Chosen People by Robert Whitlow

Robert Whitlow

ISBN: 9780718083045

Publisher's Synopsis:

During a terrorist attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a courageous mother sacrifices her life to save her four-year-old daughter, leaving behind a grieving husband and a motherless child.

Hana Abboud, a Christian Arab Israeli lawyer trained at Hebrew University, typically uses her language skills to represent international clients for an Atlanta law firm. When her boss is contacted by Jakob Brodsky, a young Jewish lawyer pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of the woman’s family under the US Anti-Terrorism laws, he calls on Hana’s expertise to take point on the case. After careful prayer, she joins forces with Jakob, and they quickly realize the need to bring in a third member for their team, an Arab investigator named Daud Hasan, based in Israel.

To unravel the case, this team of investigators travels from the streets of Atlanta to the alleys of Jerusalem, a world where hidden motives thrive, the risk of death is real, and the search for truth has many faces. What they uncover will forever change their understanding of justice, heritage, and what it means to be chosen for a greater purpose.

"To walk with the Almighty all the days of your life."

MrsK's Review:
Jerusalem, welcoming to visitors... or dangerous?
Hannah, a scriptural name. A chosen name. When she was young, her uncle Anwar had spoken a blessing over her... Today, Hana works for a law firm in Atlanta. With her language skills, background, and as an international lawyer she is chosen to lead an investigation into what might be an international terrorist killing.

Contracted by Jakob Brodsky, Hana quickly realizes that this case will need someone living in Israel. In today's world, getting information will mean having someone with connections, as well as someone that will provide protection while opening doors to what really took place. Like Jakob's father, Jakob had a fierce determination for freedom and for pursuing cases until the truth was revealed. After hearing Ben Neumann's reasons to want to know if his wife's murder and daughter's disfigurement was an act of its own making or supported by others. Jakob knew he would be seeking help in this investigation. Ben wanted to help other families to have a voice against terrorists. Jakob knew nothing about this case would be considered easy and everything about this case would mean that finding truth would become an endangerment that would require all of the strength, support, and trust in the other investigators.

Hana also recognizes the moment that she would be committed to this investigation. The truth had to be uncovered for Sadie, this case had to be revealed and resolved. For Sadie had a smile of an "overcomer," which ushered in the peace-filled determination for Sadie to fight for this little survivor. What Hana isn't prepared for is all of the false leads, lethal alleys, nor the emotional strain of going home to a land that had become so deceiving. Would she be able to trust either Jakob or Daud?

Although Daud Hasan was an Arab, he knew technology... and he was the one trained in all areas of the Middle East. He would be the man that could guarantee protection. For Hana, he would be the one who appears to be a traitor.

Have you ever stepped out in faith into a situation that had to begin with a prayer of protection, plus an added mixture of strength, guidance, and trust? The rest of this story is action packed and every character is ingrained in a truth that would create the empowered vs. those seeking a wicked control. Expect at least one sleepless night...
MrsK 

Terrorism is based on belief, not ethnicity!"

 A chilling story that could be played out

anywhere in today's US or abroad!

Meet the Author:

  Robert Whitlow is the best-selling author of legal novels set in the South and winner of the prestigious Christy Award for Contemporary Fiction. A Furman University graduate, Whitlow received his J.D. with honors from the University of Georgia School of Law where he served on the staff of the Georgia Law Review. A practicing attorney, Whitlow and his wife, Kathy, have four children. They make their home in North Carolina. 

"I received this book from the Fiction Guild for this review."

Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell

Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell

ISBN: 9781534412156

Publisher's Synopsis:

Brooke is the perfect older sister. For that reason, Kari and Ashley work hard to make their parents just as proud of them as they are of Brooke. Each girl has her own talents. Brooke is an excellent student. Kari is a great soccer player. Ashley, a talented artist. And they are always there for each other. But when the news comes that Dr. Baxter is moving the family from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Bloomington, Indiana, and the Baxters need to leave the only home and friends they’ve ever known, no one is happy. Saying goodbye is hard but the family still has what’s most important—their faith and their love for each other.

