.

There were those on the force who wondered if she was ready for the change from big city cop to the small town Rogue’s Hollow. The City Council vote was a narrow victory. But the bigger problem was the increase in vandalism and murders (this was brand new) to hit the community with her arrival. Mayor Dixon had started supporting her, now he was not so sure. There were members of the force that had started questioning her, but gained confidence in her ability to lead as she tackled the problems that kept presenting themselves during those first days on her new beat. Pastor Oliver never seemed to doubt her ability - but his wife had been tossed into the river and left to die. Tilly was a drug addict and she did not know who to trust. She knew something, but could she be trusted to remember it and to tell the truth. And then Steve Logan, a county sheriff, was upping the anty for Tess.

Janice Cantore has written an interesting story that covers the lives of people living in two states. It will easily hold the attention of the lover of police procedurals and of cozy mysteries. Weaving in a hint of romance and a longing for faith, the story is a great first book in a new series from an accomplished author. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.

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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.

KJV Know the Word Study Bible - A Review

KJV

Know the Word

Study Bible

A Review

This book represents a Study Bible that does not seem to know what it wants to communicate. Providing three tracks for study (Book by Book, Verse by Verse, and Topic by Topic), it never seems to really accomplish any of these with any sort of consistent vision. Tools are provided for each track, but none of them provide the depth this review would expect from a really good Study Bible. I would have preferred to have the editors pursue one of these tracks with more depth and consistency.  

Let me use the Topic-by-Topic track as an example. The Bible tackles 21 different topics (only 21? - for a true Study Bible, this seems weak) providing five notes on each topic. There are three exceptions. The discussion on “God the Son” provides seven notes, the discussions on “Sanctification” and “God’s Will” each provide six notes each. The notes are laid out in such a way that the reader can follow the “trail” forward to the next note, but without any reference to the previous note or the beginning of the thread, he or she is forced to refer to the index in order to follow the topic from beginning to end. Each note provides a look at one verse dealing with the topic, allowing the reader little room to more deeply explore the given topic. Cross references are either from the translators of the NKJV or from the verse by verse study notes - nothing specifically designed to help with further topical studies.  

Sadly, the indexing is minimal. The topic index, mentioned earlier, is designed to point the reader to the five, six, or seven, notes on each of the 21 topics. There are no indexes focusing on the Book by Book studies or the Verse by Verse studies. The appendices consist of tables of “Monies, Weights, and Measures,” a typical Bible Concordance, and a typical set of Bible Maps. None of these appear to be designed specifically to augment this Study Bible.

This Bible would serve as a great gift for a new believer, or for the high school graduate beginning their own study of scripture. The notes that are provided, are useful, but not sufficient for deeper study. Thus, this Bible would be of lesser value to the seminary student or pastor with access to other tools, Bibles, and resources, to supplement his or her study.
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This review is based on a free copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.