Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey – Confusing, Too Many Characters and Too Many Plots

I was exciting at the opportunity to read Dani Pettrey’s newest book Blind Spot which is the third book in the Chesapeake Valor Series

Previously, I had read her book Submerged and found she did a really good job in writing about relationships.  The plotline was interesting and intriguing and the characters were well developed.  

Blind Spot couldn’t be any more different.  It was plot, plot, plot, lots of action and filled with many characters.  This is the third book in her current series, but there was no recap to bring the readers up to speed on the characters who carried over from the first two books.  I would have found it helpful to have a page at the beginning of the book with the names of the characters and a brief description about them and their history.  A number of times, I came across a name, and I had to search back to see if that person’s name had previously been mentioned because I didn’t recall anything about them.

As a side note, a number of the characters have names that are not immediately identifiable as male or female names.  Names like Tanner Shaw, Declan Grey, Avery, Finley, Griffin and Parker.  That made the confusion of too many characters even more confusing.  I found myself very grateful for two characters name Kate and Luke. 

There are two main plots going on and subplot in the background.  There’s storyline of embezzlement, murder and suicide and a second storyline of terrorism, smuggling of arms and people and human trafficking.  The storylines didn’t merge in the end.  The plots seemed to compete against each other.  As I was reading the book, I was trying to figure out how they would relate, but they never did come together. 

Some of the scenes were rather implausible.  The reasoning and deduction of the FBI agents to explain what had happened or what was going on seemed to be missing some in between steps or information.

Overall, I found the book confusing because of so many characters that the reader knew nothing about unless they had read the earlier books in the series.  Going back and forth between plotlines that had nothing to do with one another was not a good way to tell a story.  I think it would have been better to focus on one plot and develop a fewer characters. 

The Christian faith was mention somewhat.  It wasn’t a big part of the storyline.  There a few prayers.  But overall it was lacking depth and meaning. 

When I read a fiction book, I want to care about the characters.  Even if they are not likeable, I want to know them and what makes them tick.  I didn’t care about these characters.

I really wanted to like Blind Spot because of Dani Pettrey’s earlier books.  But I didn’t much care for it.  If you like her writing, I would suggest starting with book one in this series, that way you will be better able to track with characters and storylines, some of which carryover from earlier books. 

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey for free.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review. 


Sunday, November 26, 2017

Russia Rising by Mark Hitchcock – A helpful guide to better understand Bible prophesy

I was excited to read pastor and teacher Mark Hitchcock’s newest book Russia Rising – Tracking the Bear in Bible Prophecy

Pastor Mark Hitchcock is a solid Bible and prophesy teacher.  He is well balanced and does not get off track like some Bible prophesy teachers.  He doesn’t try to manipulate current events into fulfillment of Biblical end time events.  He’s not a date setter and has good understanding of Scripture and a healthy respect for God’s timetable which He alone knows. 

Russia Rising starts with a history of Russia and goes into recent incidents that give evidence that Russia, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, is exercising more and more power and is actively expanding their reach into other countries, like Syria and Iran.  Russia is a formidable foe on the world stage. 

One area I disagreed with Mark was his take on 2016 US presidential election.  He spoke of the Russian fake news strategy and the DNC “hacking” as the work of Russian spies.  That narrative is one that is suspect at best and may have actually been internal leaks from someone within the DNC. 

Mark went into great detail to explain why the king of the north, from Ezekiel 38-39 and Daniel 11 is modern-day Russian.  He also discussed the various interpretations on when the War of Gog and Magog may take place.  He not only covers his own opinion on when this event may take place, but he also addresses other views and explains if they line up with Scripture, history, current events and Bible prophesy. 

I especially appreciated Mark bringing the discussion of Bible prophesy and end times back to Christ.  He reminded the reader that anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ should impact us to live holy lives and eagerly share the Gospel message with unbelievers around us.

If you want to have a better understand biblical end time events and know what in the world is going with Russia and how it all fits into Bible prophesy, pick up a copy of Russia Rising by Mark Hitchcock

I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers and Tyndale Blog Network for the opportunity to read Russia Rising for free.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review. 


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Picture a Day - Conservatory In Black & White


On our recent road trip, Chris and I went to Minnesota to have my mother's ashes laid to rest with her parents.  Something long overdue since she had passed away back in 2008.  

The day before the ceremony at Fort Snelling, we had a few hours and went to the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.  It was a beautiful day and we had some time to relax.

As we walked around the gardens and zoo, I wondered did my mother or grandparent come here.  It was not too far from the home they lived in in St Paul, MN.  

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Veterans Day 2017


This video is to honor our parents, grandparents, cousin, aunt and uncles who have served in the military for our great nation.  We are so very grateful for their service and sacrifice and for the freedoms we have.  

Fatal Witness by Patricia Bradley – Interesting Plot, But the Story Got Bogged Down

  I enjoy suspense and mystery novels and was excited to read Patricia Bradley’s newest book Fatal Witness , the second book in the Pearl R...