A blog post two years in the making...

There's a saying in Puerto Rico (where I'm from and where I live) that goes "El que mucho abarca, poco aprieta", basically saying that if you try to carry too many things at once you will not be able to hold them tight. This is what that means: if you juggle too many things at once, nothing will get done as it should. And it happened to me. Family, church, work, direct sales business, book reviews, and a few side jobs, among other things, proved to be too much to handle and in the end, few things were done correctly and most things fell apart. Because this is what happens with me: when I have too many things at once my mind feels like an opened file cabinet. Too many files to handle at once, so I shut down. And it has been this way for the past two years.

No more.

I want to go back to basics, back to focusing on God, my family, my church and my work. Back to reading and enjoying it. Back to my books and good times.

During this time (two years!) in which I have not posted anything, I have read quite a few books, novels, and series that I have enjoyed. For instance, if you haven't had the chance to read The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series by Jennifer Beckstrand you don't know what you're missing. It's funny, very romantic, entertaining and full of Amish wisdom.

Another good series is the Cormoran Strike series, by Robert Galbraith (a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling). This is not a Christian series, and the first book is full of f words and c words and just plain old bad words, but it's a very entertaining series all the same. So far I have read the first two, and liked the second (The Silkworm) better than the first (The Cuckoo's Calling).

I also recommend the Alaskan Courage series, by Dani Pettrey. I have yet to read the last book of this series (book 5 "Sabotaged") but the first 4 were great, full of suspense, mystery, romance...

Not a book, but still a great find for me, Lauren Daigle's CD "How can it be". Great lyrics, great music, very talented young woman.

For other books and novels I have read, you can visit my Goodreads account.

So relax, spend quality time with God, enjoy good times with family and friends, enjoy a good book, make great memories and live life! Merry Christmas!

Fear has a Name, by Creston Mapes

Jack and Pamela Crittendon live an ideal life: great marriage, beautiful daughters, a Christian household, nice home in a nice neighborhood… But when a dangerous stalker zeros in on them, their idyllic life begins to fall apart. While little by little the stalker seems to rob them of their peace, their security and their trust in God, Jack tries to keep his family safe and protected. Meanwhile, he is investigating the disappearance of a local pastor who has gone missing after leaving a suicide note in his office. As a journalist, Jack is committed to uncovering the truth behind the pastor’s mysterious disappearance to bring closure to his family. But nothing is what it seems, people are not who they say they are, no one knows what really happened and others prefer that it stays that way. With a pastor missing, his family in danger, a stalker on the loose and a double murder, everything is out of control and Jack’s world is upside down. Learning to trust God has never been more difficult… or more crucial.

As the story opens, the first scene was so great and scary it made me think twice about reading the book. The details and descriptions, together with our own imagination made for a very entertaining and frightful beginning. But 'Fear has a Name' is more of a drama than a thriller. Although there’s action and suspense, the story is more an unraveling of the characters’ inadequacies, fears, sins, pasts, tragedies, psychological issues, greed, hypocrisies and lies. It’s more of a good look into depression, its roots and consequences.

As we learn about the stalker, we can’t help but feel sorry for him and at the same time despise him. His depression has its roots in his parents, their Christian hypocrisy and their hate towards him. He feels unloved, unwanted and alone. He has his reasons for being who he is, for becoming that person, but nothing can justify his behavior. On the other hand, we have Pastor Evan. He has clinical depression and we can’t help but feel for him and at the same time be irritated by him. He is a great pastor, a great counselor who loves people and is genuinely interested in them. But the selfishness of his decisions, the disregard for his family and his self-centeredness was almost shocking.

The parallelisms between these two stories were nicely written: one with a good Christian home, the other from a hypocritical Christian household; both battling with depression, both on the run trying to escape their problems and their futures. A kidnapping of a person and a kidnapping of a soul.

However, as conflicted and as full of contradictions as these two characters are, Jack and Pamela are, well, bland. They are the main characters, but they just don’t grab our attention and interest as the others. Their actions are expected and their decisions, predictable.

Although the first few pages set the stage for what promised to be a great suspenseful ride, the drama overcomes the thriller and suspense and the story became more of an introspective look into the characters’ lives, their thoughts and feelings. We are privy to how they analyze their circumstances and to their internal reactions to everything, and it’s not good. Since most of the main characters are Christian, the story turns into a semi-sermon at almost every page, becoming too preachy and sometimes boring. Talking about God, his faithfulness, salvation, mercy, love and grace is wonderful; these are good news. But in a work of fiction, the repetition is unnecessary and makes the story monotonous.

