Shadows on the Sand
July 22, 2011
The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing
Multnomah Books (July 19, 2011)
by Gayle Roper
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gayle is the award winning author of more than forty books. She has been a Christy finalist three times for her novels Spring Rain, Summer Shadows, and Winter Winds. Her novel Autumn Dreams won the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Summer Shadows was voted the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Book of the Year (tied with fellow author Brandilyn Collins).
Gayle has won the Holt Medallion three times for The Decision, Caught in a Bind, and Autumn Dreams. The Decision won the Reviewers Choice Award, and Gayle has also won the Award of Excellence for Spring Rain and the Golden Quill for Summer Shadows and Winter Winds. Romantic Times Book Report gave Gayle the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her Amhearst mystery series, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, and Caught in a Bind, originally published by Zondervan, was reprinted in 2007 by Love Inspired Suspense with a fourth original title added, Caught Redhanded. Another original single title, See No Evil, was also released. Caught in the Middle has been optioned for film.
For her work in training Christian writers Gayle has won special recognition from Mount Hermon CWC, St. Davids CWC, Florida CWC, and Greater Philadelphia CWC. She directed St. Davids for five years and Sandy Cove CWC for six. She has taught with Christian Leaders, Authors and Speakers Services (CLASS), serving for several years as their writer in residence. She enjoys speaking at women’s events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality.
Gayle lives in southeastern Pennsylvania where she enjoys her family of two great sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, and the world’s five most wonderful grandchildren. When she’s not writing, or teaching at conferences, Gayle enjoys reading, gardening, and eating out.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.
When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But Carrie has a painful past, too, and when the reason she once ran away shows up in town, the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg threatens to implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry. Two wounded hearts struggle to find a way to make one romance work. Failure seems guaranteed when Carrie locates her waitress but is taken hostage…
If you would like to read the first chapter of Shadows on the Sand, go HERE.
Sally Says: Nobody writes normal people better than Gayle Roper. My fiction tends to run to things I could never be or do (like the last few books I’ve reviewed–be a homicide detective, a female gladiator, live in wealthy Atlanta during the Depression). And Gayle writes about normal, everyday people, but their story still fascinates me, still keeps me flipping pages.
Shadows on the Sand takes us back to Seaside, New Jersey, where she had four other books set. One unique thing about the book is the cult aspect. Cults have been done, but for the first time in books that I’ve read, I saw it brought out that not only the leaders of the cults are the evil, perverted ones. Sometimes the people that join the cult and seem to be duped were far more aware than we give them credit for. And I liked that she brought that out.
If you’re looking for a great summer read for these last few official summer weeks, buy Shadows on the Sand. There’s nothing like spending time with Gayle’s fascinating, realistic characters.
Pattern of Wounds
July 15, 2011
The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing
Pattern of Wounds by J. Mark Bertrand
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
J. Mark Bertrand lived in Houston, where the series is set, for fifteen years, earning an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. But after one hurricane too many he relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota. Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, was the foreman of one hung jury and served on another that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead.
ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s Christmas in Houston, and homicide detective Roland March is on the hunt for a killer. A young woman’s brutal stabbing in an affluent neighborhood bears all the hallmarks of a serial murder. The only problem is that March sent the murderer to prison ten years ago. Is it a copycat — or did March convict the wrong man?
Alienated from his colleagues and with a growing rift in his marriage, March receives messages from the killer. The bodies pile up, the pressure builds, and the violence reaches too close to home. Up against an unfathomable evil, March struggles against the clock to understand the hidden message in the pattern of wounds.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Pattern of Wounds, go HERE.
Sally Says: I love J. Mark Bertrand. So far I’ve read all three of his books, and every one has been great. He’s now on my must-read list.
Back on Murder is the first book following Roland March, Houston homicide detective. But if you’re new to Bertrand and Roland March, you don’t need to read the first book to enjoy Pattern of Wounds.
And Pattern of Wounds is enjoyable. It’s everything that’s right with Christian fiction. For those who like life as it is and like a realistic crime novel, this is it. The characters, the setting, the mystery — it’s a pleasure to read, and I sure hope there are a lot more Roland March books coming. Whether you’re going on vacation or staying home, Pattern of Wounds is a book you’ll want to pick up for an entertaining read.