The Patrick Bowers Files

     Previously, I reviewed the first book of Steven James' Jevin Banks Series, Placebo. I made mention to another series of his, The Patrick Bowers Files. I had read the first book, The Pawn, quite some time ago and I remember being gripped by it, so I decided to pull it from the shelf and read it again.

     It was better than I remembered.

     His writing is raw, gripping, and thrilling, and I read the first two books, The Pawn and The Rook, in two days. He follows up with The Knight, The Bishop, The Queen, and then The King. Opening Moves was written between The Queen and The King, as a prequel to the series, and I'm reading it now. Engrossed, of course. It seems to be the darkest of them all, but of course, just as gripping. If not more so. Checkmate fits into the series as well. I'm not sure how it all pieces together, yet, but I am anxiously awaiting the twists I'm sure to encounter.

     Patrick Bowers is a geographical profiler, meaning he studies the where and the when of crimes that are committed, rather than the how and the why. In the series, the beginning at least, his character dismisses profiling and uncovering motive as less important than his own area of study. But he works closely with a criminal profiler and I believe he's beginning to see the value in her field. This tells me that James has put serious work into character development, and I am excited to see it unfold. It also provides room for comedic relief amidst the more gruesome aspects of the subject matter - I wouldn't call his writing gory, but it is definitely on a more violent and realistic bend, not for those more sensitive to the darkness of the world. The Knight, the third book in the series, definitely takes the series on a turn for the darker.

     Patrick also has a stepdaughter, Tessa, very punk-goth and angsty teen-like. Their relationship starts out...awful. In the first book, they can hardly get two words in without arguing. But as their characters grow, so does their relationship, and as hard as it sounds, the trauma and stress that they undergo together as a result of notorious criminals is a bonding experience for both of them. For all of Tessa's teenage angst, she's a terrifically likable character, and highly intelligent, resulting in her comically outwitting "Dr. Patrick Bowers, PhD".

     With the characters that Steven James has created, he has reams of material - ample for a 6+ numbered saga, and more than enough to keep readers tearing through book after book. Steven James is one for the thrill-seekers, feverish readers, crime solvers, and chill chasers. He makes it well worth the white-knuckled need to know more.

--Elise--

For more information on Steven James' series, visit our website here.

Hiding Places

     Erin Healy has written two books in collaboration with Ted Dekker: Kiss and Burn. Both intense and thrilling and all things Dekker that I love and know. I had never read any of Healy's books before, but her latest release, Hiding Places, came into the store shortly after I read Burn again. Naturally, I couldn't resist the pull. And true to her best-selling reputation, Healy did not disappoint.

     Hiding Places follows the lives of a wider cast of characters, but the one that Healy gives the most attention is an eleven year old girl named Kate. She has two half-sisters and lives in a hotel lodge run by her family. And for the most part, she passes by unnoticed. She's a small, forgotten part of a quiet life, playing spy and secret agent to the indulgences of her grandfather. The lodge has reams of hiding places and secret passageways, as a result of World War II, when the owners - Kate's great-great-grandparents - were trying to keep Japanese immigrants from being sent to internment camps. Thankfully, they never had to use any of the secret nooks and passageways for their intended purposes, but in the effort to expand her capabilities as a spy, Kate slips in and out of them more often than anywhere else.

     Kate is not a sassy character, per se, but she does have a mind all of her own, which comes with being left to fend for herself when she's not in school, because the rest of her family is working. She bonds the most with her grandfather, Grandy, and they like to leave little hidden gifts for each other every once in a while, or she'll watch him while he works on projects in his shop.

     Her life of espionage reaches new heights when a young man by the name of Charlie Fuse is injured in an encounter on a motorcycle with a mountain cat. While he's running from a street gang who think he's responsible for a murder. This Charlie and the man chasing him, Fox, are two of the other perspectives that Healy writes from, making for a twisting, spiraling, and thrilling story that nearly stopped my heart in more than a few places. She knows how to leave you hanging and keep you reading, and guessing, to the very end of the novel. The characters themselves plainly beg you to read on and discover how it all has to end.

     Yet another novel that I kept in reach of my fingertips until I read to the very end.

--Elise--

For more information on Hiding Places by Erin Healy, visit our website here.

The Great Christ Comet

     I'll admit that I am quick to promote this book purely because of how gorgeous the cover is, and how nicely it's all put together. It's a hardcover in a nice dark teal colour, with lovely full-colour photos throughout. In the words of Eric Metaxas (New York Times best-selling author, Bonhoeffer):

"I am simply in awe of this book. An absolutely astonishing triumph."

      Colin R. Nicholl wrote this book to demonstrate that the Star of Bethlehem "could only have been a great comet". He explores the mysteries of astronomy with a biblical base and perspective. He taught at the University of Cambridge and was a professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before he decided to focus on biblical research.

     --Elise--

Steven James Feature

      For gripping, intense, and thrilling, Steven James is the man to go to. Some time ago I read Pawn, book one of the Patrick Bower Files. And I remember being spellbound. This time around, I started book one of the Jevin Banks series, Placebo, to the same result. I haven't read a book this feverishly in some time.