In the first book in the Baxter Family Children series, #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russell tell the story of what it was like to grow up in the Baxter family, the best family ever.

"Your very best friends are the ones around the dinner table each night."

MrsK's Review:

This novel is one of the sweetest stories newly crafted. The younger Baxter family moments are full of life, joy, struggles, and acceptance. The book begins in winter, it is Ashley's joy that they are studying snow flakes in her 4th grade science class (school memories of snow and snow days is my joy). When the news that the family could be moving from their beloved Ann Arbor, every family member must trust in their strength, as a family, to see them through this season of change.

Growing up isn't ever easy. In a family of seven, the emotions and insecurities are met with loving guidance. The siblings (ages 6-13) learn the value of self-worth, sharing, and supporting each other in their uniqueness. With parents who are taking their responsibilities seriously, they strive to provide a nurturing environment in which each child's individuality is guided, encouraged, and embraced.

Take a moment and consider the following:

• Can you have fun without perfect decorations?
• Is it possible every day to "see" and "know" how to help others?
• Can you be confident in who you are when others hurt your feelings?
• When did you learn that being perfect isn't your path... instead faith would see you through to completion?
• Is it possible to offer grace to someone by offering them the benefit of doubt?

With the technology gap growing in our relationships, this is a perfect novel to settle into the rest our winter days. I encourage you to gather your family, add some comfortable lighting, put on some pajamas, role out sleeping bags, grab the stuffed animals and spend a few nights reading... discussing... sharing... and being family.

Happy New Year,

MrsK

"Many years from now, even when everything seems

like it has changed,

you'll still have each other."

An adventurous outing... Delightful!

Meet the Authors:

   Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/kids

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

Patti Callahan

ISBN: 9780785224501

Publisher's Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan comes an exquisite novel of Joy Davidman, the woman C. S. Lewis called “my whole world.” When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice—and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story—a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

"You would not have called to me

unless I had been calling to you."

Aslan, The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis

MrsK's Review:
Joy's story begins in 1946, New York. Amidst an anguished phone call, Joy reveals insights about her doubts. A marriage between two writers with beginnings of idealism and passion was now "unhinging" her husband and bringing her fear, despair, and desperation. A desperation that began as a "crack" in her soul... where God came in.

Three years later, Joy writes her first letter to C.S. Lewis and from that point on their letters "flew over the ocean like birds passing each other in flight." When one is in the wait room of transformation, you tend to wrestle with who you are becoming and the abounding truth about which path you desire to travel. 

With stunning settings, biographical glimpses conveyed from their letters, and unblemished crafting of a fictional story line... Joy once again has been given a voice. With a wealth of insights, I could have written so many tidbits that would have enticed you to read this narrative. Reviews appear to be mixed. If you have not experienced C.S. Lewis beyond Narnia, much of this story could appear as a fictional love story. Having completed a study about C.S. Lewis by Devin Brown: Discussing Mere Christianity (Study Gateway DVD series), I was enthralled with the unveiling of Joy's story.

Read, cherish the encounter, and place this on your book shelf. It is priceless!
MrsK

"The beauty that brings us to peace and whispers

that there's something more."

 A beautiful journey that must be shared! 

Link to Joy's Life

     

C.S. Lewis Timeline

Meet the Author:

 Growing up in Philadelphia as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Patti learned early the value of storytelling. At the age of twelve, her family moved to South Florida where Patti found the sanctuary of libraries and began her slow but steady journey into understanding the power of story to navigate confusing times in life.

Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work, and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. Once a Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, she now writes full time. The mother of three children, she now lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.

"I received this book from the Fiction Guild for this review."

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout

ISBN: 

Publisher's Synopsis:

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition – its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life – sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty.

"... Olive Kitteridge was going to New York..."

