Traces of Guilt by Dee Henderson - a book review

This was the first time I’ve ever read a book by Dee Henderson although I’ve heard she’s a wonderful Christian author. I was intrigued by the title of the book, Traces of Guilt, when I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review. I assumed, from the title, that the book would be a great mystery and was looking forward to reading it.

The main character of the story is Evie Blackwell, an Illinois State Police Detective. Evie loves her job and puts everything she has into it. As dedicated as she is, Evie longs to be married but hasn’t yet found the right man and even if she did; she doesn’t have a clue how to balance her life with both a job and a man in it.

Evie is assigned to a task force that will begin looking at cold cases between five and fifteen years old. The police department needs a fresh pair of eyes to help them solve some of the cases and Evie is gung-ho to be part of the team.

The task force works together to discuss possible scenarios and leads. Some of the cases are solved and some are not but the story line kind of leaves us hanging here. I was looking forward to deep forensic type investigations but most of the cases were just lightly glossed over and not much attention was paid to detail.

Although this book was written by a Christian author, there wasn’t a lot of reference to Christ in the book or Scripture reference either. There were a few short prayers included and it was evident the characters were church goers but other than that, I would just have considered this a good, clean book for the general public.

All in all, the book was good but I kept wanting more. The writing was descriptive with well thought out scenarios and plots. Ms. Henderson writes in a way that is easy to read. The story flowed nicely although I needed a more intense story line or some sort of excitement to spark my interest a little more. I’m not sure I would recommend this book to others. It seemed slow in some parts and almost dead in others. On a star rating, I would probably give it a 2 just because I felt like there wasn’t enough excitement and energy to keep the characters engaged and interesting.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for the opportunity to review this book. I was not encouraged to give a positive review, only an honest one.

The Atonement by Beverly Lewis - a book review

This was the first Beverly Lewis book I've ever read and I was pleasantly surprised! I've always heard about her beautiful Amish based fiction books but I've never taken time to read one. Something about the name of the book made me want to pick it up and dig right in and I'm so glad I did!

Beverly Lewis has such a beautiful, descriptive way with her words. As I began the book, one of the quotations Ms. Lewis used right before the Prologue grabbed my attention. It said, "Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark." The quotation was by George Iles and I knew Ms. Lewis must have chosen that very quote to make a huge statement about the characters in her book.

The story revolves around Lucy Flaud, a very devout, hardworking young Amish woman. Lucy spends her days devoted to service in an effort to atone for sins from her past. Throughout the story, Ms. Lewis creates situations that lead Lucy into letting down her guard and opening up her heart to receive love once again. Hurt deeply in the past, Lucy finally begins to understand God's love and forgiveness and begins to move forward with her life.

Beverly Lewis indoctrinates the reader quickly into the world of the Amish. I found the inclusion of some of the Dutch phrases in dialogue between characters interesting and it helped provide a better understanding of the Amish culture. When Ms. Lewis brings the Englischer into the story, I was able to see and understand the hesitancy of the Amish people to accept outsiders. Ms. Lewis clearly has done extensive research in the Amish world to be able to write her stories with such proficiency and expertise.

I'm not a big fan of fictional love stories whether they be Christian or otherwise, but I wanted to read this book because of Ms. Lewis' fine reputation as a Christian author and to learn about the Amish people. I was happy to find the story was filled with love and acceptance, forgiveness and hope.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading Christian fiction and to those who might enjoy learning about other cultures. This was a beautiful story told through the eyes of a hurting young woman in need of understanding and love. Ms. Lewis managed to provide a sweet ending that addressed both of those needs for the main character.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.