The Ambition. Lee Strobel. Zondervan Publishing. May 2011. 320 pp. ISBN #: 9780310292678.A bookie meets his end at the hands of the no-nonsense Mafia mobster, Nick Moretti. That event will foster a series of conversations and illegal actions that focus on how not to get caught and have one's future ruined. A typical scenario? Well, this one's got a bit of a different twist to it. An Illinois Senator has been criminally convicted and is forced to resign. It's up to the Governor to appoint an interim Senator. His choices are a Chicago Judge, Reese McKelvie, or an evangelistic preacher, Eric Snow. The former engages in some manipulation in order to free the murderer, Nick Moretti; and the plot unwinds with him telling the Bugatti family. As the violent consequences follow, it seems there's no way to pull back the forces aiming to eliminate all threats to the Judge's senatorial selection!At the same time, Eric Snow and his legal adviser are doing everything possible to secure the position as well. Meanwhile, miracles are happening in his former church, and he only wants to distance himself from acknowledging the special answers to faith-filled prayer. His once faith-filled life becomes divided until inspired words break through the hard veneer he's been developing. Ambition has different meaning to those reaping its different consequences. The Ambition is a novel about examining choices and looking around at the lives one affects on all levels of life and death! Lee Strobel has crafted a realistic, conscious-raising story that every reader will long remember and ponder! Outstanding!
Up A Dry Creek. Avery Flynn. Evernight Publishing. June 2011. 168 pp. PB and E-Book. ISBN #: 9781926950518.
Claire Layton owns Harvest Bistro in Dry Creek, Nebraska. Her restaurant is highly popular because of evenings like the Full Moon Special which includes a 7-course dinner. But her tension-filled evening is about to ramp up quite a bit on her nerves. For at the end of the evening, as she is carrying the putrid garbage out to the dumpster bin, she sees a single arm sticking up from the garbage. Yes, she discovers a dead young woman who has been viciously murdered.
Within minutes, she's got the local police, really her brother Hank, and a hunk of a guy named Jake Warrick, who says he's an investigator there to make the police do their job correctly. He's a sight to behold to Claire; and while she's put off by his sassy attitude, that same demeanor and his gorgeous body are hitting her like an electric current!
But her hope of it all coming to a peaceful conclusion comes to an end with a threatening phone call and a demand for her silence. Jake and Claire hit it off in one way but there's quite a bit of verbal sparring happening that's right on the line between sexual teasing and mocking. Who is the murderer and can Jake and Claire get past their mistrust to solve the crime committed against this rich young woman? Why is the murdered woman's father such an angry, demanding man and what is the real reason he is so adamant that Jake find certain items connected to the dead gal?
Secrets thread through the past of Claire, Jake, the murdered girl, and her family. The steamy sex happening fairly quickly and the gradually revealed motives behind this crime rivet the reader to the pages, reading and flipping at an outrageous rate, just as the outrageous relationship titillates and wavers in a consistent cycle of unremitting passion.
Up A Dry Creek is hot romantic fiction with a mystery to solve that keeps one solidly engaged to the very last page. Nicely done, Avery Flynn!
