I Feel So Unnecessary

In the Beginning By: Abby L. Vandiver Genre: Christian Fiction 335 pages Publisher: Media Web Publishing Publication Date: June 2013 Purchase the book here: Amazon   B&N     Synopsis: In 1997, Biblical Archaeologist Justin Dickerson is unhappy with her life in general and has decided to run away from her problems. Intervening, her mentor asks that she go with him to the Fifty Year Jubilee commemorating the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. There she finds that in 1949 Jerusalem some of the 2,000 year old manuscripts, hidden in clay pots in the caves of Qumran, may have been destroyed. Justin, obsessed with this revelation, is determined to get to the bottom of the deceit. Uncontrollable emotion takes hold of her, and family and faith help guide her as she unfolds the truth of Earth's ancient mysteries discovering what really happened In the Beginning . . . My Thoughts: * I was provided a free copy in exchange for ...

The Prodigal- A Ragamuffin Story By: Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett Genre: Christian Fiction 304 pages Publisher: Zondervan Publication Date: October 2013 Purchase the book here: Zondervan Amazon B&N Synopsis: From the inspirational author of The Ragamuffin Gospel comes a powerful contemporary retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Jack Chisholm is “the people’s pastor.” He leads a devoted and growing megachurch, has several best-selling books, and a memorable slogan, “We have got to do better.” Jack knows how to preach, and he understands how to chastise people into performing. What he doesn’t know is anything about grace. This year, when it comes time for the Christmas sermon, the congregation at Grace Cathedral will look to the pulpit, and Jack will not be there. Of course, they will have seen plenty of him already---on the news. After an evening of debauchery that leads to an affair with his beautiful assistant, Jack Chisholm finds ...

Getting Rooted in New Zealand By: Jamie Baywood 224 pages Publisher: CreateSpace Publication Date: April 2013 Genre: Travel Memoir Get it here: Amazon B&N * I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading that the country's population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it really means to get rooted. My Thoughts: I found the author to have an interesting, quirky voice. The story was amusing and I liked how she described all the "different" people she met.She ...

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches ( Flavia de Luce # 6) By: Alan Bradley Genre: Mystery 336 pages Publisher: Random House Publication Date: January 14, 2014 Buy the book here: Amazon  B&N Synopsis: On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train’s arrival in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test. Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce c...

The Devil's Blues By: Ricky Bush Genre: Thriller 202 pages Publisher: Barking Rain Press  Publication Date: February 2013 Purchase it here: Amazon B&N * I was provided a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When the best blues harp customizer in Texas rushes up the steps of the First Christian Church, he finds the doors have been chained shut. A massive explosion sends him to a Houston hospital where he is charged with the murder of the entire congregation--including his wife and daughter. Enter Mitty Andersen, ex-investigative reporter turned blues musician, who was talking to him about a new harmonica order just before the church blew up. Sensing that an innocent man is being railroaded by an overzealous lawman, Mitty once again teams up with his "partner in chime," Pete Bolden, to find out who's really behind a string of church bombings. In their quest for justice, the duo form an uneasy alliance with...

Dead Peasants ( Zoo Crew #2) By: Dustin Stevens 392 pages Genre:  Suspense Publisher: CreateSpace Publication Date: February 2013 Purchase it here: Amazon Synopsis: Bargain Mart, long a fixture in the Missoula economic structure, has fallen on hard times. Things are dire, and if a financial windfall doesn’t arrive soon, their doors will close. Across town, a woman grieves her recently deceased husband. Sitting alone at her kitchen table trying to put her life back in order, a call arrives asking where his quarter million dollar life insurance policy should be sent. A quarter million dollar life insurance policy she never knew existed. Answering the phone on the other end of her call for help is Drake Bell, third year law student at the University of Montana. Joined by his partner Ava, and his loyal friends the Zoo Crew, Drake must attempt to make sense of the case Alice presents him. A case that only grows more complex as people continue ...

The Memory Plot By: D.W.Carver Genre: Mystery 268 pages Publisher: Musa Publication Date: June 2013 Get it at: Amazon B&N Musa Publishing * I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:   Two years after the car crash that killed her family, mental health counselor Jill Garvin’s memories of the events surrounding the tragedy are beginning to resurface. And with them, a painful and ugly secret that will shatter the way Jill views her late husband. The threat of reality may be more than Jill’s fragile mind can handle. But handle it she must, because a much darker force is at work: a man who would do anything to keep her past a secret, including destroy the new family Jill has found for herself. My Thoughts: I found the book to be a suspenseful, exciting read with interesting characters and snappy dialogue.However, I could have done without some of the graphic depictions and done more with Jill's back story...