Ace Collins: The Fruitcake Murders

By Kelly Bridgewater

Back Cover Copy:

From Amazon

As Christmas 1946 draws near, thirty-something marine officer-turned-homicide detective Lane Walker has his hands full. Three men with seemingly no relationship to each other have been murdered, including the powerful District Attorney. The only connection between the crimes? The weapons: twenty-year-old unopened fruitcake tins manufactured by a company that is no longer in business.

While some foods may be to die for, fruitcake isn't one of them! This heaping helping of murder will be no easy task for Walker, and he certainly doesn't need the determined and feisty Betsy Clayton, the political reporter for The Chicago Herald, getting in the way.

My Thoughts:

Personally, I have never read anything from Ace Collins. I have heard of his mystery books, but I have never gotten around to fitting them into my crazy to-be-read pile. After reading The Fruitcake Murders, I am glad that I did finally read something of his. Collins story features everything a great mystery should have. A daring cop. A nosy reporter. A love triangle. And three dead bodies with the ties to the mob.

The mystery centers around a fruitcake tin. No one I know will even eat the stuff, so I thought it was neat for Collins to create a complete mystery that deals with a fruitcake tin. The mystery is a interesting and has many different layers to it. I couldn’t wait to find out who the bad guy was. There were moments of me wanting to read faster so that I could figure out who done it. Just when I think that Tiffany, Lane, or Bret Garner would solve the mystery something awful would happen and change my perspective. Collins does a great job at hiding the identity of the villain until the last moment. I was surprised.

I really empathized with Tiffany, the reporter who wanted nothing more than to be loved and make her name known in the news reporter world. What person now days doesn’t want to succeed at their chosen profession? I completely related with her.  On the other hand, Lane and Bret Garner also wanted to succeed in their missions to help Tiffany solve the two crimes. But along the way, both of them believe they are falling in love with Tiffany. Don’t be threaten by my last sentence, there really isn’t any of the gushy romance stuff that happens in romance books. The story handles the mystery for the most part.  

The plot of the novel takes place in 1946. Christmas 1946 to be more accurate. I felt the biting wind across my cheek as Tiffany ran through the snow to be free of the bad men chasing her. I got nostalgic as I pictured the holiday decorations and lights in the store windows (it is my favorite time of the year). But I had a hard time believing the story took place in 1946. As for the historical accuracy of the time period, I think it should have had a little more attention to detail. This story could have happened in the middle of the fifties during the age of decents where everyone wanted to have the new and latest things. It doesn’t take away from the mystery; I still completely enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary copy of The Fruitcake Murders from Abingdon Press and the opinions stated are all my own. 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Lisa Carter: Beyond the Cherokee Trail

By Kelly Bridgewater

From Amazon

Back Cover Copy:

When Linden Birchfield arrives in the Snowbird Cherokee community to organize the 180th commemoration of the Trail of Tears, she runs head on—literally—into arrogant former army sniper Walker Crowe. A descendant of the Cherokee who evaded deportation by hiding in the rugged Snowbird Mountains, Walker believes no good can result from stirring up the animosity with the white Appalachian residents whose ancestors looted the tribal lands so long ago.

Though at odds over the commemoration, Linden and Walker must unite against an unseen threat to derail the festival. Together they face an enemy whose implacable hatred can be traced to the events of the Trail, a dark chapter in America’s westward expansion. When called to resurrect his sniper abilities, Walker must thwart the enemy who threatens the modern-day inhabitants of tiny Cartridge Cove—and targets the woman who has captured his heart.

My Thoughts:

I took an undergraduate course at the university and really loved reading books in the Native American Culture. I have found some new writers, such as Louise Edrich, Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, to add to my shelf. It was one of the hardest classes I took, besides Shakespeare, but Dr. Baker’s love for the Native American culture shone in her lectures.  This class has spurn my love of my heritage and using examples from the Native American culture in other classes. As a direct descendent of the Cherokee Indians, I was fascinated by reading and learning more about other tribes that formed our great nation.

I knew Lisa Carter had written a couple of other books that feature different Native American tribes, but my local library doesn’t have them, and I haven’t seen them anywhere to purchase them. When I found out Netgalley had her newest release up for grabs, I jumped at the chance to get a copy.

I enjoyed how Carter draws a connection to the famous Trial of Tears to the modern story. The story is told from two different perspectives. We have Sarah Jane’s who lived in 1838 and took the horrible journey with the Cherokee Indians, and Linden Birchfield who lives in the future. 2018 to be exact. Carter does a good job at intertwining the historical aspect with the modern story. I really enjoyed how Sarah Jane kept reminding Pierce that the Cherokee’s rituals to their god was really the same thing as modern Christians did to our God. I think a lot of people forget that aspect of the Cherokee’s culture.

While the conflict centers around the Cherokee’ removal, the story does have a number of love stories for the romance fans. There is a love story in the past between Sarah Jane and Pierce and Touch the Clouds and another woman. In the future story, Linden falls in love with a fallen sniper named Walker. There is no violence or sexual content, so the story is safe for fans of any age.

