A Christian Thriller

Ward McNulty has a special gift. He can see other people's souls. He uses this gift to great advantage in solving his father's murder and uncovering the larger criminal scheme that led to his death. It also helps him to save his own soul. The plot is fast paced taking Ward from Jacksonville, Florida to Columbia where he almost loses his life to members of a drug cartel.

I enjoyed this book. It's a quick read. The plot is interesting, and you find yourself rushing ahead to find out what will happen. There are several twists it's hard to see coming. I have to admit that because of the time sequencing of the chapters, it wasn't hard to figure out who the villains were, but still it kept my interest.

The character development was less satisfactory. The minor characters were sometimes sketched in. A longer book might have allowed their stories to be told without resorting to having the major characters fill in the back story with long narratives.

If you like thrillers, I recommend this book. My only reservation is that the religion is a bit on the mystical and fantasy side, but it works well with the plot.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Program.  

Excellent Advice for Anyone in A Management Position, or Who Wants To Be

The 360 Degree Leader is an excellent resource for anyone in management, or those still striving to get there. Maxwell covers all the bases with fast paced anecdotes and easy to understand advice. One of the most difficult things to do in an organization is learn how to be a manager at the level you're at. Many new hires expect to become CEO within the next few years, but few have any understanding of what that entails. Maxwell gives anyone in the organization a blueprint for what to strive for. The most telling piece of advice is to become a person that other people want to follow.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Having worked in industry and in large volunteer organizations, I can say that his advice is dead on target. Not everyone can have the top title, or any title for that matter, but everyone in the organization can help move the organization forward by leading from the position they're in. Leadership doesn't depend on a title. It depends on how well you can make others follow your direction.

I highly recommend this book. Everyone with a job, or just starting out should read it. In fact, it has a lot to say if you're a family member. Leading is something that should be pervasive in your life.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Program. 

Interesting History: Mediocre Fiction

Tides of War explores London society and the English forces during the time of the Peninsular War. James and Harriet are recently married, but he has to rejoin his regiment in Spain. Will that impact their marriage? The Duke of Wellington and his wife Kitty are leading separate lives with more or less enjoyment. We see these characters and many more responding to the conditions of society during the Peninsular War when men were absent and women had more freedom.

The book does a good job of telling the story of the Peninsular War from the standpoint of the troops. We see the battle for Badajoz from the standpoint of one of the soldiers. Very interesting portrayal of how battle affects reasonable men. During the same period, we see how women begin to feel their power and exercise their options both in business and love when their husbands are away.

The major problem with the novel is that we follow too many characters. Sometimes it's hard to remember who they are. The author cuts back and forth between characters in a chapter which can be disconcerting. The historical detail is excellent, but the characters don't come to life. The problem with the characters may be that there are too many of them, so we don't become an advocate for anyone.

I recommend this book for the historical context, but it's not a novel for light reading.

I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.

An Intimate Portrait of a Great Woman

Catherine The Great, Portrait of a Woman, is an apt title for Massie's biography of Catherine the Great. The biography moves from Catherine's difficult childhood through her disastrous marriage to Grand Duke Peter when she becomes Grand Duchess and into her era as Catherine II.

I knew about Catherine's achievements as an Empress, but what I found most interesting in Massie's biography was his portrait of her as a woman. The hardships she endured under the Empress Elizabeth are almost impossible to imagine. We think of a Grand Duchess as someone who has power, wealth and status, but Catherine was a virtual prisoner. The Grand Duke Peter was uninterested in her, possibly because of physical problems. The Empress Elizabeth feared that she was a spy largely because of her German heritage. This left the fifteen-year-old Catherine virtually alone.

I particularly liked the way Massie wove Catherine's memoirs into the book. Recounting the political and personal situation in her own eyes was very moving. Throughout the entire book, I felt that we were viewing history through Catherine's eyes. It was very effective.

I strongly recommend this book. Even if you know the history of Catherine's reign, this will give you a comprehensive view of her personality and the background that made her great.  

Long on Promises, Short on Performance

Holly Oaks has been the home of Adelaide's family from before the Civil War. The house has seen a lot of tragedy. During the Civil War, Susannah Page, Aldelaide's great-grandmother, was rumored to be a Union spy after hiding Union soldiers during the battle of Fredericksburg. Adelaide’s daughter, Caroline, ran away from home as a teenager and hasn't been home except to leave Sara with her mother. More recently, Adelaide's granddaughter, Sara, has died. Sara's husband, Carson, and her two children are still living at Holly Oaks, but is this the right place for them after Carson marries Mariella?

Some people think the ghost of Susannah hovers over the house. Adelaide think it's the house itself that is the source of tragedy. At the core of this conflict is finding out what Susannah really did. This is where the Civil War part of the story comes to life when Susannah's letter to her cousin come to light. I thought the letters were the best part of the book. I had hoped for more intertwining of the Civil War. In fact, I think Susannah's story would have made a better novel.

I found the plot disjointed. The story seems to be about both Marielle coming to terms with life at Holly Oaks and Adelaide settling her doubts about whether the house is the problem, or whether it's the ghost of Susannah.

The characters are thin and not really believable. Marielle never comes to life as a new wife struggling to find a place in the first wife's home. Adelaide is inconsistent. She is the one person at the beginning of the story who knows the true story of Susannah Page, but somehow she forgets this in the middle and starts to believe in the ghost. Pearl, Adelaide's friend, is completely unbelievable. Her rudeness is something I find it hard to believe anyone would tolerate.

The book in an unfortunate blend of modern romance and historical fiction. Neither comes across as very well done. I can't recommend the book. If you love Christian fiction, you may enjoy it, but if you're looking for historical fiction or traditional romance, try something else.  

A Fascinating Story of Daniel

Although a fictional account, the story closely parallels the Bible story and fills in the gaps. When the story opens, Daniel and his three friends are captives in a train of Jews bound for Babylon and service under Nebuchadnezzar. The journey is fraught with hard ship including an attempt on Daniel's life by Prince Zeriah. Daniel survives and becomes a trusted seer in the service of Nebuchadnezzar. Although in service to a foreign prince, Daniel never wavered in his faith and in the end was rewarded.

I enjoyed the book. It tells the biblical story of Daniel and fills in the blanks to make the fiction more appealing. The prose in the story seemed rather stilted, but perhaps that was because the author was telling a Bible story.

I found the story interesting. I think the author succeeded in his goal of making Daniel and his friends more real to us. The history and the background were realistic. If you like Bible stories, this is a good read.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Sneeze Program. 

A Rich Tapestry of Colorful Characters

Joe Patterson's dictum about what the public wants to read could be used to describe his family's saga. “Love/sex, Money and Murder – in that order.” abound in the pages of The Magnificent Medills, although murder is confined to newspaper reporting. The book teems with colorful characters from Joseph Medill the patriarch and founder of the newspaper, to the two cousins, Bert Patterson and Joe McCormick, who kept the paper going, and the unforgettable Cissy Patterson. In addition to the family, historical personages from both the United States and Europe put in appearances. Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are featured. Famous writers appear, particularly in Cissy's Parisian period: Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and many others. It's a marvelous picture of the newspaper world and the super rich from before the Civil War through the Jazz Age and up to the modern era.

I loved this book. The story moves quickly from the lives of the Medills through the history of their newspapers enterprises, particularly the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News, and takes us into the politics of the day. It's a book that's hard to put down.

I highly recommend the book. The combination of engaging characters most of whom where very successful, in business at least, coupled with a fascinating glimpse of Chicago history is a winning combination.