MrsK's Review:

Olive Kitteridge is a complex woman. A small town educator, that is either accepted or provoking others into costly denial. She speaks her mind and she isn't one to back down. So many lives are always in a state of unraveling. Olive continues to involve herself in the needs of those in her town, and of course with her family. Yet now, at seventy two, Olive no longer feels satisfaction in her efforts to help... it is more of a compelling "put out." Often over-bearing, cruel, and insensitive to how her words and actions affect those around her, Olive must come to an understanding that brings a painful moment of clarity... a true reflection of herself.

Written with in the thirteen lives, Olive's character portrayal is faceted with so many illuminating strengths and weaknesses. Every life is complex. Every season in life evolves into the next. Olive's journey unfolds as if she was on a trip through time. Some stories have closure, some are still left undone. Just as in life, the final completion is still in progress.
MrsK

"She didn't like to be alone.

Even more, she didn't like being with people."

Sometimes there is a novel that is well defined...
One in which the characters puzzle you...
One in which you are left with "unfulfilled" puzzlement!

"I never intended to return to Olive Kitteridge.

I really thought I was done with her, and she with me. 

But a few years ago I was in a European city, alone for a weekend, and I went to a café, and she just showed up. That’s all I can say. She showed up with a force, the way she did the very first time, and I could not ignore her."

https://www.newyorker.com/books/this-week-in-fiction/elizabeth-strout-08-05-19 

Meet the Author:

 Elizabeth Strout is the author of several novels, including: Abide with Me, a national bestseller and BookSense pick, and Amy and Isabelle, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. In 2009 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book Olive Kitteridge. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker. She teaches at the Master of Fine Arts program at Queens University of Charlotte.

 

Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble

ISBN: 9780718085841

Publishers Synopsis:

Running for her life in the wake of her mother’s murder, Bailey Fleming escapes to the only place she can think of—a remote, dilapidated cabin in Lavender Tides. Intending to finally get to the truth behind the lies of her past, Bailey only finds more questions when bodies are discovered near her cabin hideout along with traces of a dangerous human trafficking ring. In an unlikely partnership with FBI agent Lance Phoenix, Bailey races to understand the mystery surrounding her life and circumstances before the murderer tracks her down.

Meanwhile, Lance is determined to rescue his sister, Ava, who was abducted after running away from home as a teenager. An unexpected lead brings him to the remote cabin, and he wonders if Bailey—with her suspicious past and strange connections to his sister’s case—is really who she claims to be and if she can somehow lead him to Ava.

"Bailey opened the burgundy cover and glanced at the first picture.

She blinked as she struggled to take in the reality of the photo..."

MrsK's Review:

Bailey Fleming enjoyed working with the elderly. To Bailey, those she served were her family members she had always wanted. Loving and caring for them came naturally. When one revelation leads to another, Bailey is forced to run for her life. Every step forward becomes twisted by deceivers. Doubt becomes fear, and fear becomes a strength that leads Bailey to a cross roads of possibilities or death.

Kyle Bearcroft should have been Bailey's prince charming. The truth became clear once Bailey discovered that he was a bigamist. With determination, Bailey decides to move beyond her illegal marriage to Kyle. Yet, Kyle is driven to control Bailey for reasons that Bailey could never have known.

Lance Phoenix might be a FBI agent, but right now he is driven in his desire to get and take down the lead sex-trafficker in the Pacific Northwest. Every life mattered, yet Lance has a special agenda. Ava had to be found! 

Even though King "feels a little inconspicuous" in Seattle, he must find out where Bailey is hiding. He knows that she is a "loose canon." One that he should have taken care of. 

Lily lives close by to the cabin that her father built in 1936. Given the troubles with her health, ability to take care of herself, and a memory that floats in and out, Bailey decides to watch over her. Maybe this new life will help her overcome the nightmares of being on the run.

Expertly woven are many of the previous characters from the first two books in this series. New threads are attached to the mysterious tapestry that was begun in Lavendar Tides. As with any seasonal change, these novels will provide page-turning adventures before the holidays arrive.
MrsK

Will Bailey bring an end to this saga?

A consuming, unraveling legal thriller!

    

Lavendar Tides Series

Meet the Author:

   USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.

"I received this book from the Fiction Guild for this review."