We can still see glimpses of the author’s great ability to create tension and suspense, but they are fleeting. In a suspense/thriller the not knowing and guessing and discovering are the best parts, but here the stalker’s identity is revealed too soon and in an almost prosaic way. The same thing happens with Pastor Evan’s story, which made the story feel like running out of steam too early.

A wonderful beginning that gave way to an introspective drama that ended with a less than remarkable ending, 'Fear has a Name' does one thing very, very right: it gets to the core of our fears and the real solution for them: God. Through each struggle and problem, the characters, much like us, questioned God, His will and His reasoning. And as they learn and see God’s reassuring hand in everything, the reader ends up doing the same.


3 (or maybe 2.5) stars out of 5

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, David C. Cook, in exchange of an honest review.

Critical Pursuit, by Janice Cantore

Officer Brinna Caruso is a woman on a mission: rescue missing children at any cost, personal or otherwise. Driven by her own experience as a child, Brinna does whatever it takes to find missing children with the help of her rescue dog, Hero. But this time, it hits closer to home than expected when a predator appears with the same MO as the one who abducted Brinna when she was a child. Brinna has to rely on her instincts and learn to trust her new partner, detective Jack O’Reilly, who’s struggling with feelings of revenge, anger and frustration after his wife was killed by a drunk driver. Jack seems to have a death wish at every turn, putting his life at risk and the life of others in danger. But with a kidnapper on the loose threatening to do more harm Jack knows he has to be someone Brinna can rely on. Together they will learn to trust each other and do whatever it takes to catch the kidnapper and put Brinna’s past to rest once and for all.

Although I knew that the story was about a kidnapper and the police officer trying to catch him, I was completely caught off guard by how heavy the issues were, how hard it was to read, not because it was badly written, but because it is so well written that it does not need to go into details to stir up your emotions. It strikes a chord… hard. And this is just in the beginning. As the story progresses, it’s difficult not to care, not to get desperate and start yelling, “Get him! Get him!” Almost like watching a movie.

The characters, especially Brinna, are developed nicely, with enough backstory to understand where they are coming from. In Brinna’s case, I would have liked to have a little more information about her father, but nevertheless she is a great character; very believable. She has faced a terrible situation as a child that has mold her into who she is now. Her situation is complex and hard and her reaction to it is what you would expect, very normal, which gives her character credibility and depth. Jack, on the other hand, is difficult to like and hard to identify with. Having lost his wife, he is understandably shaken and angry. But the way he dwells on his anger is a little too much. I cannot sympathize with him as I wanted to because his reaction towards everything frustrated me, even more so when he has a Christian background. I understand that losing a loved one in a senseless tragedy must be horrible, but Jack’s character comes across as little bit irrational at times. As much as I wanted to like him and feel empathy, I ended up not caring too much for him until a little before the end.

I really liked, though, the way the relationship between the main characters is developed, how it changes and grows throughout the story and as a result of it. It is not a romantic relationship, which surprised me in a good way because the book does a few twists and turns that are not expected in a fictional story. Of course, there’s more to this story since this is the first book in a series, but it is refreshing to have a story end with no romance in sight and still feel that you have closure, that there are no loose ends.

But the relationship between Brinna and Jack is one of a few relationships explored in 'Critical Pursuit'. As hard as it is to say and to read about, the relationship in the kidnapper’s mind between him and his victims is also examined and it is gut-wrenchingly twisted and sick, which speaks volumes of what a talented writer Mrs. Cantore is. Also explored is the relationship between us and God, its reciprocity, how sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. However, it was Brinna’s relationship with her mentor, the man who saved her when she was abducted as a child, that affected me most; how much she depended on him, how much she needed him, clinging to him as if she was still a little lost child, as the father figure she so desired. It’s in that relationship that becomes very clear how much Brinna needs God, his strength and faithfulness, even if she doesn’t realize it.

The author also does a very nice job of introducing police work without overwhelming the reader with police jargon. As a well written police drama, there are no details of police work or codes. The story flows from one action to the next giving the information needed to understand the situation at hand without having to explain excessively the intricacies of the work of the officers and detectives.

But as well written as the book is, the author does seem to forget dialogues between some of the characters. For instance, a conversation between Brinna and her friend Tony Di Santo where they talk about a situation they’ve discussed before as if they haven’t seen or talk to each other about it. Also, the resolution of the story’s central theme seemed anticlimactic, not at all what I expected having had so much anticipation built up until that moment.

Heavy issues, both spiritual and human, written with sensibility make for a very touching drama and a very hard to put down suspense.

3.5 out of 5 stars

*I received a copy of this book from the publishers through The Christian Manifesto in exchange of an honest review.