The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

            Some books can be read once and the theme and story are clear. There are also some that take a careful, close reading and attention to story line to discern what is happening.        This book by Coffey seems to be the latter.

                Every book has a theme. A possible theme would be redemption

                It is told in three voices. Jake Barnett, the towns’ sheriff, Kate, his wife, and a mountain man called Taylor Hathcock. Years ago, when they were children, they all knew Philip McBride, now dead. Ruled a suicide but they all feel they had a part in his death. Now years later they are adjusting in their own way.

                Another main character is a young girl named Lucy. She is troubled and seeks to be independent. She interfaces with our three major characters.

                Kate is trying to do good to pay for her part in the past. Jake has become the sheriff but one that is not decisive. Taylor has gone crazy and goes around killing people to set them free from the dream.  Now the three of them are being haunted by Philip.

                Another murder happens. Taylor has killed a boy to set him free from this life. Lucy has run away from home and runs into Taylor and they bond. It is up to Jake to find her.  Jake has to prove himself worthy of being sheriff.

                It is hard to place it in a genre. It is not a Christian horror tale nor a suspense thriller. But it tries to be in the psychological mystery motif. I guess this is the best I can do when it comes to determination of storytelling style.

                Having said that I would not advise a person to think it will be light reading. I recommend this book for people who enjoy strange tales.

                I was sent this book free by BookSneeze as part of their BookLook blog review team. I was not required to give a positive review. The views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher.  

               

I, Saul by Jerry Jenkins

What if when Paul mentioned to bring his parchments he was talking about his memoirs?

Paul is in prison awaiting his death. It is AD 67. Only Luke is with him, ministering to his needs as the physician he is. What if Paul wants Luke to take the parchments and copy them and keep them safe? What if Paul stores them somewhere and over time they get lost?

 What if, in the twenty first century, the parchment is found. Now there are people who want to repress it for political reasons. A call is made to a young professor, Augustine Knox, from a tour guide in Rome to come help him keep the document from falling into the wrong hands.

The story is told using multiple viewpoints and the frame of two time periods. We have the period of AD 67 in the dungeon with Paul awaiting execution and we have the twenty first century with a seminary professor. We follow as Knox goes to Rome to help a tour guide, Roger, who is hiding from the authorities because he has a document that is supposed to be the memoirs of Paul.

 Jenkins handles the periods well and   keeps the suspense heightened.

 Jenkins has always been a good Christian fiction writer and this adds to his bibliography of great tales. I can see a this is volume one of a series.

          Augie groaned. “That’s how many photocopies I have, Georgio. The memoir is incomplete.”
         “You think Klaudios held some back?”
          “I have no idea who did this or when. All I know is that pages are missing.”

  I will be looking forward to the continuation.

  I, Saul

I Like Giving by Brad Formsma

 

It is a great book for the person who says, I wish I could give but I am not sure just where to start or what to do.

 Giving, Formsma points out, is a way of thought that transforms into action. Giving does not always involve vast sums of money. A person can give time and a listening ear and that would be just as acceptable.

  Easily readable and non-threatening, and thought stretching.

The practical ideas and inspiring stories which make up the 12 chapters of the 202 page paperback are laid out in such a way that you are not really aware of the tug on your heart as you will no doubt find yourself responding. At the end of the 202 pages Formsma has included six pages where you can jot down your own ideas of things you can do.

 I found this book to be refreshing. Formsma is not pushing his organization so much as informing the reader of the many ways giving can be expressed. For example, if you feel God leading you to buy a cup of coffee for a person who needs a cup, that is a form of giving. Or if you feel lead to help a person pay his rent, that is giving. Just give a smile to an individual counts as an act of giving.

The slant of the whole book gave me the feeling that I also could be a giver. It is pointed out acts of generosity done anonymously feel good.

This book is recommended for those who want to give but aren’t really sure what can be defined as giving.

This book was sent to me free by Water Brook Press to be reviewed as part of their blog review program. I was not required to give a positive review and any opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not those of the publisher.

Into The Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

           This story is in the motif of a quest story, in a way. Not actually in the sense of trying to change the world. But in the sense of self quest for growth and understanding.
            It starts out in a small village in Mexico where the men have all gone norrth to the United States to seek a better life. The women are left behind. The village is not a thriving community.
           Drug dealing bandits are a problem. Someone needs to handle the problem. The new mayor elect is a woman but she is not able to handle the situation.
          But as mayor she is able to bring movies in to the village. The favorite star is Yul  Brynner. But Steve McQueen is a close second. It is the movie The Magnificant Seven that gives out protaginist, Nayeli, the idea to go to the   United States and get seven men to fight the drug dealers. Also while she is up there she wants to find and bring back her father.
         The story concerns itself in the first half with the border problem and the second half is in the United States where she and her followers dodge the border police.
         Nayeli discovers the US is not the friendly place for an illegal to be she had pictured. But since she wants to find seven people to fight the dealers and at the same time find her father, she is unstoppable.
          The tone of the writing is light and in places funny. It is well written and a good read.
           It is summer reading.

          Into the Beautiful North: A Novel