     Jevin Banks suffers tragedy right out of the first chapter, with the death of his wife and twin sons, but the rest of the story doesn't really start until some time later. He's moved from magician to running his own reality TV series, debunking psychics and certain "research" that seems to always prove to be fraudulent. But with the next case, things don't turn out anywhere near how he intends. Least of all with the debunking.

     Fast-paced, never-ending action, and a pile of conspiracy theories to sift through, James keeps you guessing until the end of the pages, and while he doesn't necessarily end on a glaring cliffhanger, he leaves enough questions unanswered that I am ready to dive into book two. Singularity, which follows the same main character in new, twisting action.

--Elise--

Ted Dekker Feature

Burn

     It has been too long since I read some of Ted Dekker's older novels - some of the ones he wrote in collaboration with other authors, the ones that told thrilling tales with crime, contradiction, conspiracy and danger, and got me reading his words so feverishly to begin with.

     I just finished Burn for the second time. I couldn't remember anything from the first time I read it, but it was gripping, intense, and well worth the second time through.

     Janeal Mikkado has never belonged in her own Gypsy tribe. Shunned. Disrespected. She's anticipating a life outside of this sheltered life she lives when everything goes up in smoke.

     Literally.

     She becomes entangled with a dangerous criminal, a twisted scheme involving a million dollars, and a number of gruesome and cruel deaths that send her on a path she never would have imagined.

Kiss

     Another book of Dekker's that I recently re-read, Kiss, is also a gripping read. Ironically enough, I didn't remember what happened in this one either, and it's about a main character with a bad case of amnesia.

     I love amnesia plots. They allow for conspiracies, and for twists and turns that come as such surprises because absolutely no one knows that they're going to happen - the main character least of all.

    These collab-books by Dekker and Healy have to be some of my favourites from Dekker's bookshelf. I would highly recommend checking out Erin Healy after this, which is what I am certainly going to do. She just came out with her newest book, Hiding Places, and will be next in line to read it.


     Ted Dekker also just came out with A.D. 30 and A.D. 33, an amazing new series that is just raw and ravaging with emotion. I'm always quick to pick up what he puts out, and I was not disappointed this time either. He remains to be my favourite author in Christian Fiction, and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

--Elise--

Abundant Life in Jesus

     If you're looking for a lovely gift for a lovely woman growing with God, this is a gorgeous item with a decorative cover and a really attractive design. It drew my eye on the shelf just because the cover and how the colours and fonts and everything fit together so attractively, and then I finally picked it up to have a look, and to my delight  the contents were just as soothing as the exterior.

     "As you live in this world that is broken, your life does not go untouched by pain and sorrow. Perhaps you think that if you had real faith you wouldn't have to feel sad. But your tears do not reflect a lack of faith. Tears are a tool I use to bring healing in your life." 

     Each daily writing is written from the perspective of God, speaking to you in an intimate and personal way, with related scripture to start off and a prayer written at the end of each day. Guthrie captivates personal reflection and intimacy with God in a very relatable way, and her writing style is so, so comforting.

For more information on Abundant Life in Jesus: Devotions for Every Day of the Year  by Nancy Guthrie visit our website here.

Lunch with Lewis

     In the middle of reading Mere Christianity, I was inspired to do a C.S. Lewis feature here, as seen on page 10 of our Christmas Gift Guide. We have a whole section of books dedicated to the writings of C.S. Lewis and the Inklings, and I'd like to present them to you here:

Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil by Colin Duriez

Explore the literature and thought of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other members of the Inklings circle in regards to evil and spiritual warfare, focusing on wartime.
"Those looking for contemporary insights into the source and problem of evil need look no further than Bedeviled." -Bruce L. Edwards, author of Not a Tame Lion.


For more information visit our website here.

75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know by Terry Glaspey

Discover the stories behind seventy-five of the greatest masterpieces of all time and gain deeper perspectives about the human condition, the Christian story, and your own spiritual life. Complete with a wide array of full-colour photos and illustrations, and sidebards with recommended reading, viewing, or listening options in each chapter. An exceptional gift book.

For more information visit our website here.

If I Had Lunch With C.S. Lewis by Alister McGrath

What if you could ask C.S. Lewis his thoughts on some of the most difficult questions of life? Best-selling author, prominent academic, and sought-after speaker, Dr. McGrath sees C.S. Lewis as the perfect conversation companion for the persistent meaning-of-life questions we want answered.


For more information visit our website here.

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte

This engrossing true story explores for the first time how Tolkien and Lewis used the cataclysm of the Great War to illuminate the human condition; to insist that grace can overcome human frailty and even the darkest powers set against us.



For more information visit our website here.








The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 

This deluxe paperback set includes all seven titles in The Chronicles of Narnia with full colour illustrations and cover art by Pauline Baynes from the original books first published in the UK.



For more information visit our website here.


The Fellowship: the Literary Lives of the Inklings
by Carol & Philip Zaleski

The first complete rendering of the Inklings' lives and words: an account of the ideas, affections, and vexations that drove the group's most significant members. A thoughtful gift for anyone with a particular enthusiasm for C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.



For all of your C.S. Lewis needs, this is the place to be this season!