Escape From The Everglades - A Review

 

Escape From The Everglades

by

Tim Shoemaker

A Review

A nicely written thriller featuring three teens who live in the Everglades in Southern Florida. They are close friends, but each is at a different point in their journey of faith. They challenge each other - both for good and bad - as they search for the older sister of one of the teens, but each of them does grow in the process.

Focus On The Family suggests the book is aimed at a 9-15 year old audience. Given the amount of graphic violence and the issues discussed, this reviewer would suggest that the book is better aimed at a 15-year-old to adult audience. The reader will be drawn in and will not want to put the book down till the final chapter is finished.

With the exception of the violence, this reader was reminded of the Hardy Boys adventures from the 1950’s and early 60’s. I would like to see sequels written - maybe in Boston (where two of the friends are moving) and. later, in whatever college town they choose to attend. I give the book four-stars.
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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 expressed are mine alone.

Off The Pages - A Review

 

Off The Pages

by

Alejandro Gonzalez

A Review

Off the Pages is one of the few books I have reviewed that I have a hard time recommending. Its language and violence would require an ‘R’ rating if transformed, as is, into a movie. Though written for a teen audience, I would have a difficult time offering it to the teens in my life. The characters were sometimes hard to follow - at times, making me wonder whether the story was covering the good guys or the bad guys.

The one redeeming quality was as a commentary on the 2016 or 2020 elections - where Obama had a literal role in the plot and Trump had a virtual role, though never being named specifically. I can only give the book two stars.
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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 expressed are mine alone.

Breach Of Honor - A Review

 

Breach of Honor

by

Janice Cantore

A Review

I can’t change anything that has already happened.
Blame is irrelevant. It will change nothing.
I have to move forward and make better choices.
I need to remember what it felt like to walk with God,
not away from Him.
(Chapter 22)

The Table Rock, OR, police department has a problem - only no one knows it. It occasionally raised its ugly head throughout the years, but it became more obvious when Leah Radcliff, a member of the Table Rock PD, shot and killed her husband, another Table Rock Police Officer. The jury found her guilty and the judge sentenced her to 25 years to life. That was the published version of the story.

But that version of the story did not include the clandestine meetings her husband had late at night, it did not tell the years of violence that had defined much of Leah’s marriage, and it did not include the vicious attack that occurred the night she shot him. It would take five years, a new lawyer, a new trial, and the cooperation of the Table Rock PD, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the Oregon State Police, and the FBI, to follow all the leads and bring the truth into the spotlight.

The result is one of the best faith-based thrillers that this reviewer has read. Though much of the story focuses on the corruption present in the Table Rock PD, it also exposes the pain and grief associated with domestic violence. I appreciate the fact that the author has chosen to include the phone number and website for the National Domestic Violence Hotline at the beginning of the book. Much Christian fiction deals with difficult topics, but then offers no sources of help for those in need. A major plus for this book. I give the book five stars.
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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 expressed are mine alone.

The Chase - A Review

 

The Chase

e

by

Lisa Harris

A Review

Lisa Harris has written a faith-based novel that follows two US Marshals who are trying to track down four bank robbers that have “hit a least a dozen banks” in the Seattle area. though a motive is difficult to track down, the robberies are well-planned and with solid escape plans in place.

Whereas the first book in this series, The Escape, covered a half dozen states as the duo tracked down escaped criminals; this book focuses on Seattle and the surrounding area. The setting is gorgeous, giving this reader more reasons for vacationing in the area - maybe without the crime.

The book focuses on two themes as the Marshals do their work - loss (with its accompanying grief) and the need many feel to fix the people around them. These are important issues. Much of the book takes place as conversation (too much conversation?) between the two main characters as they evaluate how they have personally dealt with these issues. Though I would not expect a fictional book to provide answers to these kinds of problems, it would have been helpful to suggest places (as an epilog?) where those struggling with these issues could reach out for support. I give the book 3-½ to 4 stars.
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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 expressed are mine alone.