I had a couple of issues with the story. While the historical background was deeply researched, which is proven with the historical timeline, I wondered why Carter allowed the present part of the story to take place in 2018, which is three years from now. Why not just title it the present day? I’m sure Carter wanted to stay with the seventy years from the movement, but it was odd for me. Second, as an avid fan of Native American writings from someone on the inside of the Native American culture, this story did not really ring true to that genre. I could tell this story was written by someone on the outside looking into their culture and trying to tell a story about the past. Not that it ruined the story. It was different than what I was expecting.

I received a complimentary copy of Beyond the Cherokee Trail from Abingdon Press and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Beyond the Cherokee Trail

Devin Brown: Bringing Narnia Home

By Kelly Bridgewater

From Amazon

Back Cover Copy:

The wisdom of C. S. Lewis comes in a form that is deeply moving as well as great fun and high adventure. Noted Lewis scholar and popular speaker Devin Brown reveals the lessons woven throughout this endearing text. Bringing Narnia Home presents Lewis’s timeless message for the Narnian in each of us. Imagine opening a book and finding chapters like these:

·  Of Mice and Minotaurs: Actions We See as Small and Insignificant Can Be More Important than We Realize Despite What White Witches, Tisrocs, and Other Tyrants Think

·  Narnia Would Not Be Narnia if It Was All Badgers: It Takes a Village (One with Giants, Dwarfs, and Everyone in Between) to Make a Community

·  Adventures Can Begin in the Most Unlikely Places (Something to Keep in Mind the Next Time You Find Yourself in an Unlikely Place)

A wise, winsome, and whimsical look at the important values and lessons the Narnia series teaches that actually provide the groundwork for a profound and meaningful life.

My Thoughts:

I am a student of C. S. Lewis’ fiction and non-fiction writing. While in graduate school, I composed two twenty-five page essays related to some of his work. While doing research, I read and came across a number of Devin Brown’s literary criticism about C. S. Lewis. Even took home some of his writings on J. R. R. Tolkien because I love him too. So I am pretty familiar with the writings of Devin Brown. When I discovered Brown had another book on Lewis’ Narnia series coming out, I jumped at the chance to actually review it. I have never reviewed his book before; just read them for research and pleasure purposes. His tone and subject matter mirrored his other books, sparking a smile from me.

In Opening Words, Brown states his thesis statement up front, “when we finish the last of page of each adventure [referring to the Narnia series] and close the book, we do not have to leave Narnia behind. If we bring home the lessons we have learned and apply them in our own lives, we are like a person who returns from a distant country with a magical treasure to share with everyone they meet” (xii). Brown’s purpose was to show the tiny gems or lessons for life Lewis buried within the various stories. Brown does just that. He jumps right in sharing a general lesson by using examples from three different Narnian stories in each chapter. 

To finish the prose, Brown uses a section appropriately titled “Bringing Narnia Home” where he nails home the lesson learned from the pre-mentioned examples. My least favorite part is where Brown shares a couple of questions for further discussion at each chapter’s end. I, personally, thought the questions could have been moved to the back of the book with subheadings to draw attention to the chapter the questions related to. It was annoying, so I skipped those sections as I read. Another element that really bothered me is that Brown kept referring to God as “god.” Why not capitalize the name?

Bringing Narnia Home strives for a simple, easy to follow format with normal vernacular. I believe the vocabulary Brown uses could be enjoyed and understood by anyone. Even though Brown is most definitely an educated man, he does not alienate a certain education level with his words.

His qualifications to write a book about Lewis’ Narnia is evident with all the research and teaching he has done in the Lewis’ field of literature. Brown is a Professor of English at Asbury University where he teaches a course on Tolkien and Lewis. In addition to his current work, Brown holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s Degree and has studied at Oxford University and University College Dublin. Besides all his educational credits, Brown has published at least ten books related to Lewis and Tolkien along with a number of essays and scholarly articles. Brown has also spoken at Oxford University with his writings and was honored to be the Scholar-in-Residence for the Summer Seminar held at The Kilns, the Oxford home of C. S. Lewis.

There are no photos or illustrations in the book, but Brown does allude to some pictures in the original Narnia books by illustrator Pauline Baynes.

Brown’s latest original creation will appeal to fans, either young or old, of Narnia. My favorite part is visualizing the images from my imagination when I read those stories when I was younger. It drew a connection with me. Brown proved why I love Lewis’ writing so much because I could not learn everything on the first pass through. It takes multiple trips to Narnia, in order, to peel back the multiple layers of depth buried by Lewis. I would recommend this book to any fan of Narnia. No matter the age. It is targeted for audiences to enjoy after reading the series, and I believe, most readers are younger when they experience Narnia for the first time, so a young child could read this book with no problem. Maybe even learn how to be a better citizen in this world.

Overall, Devin Brown’s latest book, Bringing Narnia Home, is a sweet, quick read to spark discussions, bringing back the desire to reread the series to remind me of my passion for Lewis’s writings.

I received a complimentary copy of Bringing Narnia Home from Abingdon Press and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars