The Theory of Death by Faye Kellerman

  

 Here it is- another Decker/ Lazarus Mystery. It is a welcome addition to the series which has seen Decker and Rita join together as husband and wife and raise a family while Decker solves murder cases for the LA Police department and Rina provides the wisdom from the Torah to the cases.

   Now Decker has retired from the LAPD and relocated to Greenbury, New York on their police force. He still confronts murder cases.

   This time it concerns the death of a math student found nude in the snow. A loaner. Very bright. A Mennonite. It looks like suicide, but is it?

   This time Decker is joined by Tyler McAdams, a former Greenbury detective who is now in his first year of law studies who is using the Decker house as a place to finish up his study for a law exam.

Tyler finds himself more interested in the case than in his studies.

   Together they penetrate the echelons of higher education when it comes to the area of mathematics and the mathematical prodigies at Kneed Loft College.

   Another nude body is found, this one is an adviser in the math department. Decker and McAdams must find and bring the murderer to justice.

   As always it is told using multiple viewpoints. Most mysteries work well when this viewpoint is used.

I enjoy this series and look forward to each new addition. Kellerman is still able to present a good story.

The Witch of Lime Street by David Jaher

   

  There exists around us a spiritual realm that some people, known as mediums, suggest interacts with us and from which we can contact our loved ones.

      Is this so? Or can it be faked?

     Around the turn of the twentieth century the renowned magazine- the Scientific American- sponsored a contest with a prize going to the medium proving an actual contact with a spirit being. They set up a committee of five men to investigate the claims.

    One of these men was Houdini. A major case was concerning what the paper came to know as the Witch of Lime Street. Her name was Margery Her spirit contact was named Walter. She was very good at what she did. She was able to fool the experts except for Houdini.

     But since this was the time when people were trying to contact the dead people were choosing to deny evidence.

    The research is vast and the documents used to hunt down the time period are listed in the back for others to follow the evidence for themselves. Jaher does a good job of not editorializing.

    This book is one that lets the reader come to his own conclusion concerning communication with the dead.

     This book was sent to me free to be reviewed from blogging for books.com. I was not required to give a positive review in order to receive it. All opinions are those of the reviewer and not that of the publisher.

When God Calls by Robert Shipp

   This is a self published book. There is nothing wrong with self publishing when you have a story to tell the nation.  

   It is the story of a young man who grew up in Venice, California in the Hood. In order to survive he had to become a gang member and later leader. His gang was the Venice Shoreline Crips.

   God had a plan for him and it was not to stay in the hood and become the bad dude of Venice. It was to become a Child of His and to be a minister, helping others to become followers of Jesus.

   The writing is erratic and the transitions are poor. This is to be expected of a first book. Shipp has a story to tell with a large panorama and his writing is urgent. The sense I get is that he feels the time is short and the message must be proclaimed.

   He knew the right things to do and how to blend with church people. He could adapt. And one day he heard the way to be rightly related to God. He became a Christian.

   But he still had to make the choice of how he wanted to live. Life didn’t suddenly become easy.

   Shipp moves from the past to the present in the telling of the story. He wants the world to know that he has changed and how they also can be changed.

   This book is a gripping book and it does not sugar coat the struggle.

   I would recommend this book which can be purchased on line. Amazon has it for Kindles also.

The Entitlement Cure by Dr. John Townsend

    It is a problem we have now. It is the feeling someone owns you a good life without you having to give anything in return. The scary thing to realize is that all of us to a certain extent carry around entitlement feelings

   A person must realize there are two ways to go face to face with daily life. You could decide to roll up your sleeve and work to get what you need or you could take the laid back easy way of taking shortcuts to get rewarded.

   There is a song that has the words “nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever will.” This is true.

   One way is known as the hard way and the other is just drifting.

   There are things that can be done to counteract the entitlement feelings. Dr. John Townsend offers this book and suggestions for that reason.

   This is an easy read and also a probing read. A person may see himself in the discussion. This is good. If you can identify, you can change.

   Townsend develops the problem and offers an easy to follow cure in fifteen chapters. All humans need to read this book. It may be exactly what they have been looking for.

   This book was sent to me free from book look bloggers for the purpose of review. 

When Lions Roar by Thomas Mailer

    Parents influence their children. They have as long as time has existed. Two families of the twentieth century have to a major extent defined the period. I am talking about the families of the Churchill’s and Kennedy’s. They are now characters of history.

    History has always been an interest of mine. It shows where we have come from and the basis for our present civilization.

    In this large book or over 700 pages with notes and an extensive bibliography Mailer informs us of the influence of Churchill and Kennedy from the Second World War through the presidency of JFK.

    The two great heads of each clan had off springs. What the parents did to influence events and what the children did is the basis for the whole story.

    And the part of the grand story that concerns Winston Churchill has been one of the areas of great interest. His prodigy never seemed able to live in his shadow.

    Also there was the influence of Joe Kennedy Sr. He was not so pure as you would think. But he was single minded and achieved his goal.

    I feel this easy to read historical volume will be a great addition to the massive collection of these two families. It is more concerned with the families imprint on the era than the addition of new facts to the time period covered.

    This book was sent to me free from Blogging for Books.com for the purpose of review. There was no requirement that I give a positive review. All opinions are those of the reviewer and not of the publisher.