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Murder on Tour–plot within a plot
Murder on Tour
By V.M. Burns
Samantha Washington is an independent bookstore owner in North Harbor, Michigan. As a local author with her first book, a cozy mystery, to her credit, she is invited to be on panels at the North Harbor Book Festival hosted by Michigan Southwestern University.
When a publicist is murdered, Samantha (Sam) recruits her Nana Jo and her friends from Shady Acres Retirement Village to join her in solving the crime. It turns out to be more difficult than one would imagine as Sam uncovers among the authors multiple layers of affairs and treachery that could rival a soap opera.
This series is unusual in that Sam is writing historical fiction. We witness the process in spurts as Sam turns to her laptop frequently when she is blocked or needs a break in her investigations. The occurrences in the book she is writing with a setting of 1939 mirror in some ways the current crime. The first time I read a book in this series I found the technique somewhat distracting. In Murder on Tour, however, I thought it played well. Either the author has become more skillful or I have incorporated this style into my reading mindset.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #9 in the Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series, but could be read as a standalone
Publication: November 28,2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“But don’t discount the importance of escapist fiction. Books are subjective, and people read books for different reasons. Given everything that’s happened in the world, many of us need to escape to maintain our sanity.”
These women didn’t know a lot about mysteries, but they would defend me to the death if anyone said an unkind word about my book. Some days, you need people like that in your corner.
He stared at me for several beats…I didn’t flinch. I taught English to high school students who could smell fear a mile away. Woe to the teacher stupid enough to blink during a stare-down. But he was good. Really good.
Letters of Comfort–grieving and depression
Letters of Comfort
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
In Letters of Trust, Doretta encouraged her friend Eleanor through a difficult time in Eleanor’s marriage when her husband Vic sought relief from grief and guilt by turning to alcohol. In Letters of Comfort, Eleanor tries to support Doretta when her fiancé William passes away shortly before their marriage from an accident in which Doretta is also very badly injured. In her grief, Doretta draws away from God, friends, and family.
In her first book in the Friendship Letters Series, author Wanda E. Brunstetter addresses a more serious subject than is typical of her novels—alcoholism. In this second book, Letters of Comfort, Brunstetter attacks another difficult issue, depression. In a letter to the reader at the end of the book, she explains that her own mother suffered from bipolar disorder. Thus Brunstetter is all too familiar with depression and its symptoms. She encourages readers to seek help in a variety of ways from lifestyle changes to professional guidance.
In this book, Doretta’s life is complicated by a promise to her fiancé to never love anyone else. Will she change her resolve to keep that promise? Can William’s identical twin brother Warren move on from his grief? Both Warren’s and Doretta’s families have known each other since their children were little and all of them are grieving. Eleanor, pregnant with a second child, wants to help Doretta and encourages her as best she can from afar while Doretta is rejecting any efforts of help. Along the way there are complications as Warren tries to open the nutritional supplements store he and William were establishing and as Margaret, Warren’s girlfriend, struggles with priorities as her attachment to horses with behavioral problems increases.
This book is a little slow at times, perhaps to demonstrate that one does not “snap out” of grief and depression. It takes time. There are some key events towards the end that propel the plot forward more quickly. I did not have a strong emotional attachment to any of the characters, but I did appreciate the author’s conclusion. She provides appropriate and satisfactory closure for all. This is not a page turner, but I enjoyed it; and I do look forward to the next book in the series, Letters of Wisdom.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Christian, Romance
Notes: The book concludes with a recipe for apple muffins and a very well-written and thought provoking set of discussion questions.
Publication: August 1, 2023—Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
“To be honest, I do not appreciate it when someone says a bunch of positive things that are supposed to cheer me up. It makes me feel like I don’t have the right to grieve.”
…since she didn’t have a job anymore and had been replaced by another school teacher, Doretta had no purpose in life—no reason to get up in the morning—and nothing to look forward to doing each day. She did not want to feel like this or entertain such negative thoughts, but thinking positive thoughts seemed to be an impossible task.
Doretta’s hope for marriage had been snatched away, as easily as a hawk pouncing on some poor unsuspecting little bird.
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot–missionary seeking to obey
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot
by Ellen Vaughn
[No spoilers in this review.]
There are some biographies so full of facts that they are boring. There, I’ve said it! Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, thankfully, is not that kind of biography. Many readers may be familiar with the basic story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, missionaries to Ecuador to try to reach the Waodanis. This tribe had only experienced violent conflict with the outside world. Jim and Elisabeth (a.k.a. Betty) were determined to decipher the Waodani language so they could translate portions of the Bible to the native language as well as make friends with the people and introduce them to Jesus.
The basic story of their experiences are recorded in Elisabeth Elliot’s book Through Gates of Splendor. That same information appears in this authorized biography Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, but this book focuses on the first third of Elisabeth’s life and her preparation for whatever God called her to do. The author was given access to Elisabeth’s many private journals and interviewed people who were a part of her life in various ways. We are able to delve into Elisabeth’s thoughts as she poured out her soul in her journal disclosing her primary goal, to be obedient to God. We learn of her pain and suffering before, during, and after a major crushing event in her life. Her early years and education are discussed from the viewpoint of how they impacted her relationships with God, family, and friends. Then we learn how she matures in her faith, never seeking weak Christian platitudes but struggling to understand God and His plan. She has a lot of difficult seasons of waiting as she seeks God’s will and learns first hand that the question of why something happens may never be answered on Earth. The important question is not “why,” but “what”—what does God want me to do? What is the next step?
Well researched and well written, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is a masterful biography and a page turner. It can be read as a historical document showcasing a woman who achieved fame as a missionary, prolific author, speaker, translator, professor, and radio broadcaster. It can also be read and studied by those who want to learn from Elliot’s experiences and spiritual insights to further their own personal journeys in drawing closer to God and obeying Him in following in the footsteps of Jesus.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Biography, Nonfiction, Christian
Notes: 1. Each chapter begins with a quote by various authors. They are always apropos to the chapter and worthy of pondering.
2. The book includes a Foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada, an Epilogue, and Footnotes.
3. The author has written the second in a series of three planned books to provide a complete telling of Elisabeth’s life. Being Elisabeth Elliot, which covers Elisabeth’s later years, will be published on September 12, 2023.
Publication: 2020—B&H Publishing Group
Memorable Lines:
And Eugenia had nearly vomited when Betty gave her some vegetable soup; she had absolutely recoiled at the taste of fudge. Well, Betty thought, it was just another vivid reminder that one could not assume that everyone thought and felt just like North Americans.
To opine about what God is up to in terms of results, can stray into the realm of hubris, or faithlessness. If we must see that there are worthy results in order to come to peace about what God has done or allowed, then we have no faith.
And suffering is one of God’s sanctifying tools. God is not a cosmic plumber who shows up to make things run smoothly for us. When He doesn’t fix broken situations in our lives, it’s usually because He is fixing us through them.
education pathways 