Great Book Series!

Before Another Dies
By Alton Ganksy

I thoroughly enjoyed, The Incumbent, the first novel in the Madison Glenn series. Madison Glenn is the mayor of Santa Rita and she can’t seem to avoid trouble in particular … murder victims. Arriving to work, Madison finds a car parked in her reserved spot with the driver slumped over the wheel. This driver would become one of three murders in three days. As a Congressional candidate this is the last thing Madison needs on her plate.

The second victim is the husband of one city hall’s receptionist. This murder strikes closer to home for Madison as she comforts the distraught wife. Madison herself lost her husband violently years ago. The murders are random and seemingly have no connection. Or so it seems, Madison during her sleuthing discovers each victim listened to the same late-night radio talk show host. Madison finds herself checking out the weird radio show and discovering patterns. Unfortunately, the mayor’s curiosity places her in the path of the serial killer.

In the first novel, Madison discovers and embraces the Christian faith that her husband kept from her until after his death. As a relatively new Christian, Madison tries to renew her mind and attitudes especially around the difficult people she must work with in city hall. Sometimes she stumbles badly and gets discouraged, but she keeps going with prayer and by calling on her pastor when events really turn tough. I’m looking forward to future novels with Madison Glenn and I’m especially interested to see how the Congressional race turns out for her. Will trouble continue to follow her as she climbs the political ladder?

Death Watch

Death Watch
By Jack Cavanaugh and Jerry Kulper

Death Watch is a Christian suspense thriller with a story that could easily be found in today’s headlines. Seemingly a terrorist is on the prowl and people are dying in alarming numbers. Know one has any idea who is behind the acts, but all the victims share the same details. Each person receives a “death” notice and hours later they are dead.

Rookie reporter Syndey St. James stumbles upon the first victim and soon finds herself assigned to story of her career. She is assigned to the story along with visiting international newscaster Huntz Vonner. Fighting to keep her credibility, Syndey follows several leads with the hope of saving people who have received the death notices. Unfortunately, the attempts fail and the race picks up speed as the death count increases around the world.

This novel provides insight inside the world of news media, indeed a cut-throat world where whoever gets the story is highly important. Sydney, a Christian, rediscovery of her faith is refreshing and provides her an opportunity to view the story from a different angle. I need to do some research about this novel because after such a fast-paced read, I felt deflated after reading the ending. There has to be a sequel to this book! If not, I will be disappointed not to find out what happens to Sydney and Huntz with their newly obtained information.

Ain’t No Valley

Ain’t No Valley
By Sharon Ewell Foster

Not normally a historical fiction reader, nor aware of Christian fiction yet, I became an instant fan of Sharon Ewell Foster after reading her award-winning debut novel Passing by Samaria. The second novel Ain’t No River was a laugh out loud contemporary read that sealed Foster as one of my favorite authors. Last year I was delighted to read Ain’t No Mountain as Foster introduced several new colorful characters and brought back a few from Ain’t No River. Who knew a trilogy was in the works!

In Ain’t No Valley, Foster introduces a few new characters and brings together several characters from the previous two novels. With a contemporary setting, readers will recognize a few biblical stories like Ruth, the prodigal son, and the wedding feast. How does Foster manage to bring so many characters together? Well, a California wedding creates the perfect event.

In Ain’t No Mountain, Moor and Mary met via an online internet service. The couple falls in love and with few resources, they call on family and friends to help them put together their special day. Mary calls on her best friends Latrice, Thelma and Naomi to be bridesmaid. Naomi unfortunately is going through a crisis and seems to have lost it according to her friends.

Naomi is not the only one going through a crisis. Foster introduces a new character named Anthony, Moor’s friend and former co-worker. Like Naomi, Anthony finds himself jobless and at the crossroads of his life. In the midst of the chaotic wedding preparations, Naomi and Anthony seem oblivious. They are not oblivious to the odd, but God-loving people who have become apart of their lives. While way outside their comfort zones, both of them make life changing decisions.

As the wedding date draws closer, the apprehension builds. The bulk of the wedding preparations are taking place in North Carolina where MeeMaw (Ain’t No River) is designing an elaborate wedding dress for Mary. An unlikely person is preparing the wedding cake to the horror of many and the travel arrangements seem to go down hill as the choice of transportation becomes a yellow school bus. The cross country ride from North Carolina to California is no doubt the most memorable and laugh-out loud reading I have done all year.

SharonEwellFoster.com Wow! There is so much going on in this novel. It is truly an incredible reading experience. Always weaving in God’s word without being preachy, Ain’t No Valley is a must read especially if you read the previous two books, Ain’t No River and Ain’t No Mountain. I’m sure anyone can pick up with reading Ain’t No Valley without having read the first two. Foster does a great job of tying in how everyone fits into the story. If you have read the other two, reading this novel will make you feel like you are reuniting with family and friends.

Be sure to check out Sharon’ s newly redesigned website.

A Table by the Window

A Table by the Window
By Lawana Blackwell

A Table by the Window is Lawana Blackwell’s first contemporary fiction effort. It is also the first book I have read by her. Not normally a historical fiction reader, I might check out her other novels. Mixed with a bit of romance and suspense, Blackwell offers readers a warm-hearted story about a young woman embracing all life has to offer for her.

Carley Reed is enabled to walk in her destiny thanks to a sizable inheritance left by her grandmother who has recently passed away. Carley hardly remembers her grandmother due to the isolation from the extended family per her trouble-prone mother. After a private investigator brings her the news, newly unemployed Carley takes a trip from San Francisco to her grandmother’s home in Mississippi. During her brief visit, she comes in contact with relatives she has never known.

Carley returns to San Francisco only to sorely miss the joy of an extended family and the hospitality of the South. She returns to the small town and permanently settles into her grandmother’s home. Soon Carley embarks on an entirely different career from her days as an English teacher. Her love for cooking turns into the idea of bringing a little of the West Coast to the South. Thus Annabel Lee Café is born and soon becomes an exciting eatery in the community.

The café becomes just one of many focal points in Carley’s life. She hires and takes in a troubled teenager and dates the town’s chief of police. While life seems ideal for Carley, lurking in the background are several mysteries, with one being an unsolved murder. Little does Carley know the murderer never left town and is a lot closer to her world than she can imagine.

I hope to see future contemporary fiction releases from Lawana Blackwell. This one was quite a meaty read, logging in at 413 pages. The length is well worth the read and the story moves along comfortably.