Watcher in the Woods, by Kelly Armstrong

In the Canadian Wilderness there exists a small town called Rockton. This town is miles away from anything, you need a bush plane to get to it, you need to know exactly where it is to find it. But very few people know about it and fewer still about where it is situated.

The whole purpose of the town is to provide a place for people to hide out for two years to allow their troubles to pass them by. The people living there might be hiding from an abusive spouse, an abusive boyfriend, or just society at large. Maybe they are a sociopath, maybe a psychopath, maybe a criminal who has done their time but there are people who want to harm them.

Whatever the situation, they pay good money to come to Rockton and hide. They must commit to a stay of two years minimum. Some have stayed longer, either voluntarily or because they are a risk to society. The Corporation Board who runs the town (from a distance) makes the decision.

But to enforce that decision you need law enforcement. Thus three people have charge of enforcing the rules and sometimes carrying out judgment. It’s not perfectly legal, but then again, those who are there have signed away their rights, they have agreed to the set up.

But sometimes crime happens here. Some times people kill each other. That’s what has happened this time. The law enforcement must root out the killer and deal with them in the best way possible.

The story is very well written. It is very interesting and draws a vivid picture of what life would be like in the wilderness where the summer sun is up 20 hours a day, but the reverse is true, the winter sun only 4 hours a day. Could you survive? Would you want to try and survive there? Would you be desperate enough to sign away your civil rights and move there for two years to let trouble pass you by?

Armstrong has invented a wonderful town with a wonderful story line that combines several plot lines to make it fun and riveting at the same time.

Enjoy!

The Invisible Emperor, Napoleon on Elba from Exile to Escape, by Mark Braude

We follow the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte as he is defeated by the alliance of nations against him and France. They could easily have executed the emperor following his defeat but they are nervous that this would create more turmoil in Europe and they realize that the continent needs a break from war.

So, the alliance agrees to let him live but they want to put him on an Island so that he doesn't have contact with the Continent. So they choose Elba as the place where he can go into exile and still have some feeling of power. So, the book follows the next ten months of Napoleon's exile to the island of Elba. There is so much interesting material as those who are with Napoleon detail what transpires on the trip to Elba and the next season of Napoleon's life.

I have read other books on Napoleon and his reign in France and the wars that he brought about, but this was the first time I read something about what happened after the war. It was highly fascinating to think about what could have been going on in his mind and life while he was in Exile.

Enjoy

Can We Trust The Gospels, by Peter J. Williams

I thoroughly enjoyed this short book on the Gospels of the New Testament. Williams uses very broad brushstrokes to write about a very difficult topic. Thus this book reads like a primer for the lay person who is wanting to delve into whether we can trust the Gospels as they appear in our Bibles.

What is exceptionally good is the fact that while using broad brushstrokes Williams gives us a Bibliography that is filled with heavyweight works. Thus if you find yourself interested in a particular section you can find references to material that will further your study.

Williams talks about the non-Christian historians of the early 1^st century as a platform to add value to the Gospels as being historical in that these non-Christians affirm the early Gospels and affirm the personhood of Jesus of Nazareth.

Further he gives some good evidence for ways to determine if a historical writer truly knows his subject or not by his use of culture, custom, geography, politics, etc. The four Gospels certainly stand up to this litmus test.

All in all the lay-person will find this short book very helpful in giving them an overview of the Gospels veracity and will also give you a good amount of documented works that you can further read through to add to your knowledge and your decision about whether the Gospels can be trusted.

Enjoy!

Ascent to Hope, by Stephanie Winslow

Stephanie Winslow writes a first hand account of her struggle with a family member and with God over an issue of alcoholism and the effects it had on her family. If you have ever had a family member who struggles with a habit that gets out of control and is harmful to them then you want to read this short but hopeful book.

As a retired Police Chaplain I can attest to the fact that Alcoholism, Prescription Drug Abuse, Illegal Drug Abuse, Gambling and even Overeating can tear a family apart. I have seen first hand the stress, drama and subsequent grieving that these addictive habits have on people.

Add to that your own struggles with understanding how God could allow this to happen and you have a very difficult family situation to deal with.

Stephanie will very candidly express her struggle with how she attempted to help her family member. She will also detail out her struggle with God and the questions she wrestled with and how it caused her to question where God was in this entire situation.

I  recommend this book to Pastor's, counselors and families who are struggling with how an addiction is devastating church families.

The Coming Storm by Mark Alpert

I was really looking forward to a great political thriller / mystery. But I was surprised when what I got was a novel that is written with a very definite political bent against our current president and some of his policies.

I don't mind hearing someone's opinion, but not typically in a novel. When a novel is written such as "1984" or "Brave New World," it uses fictitious characters. This novel does not go to any length at all to hide the identity of the characters being written about. Thus, this becomes a political diatribe instead of a novel.

The novel is well written and the sequencing is exciting and draws you in. The plot is that in the future of America there is civil turmoil over the issue of immigration and the President has instituted some programs to move immigrants into secure city locations where they can be monitored.

There is a futuristic sense to the novel in that scientists have developed a way to manipulate DNA and produce "Super Warriors," they have special abilities and extreme strength. They are recruited into a Federal Policing Agency that is tasked with overseeing the detention and rounding up of immigrants. They are pretty much above the law.

The story weaves it's way through New York City and the program designed to alter DNA.

As I said I enjoyed the storyline.

I just wish the author had been a bit more respectful of our current government. You can have your political opinion and you can write a novel against it, just don't be so down right blatant. Remember there are people who are in agreement with a current scenario.

Enjoy!