Threading the Needle. Marie Bostwick. Kensington Publishing Corporation. June 2011. 352 pages. ISBN #: 9780758232175Madelyn Beecher has been giving the good life for many years, spending willy-nilly and never wondering where a penny is coming from. Hers is a marriage of convenience, as she is the trophy wife, beautiful and able to make her way through upper society without a blip. She lacked knowledge and so was thought beautiful but dumb at one time but quickly remedied that by slowly reading through the dozen books her husband, Sterling Baron, insisted she read. All in all, Madelyn has overcome the horrible rejection she suffered as a young girl who was rejected by her best friend and the chaos she created through some unwise choices as a young woman before her wedding. But Madelyn's world has now, in the present, hit rock bottom, her husband indicted on fraud charges from the Ponzi scheme rip-offs he conducted that robbed hundreds of whatever money they had. In plain English, she's a pariah again but this time because of being the wife of a criminal hated by the many he duped!Having hocked her jewelry and everything else, Madelyn discovers an inheritance that she must redo, the home where she grew up and now hers with her grandmother's death. She is pretty useless in the beginning but quickly develops a set of skills she never realized she had. Her support in these endeavors is the loveliest part of this story.In town are Tessa and Lee Woodruff, Tessa being the gal who years ago crushed Madelyn with unexpected shunning. But now she's got her own problems. Tessa and Lee's world is crumbling financially as his business isn't enough to get by and Tessa's small store where she sells home-made herbals is failing. Stressed out, they begin arguing which grows worse when Madelyn returns to town and decides to set up a small bed and breakfast inn.To tell more would be a spoiler, but this reviewer assures every potential reader that this novel is one of the most touching stories read in a long time. It's so real it's almost tangible, showing the evolution from spiteful, small-mindedness to the compassionate, giving nature of fierce and caring characters. There are great segments on quilting that are the heart of this tale, piecing together appropriate old segments that yield a tapestry of love sure to warm the hardest of hearts! Absolutely delightful, Ms. Bostwick!
Lie for Me. Karen Young. Simon Schuster Adult Publishing Group. August 2011. 368 pages. ISBN #: 9781416587644.Tucker Kane, a successful builder, is about to get the shock of his wife. Approaching his house in order to collect some rare wood before the house is demolished, Tucker notices his dog is very excited in a nervous, upset way. Entering the home, he has his first shock, that a woman is lying on the floor murdered, and his second, that it’s his ex-wife, Margot. Immediately after calling the police, he calls his fiancé, Lauren, and is interrogated by the local police. We then discover the real killer waiting near the home and allowing us into his or her thoughts, that evidence is going to be planted to make sure that Tucker takes all the blame!As the plot continues, we learn that Tucker has some secrets he’s kept from Lauren that indicate he just might have violent tendencies. It seems a family member might have been hurt by Tucker, Margot may have lost a fetus because of him, and the murder weapon finally found links him to the killing. Margot’s mother is sure he is the murderer but her father believes Tucker is innocent. Lauren won’t lie to protect Tucker and the fact she is asked to provides a huge leap into doubt about his innocence, as well as other hints that are slowly revealed. Lauren’s job may be in jeopardy because of her association with Tucker and Tucker can’t prove the threatening phone call he’s received!Eventually, Tucker runs away for quite some time, and Lauren as well as the entire town now believes his fugitive status proves his guilt. But the plot is far from over and there are no spoilers here. Lauren begins to take a more active role, despite her doubts, in finding information that would lead to discovering who really murdered Margot, and the rest of this novel moves like lightning until the reader finally learns the astonishing identity of the killer and the motives behind this death as well as another shooting before it’s all over!Fast-paced, well-plotted, and tense, Lie For Me is a great story sure to engage every reader who loves a riveting crime thriller/mystery! Superb!pan>
When the Lights Go Out. Max Elliot Anderson. Comfort Publishing. August 2011. YA Ages 8-13. 172 pages. ISBN #: 9781936695478.Set to be published near the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Max Elliot Anderson's book is meant to convey to young boys (and I think girls, as well as readers of any age) the seriousness of that catastrophic day when 3,000 people died because of a terrorist attack!Peyton's Dad is a Colonel in the Army. What he does Peyton doesn't know, but he thinks it's something like being a Ranger. So Peyton and his friends decide they will begin their training so that they can become actual Rangers who conduct special missions. One morning while they are hiding, Peyton overhears a telephone conversation between his Dad and someone else about a secret "package" being delivered which must be guarded because of its dangerous contents. In a second overheard conversation, Peyton and his friends learn that other people are aware of this delivery and are determined to steal it, somehow distracting the soldiers by another means. The plot quickens as the Rangers-in-training try to figure out how to stop this theft from happening without letting Peyton's Dad know about the overheard phone call. The author does a great job in creating the tension, fear, and seriousness of this new and very real mission these boys take on.The end will surprise you and at the same time make you realize the threat is constant and one's alertness and preparation must be just as vigilant. Great job, Mr. Anderson!!!