Witness, Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom, by Ariel Burger

What a very interesting read. The book is written about Elie Wiesel from the viewpoint of a former student then a teaching assistant and finally as someone whom Wiesel mentored through his life. Ariel Burger starts out talking about his upbringing in the Jewish faith in a family where one parent was orthodox and the other parent was apathetic. It makes for a strange upbringing.

As a teenager Burger wonders about life, death and why God is not more approachable.

Then as a student of Elie Wiesel's he becomes infatuated with the intelligence, the stories, the moral's and ethics of a Jewish man who lived through the Holocaust and especially through Auschwitz. What is the more important is that Wiesel does not try to cram knowledge down the throats of his students but instead he helps them to ask the right questions and seek the answers that will change their lives.

Burger eventually leaves the teaching assistant role and travels to Israel where he hopes to complete his studies. But after being there a year Wiesel shows up and they have a conversation that changes Burger's life and makes him a disciple of the wise teacher.

I loved the examples from Wiesel's classroom ,but more important I loved the way that Burger explains what he learned and how he learned it under the leadership and discipling of Elie Wiesel.

This is a great book for anyone wanting to know three things:
     1. How an Orthodox Jew survived the camps of the holocaust.
     2. How this intellectual became a professor at the University of Boston
     3. How a teacher impacts his students and further disciples those who want to truly grow.

Enjoy!

A True Cowboy Christmas, by Caitlin Crews

What happens when a dysfunctional family looses the patriarch
that has been causing all of the dysfunction? It discovers that even though Dad, Grandpa, the Patriarch is dead the dysfunction lives on. Why is that? Because each of the sons has got their own dysfunction (baggage) to deal with.

Gray Everett, the oldest of the three brothers, has stayed on the ranch and worked it while his younger brothers have fled and got on with their own lives. One is a businessman living in Denver and the other is a Professional Bull Rider on the Rodeo circuit.

But with Dad's death issues rise up. Dad left the ranch to all three brothers, even though only one has been living there for the last 20 years and working it. So, Gray thinks he should have inherited it outright.

But now Brady wants to sell the Ranch, get rid of all the former ugliness and memories and makes some money, i.e. get his fair share. But Gray says "No." That starts some new issues.

But in all of this Gray wants a new start at life and he wants to find a wife who can also be a mother to his 15 year old daughter, whose mother died in a car crash. In steps the girl next door, Abbey. Well, she doesn't know she has stepped in. Gray sees her at the funeral and for the first time notices that she is all grown up and desirable.

So, what does he do? He goes next door (5 miles down the road) and proposes marriage to Abbey, just like that. No warning, no dating, no get to know you, just will you marry me? After the shock wears off she asks why? He explains that it is a transaction. Marriage will fill a need for both of them and fix some issues in his life.

So, a marriage of convenience is what he wants. But Abbey has loved him since she was 5 years old. She has fantasized about him. Is she going to get what she wants? How will it work?

The book is good for the lessons that it explores through the storyline. Those lessons are:
1. How do three brothers overcome an abusive father?
2. How does a girl overcome the lost of her mother?
3. How does another young woman overcome her abusive distant mother?
4. How can love be built between two people who seem a bit different but then again a bit alike?
5. Can love conquer all of the issues that each family member is facing?

I loved the book because it dealt with real family issues. It didn't gloss over the dysfunction. It didn't gloss over the brash behavior of a Cowboy going after what he wants without considering thoroughly the feelings and emotions of the woman he is going after.

The love story is good, but the life lessons are awesome.

For my Christian readers, please be aware that this is a Romance novel that delves into the sexual aspect of a new marriage. If you don't want the steam pages, just skip over them. They usually run about 5 to 7 pages. Skipping them will not detract from the story. BUT, they are not written in such a graphic way as to cause trouble for the reader. So, you decide.

I really enjoyed the novel and hope that Caitlin Crews writes two follow-up stories to tell us what happens with brothers Ty and Brady.

Enjoy.

The Good, The Bad and The Duke, by Janna MacGregor

A very enticing storyline from the Regency Period of England. The young Duke of Southart, Paul, is trying to deal with his grief as well as the new responsibilities of being the Duke of Southart.

His grief is from the death of his father and his brother. He is grieved. Not so much for his father but very grieved for his brother’s passing.

From his younger days he has been a free spirit whom spent his time gambling, seducing women and just generally acting poorly. But now he must reform his ways and establish himself as the Duke of Southart and thus gain respect from the community as he takes his place in society.

Then there is Lady Daphne Hallworth, a young woman who is dealing with her own grief and her own issues of society. Her sister has died and Lady Daphne is cut to her core with grief.

Both the Duke and Lady Daphne want to do something to honor their lost siblings. The Duke wants to establish a hospital to help fight the diseases that are decimating the population of England. Lady Daphne wants to open a home for unwed mothers.

The Dukes desire is “Noble,” but Lady Daphne’s desire to open this home is against all societal acceptance. But that is all the more reason to open a home.

The underlying current of the story is that Lady Daphne and the Duke of Southart have known each other their entire lives. The lady has loved the Duke the whole time. But the Duke has been blinded by his own misguided youth.

Will they both establish the charities they want to? Will they find love in each others presence? Will they be able to overcome the grief and issues of societal mistakes that seek to unravel their reputations?

The research is well done, the writing handles all the Regency decorum well and the love that grows between the two is very much true to life.

They are a few scandalous things that MacGregor includes, such as the sexual promiscuity of the time. But while that seems out of place it really isn’t. Sex has always been something that brings ruination to many a decent person.

All in all this is a delightful story, I trust you will enjoy it.