Frostbound: The Dark Forgotten. Sharon Ashwood. A Signet Eclipse Publication. June 2011. 384 pp. ISBN #: 9780451231956.Lore, the alpha hellhound, is serving as deputy sheriff in a town brimming with excitement and trouble! For an upcoming election in which a supernatural being is running is pitting not only humans against supernaturals but also a mysterious killer against a vampire. This enemy has necromancy or magical powers that starts a huge fire that can burn right through concrete and steel. Immediately after that conflagration begins, a human, Michelle, is slaughtered, and her vampire cousin, Talia is overcome by grief and then rage. But in her initial confusion, she is caught by Lore, who thinks she may be the murderer and yet is totally besotted by her, leading to an unyielding need to kiss her and make her his, a very dangerous connection!At the same time, it seems like Lore's status as Alpha or leader of the pack is under question unless he soon finds a mate of his own kind, a fact that his wild desire for Talia could lead to the loss of his leadership. Talia never wanted to become a vampire, and the reader is gradually introduced to her family, her background of terror and freedom achieved at a devastating cost. To Lore's pack, however, Talia is the enemy whom he must forsake.Gradually the mystery unfolds into terrible battles to the death, as well as a menacing threat that looms large over the city. Lore enlists the aid of a radio journalist with special connections and powers of her own, Errata Jones. After a while, her words about love between the hunter and prey are replayed in multiple nail-biting scenes that depict the ravenous nature of all in both love and war!Finely plotted, sensitive, fierce, tender, and complex, Frostbound is the fourth book in the Dark Forgotten series that is a must read for those who love the supernatural fantasy genre. Karen Ashwood knows how to craft an eerie, old-fashioned, terrorizing tale!
On Hummingbird Wings: A Novel. Lauraine Snelling. Faith Words: Hachette Book Group. April 2011. 288 pp. ISBN #: 9780446582117.Gillian Ormsby is a powerful business executive whose world is about to come to a shrieking halt, with massive changes forcing her to review her entire life. She's used to the tension of her consuming job but is now about to undergo a true test of stamina. For her mother, Dorothy, has decided she is dying; and to make sure she gets the message across, she's not eating or talking. All she does is sleep. Gillian's sister, Allie, calls for desperately needed help because she just can't cope. At the same time, Gillian discovers on the news that her company has been bought out and she's out of a job, albeit with a severance package. So Gillian moves from Manhattan in New York to California to take care of her mother and to eventually plan for her very vague future. Huge stressors!But Gillian's life is about to be blessed through the friendship of Adam, a neighbor who shares her love of gardening, and Enzio who is a friend to Dorothy, even when he's not wanted. No one can figure out at first how to find out what's really wrong with Dorothy and how to get her living again. Little by little, without me providing a spoiler, Gillian learns to relax even though she's doing lots of physical things. Allie finally tells her, after pages and pages of snide remarks and alternative silence, what's really bugging her. A plan begins to emerge, but even Gillian isn't prepared for the shocking revelations she receives in a series of emails and is pleased to bits about the relationship with Adam that seems to be evolving in a wonderful way. On Hummingbird Wings is a novel about what's first and foremost, the blessings of family and friends, exactly as they are. These conflicts bring Gillian into a world of practical faith that stands the daily tests, simple or gigantic! People rather than work become the priority in her new world. This is a novel about growing, changing, and loving in a creative, accepting, inspiring, and real way. Very nicely done, Ms. Snelling!
The Ambition. Lee Strobel. Zondervan Publishing. May 2011. 320 pp. ISBN #: 9780310292678.
