The Help Meet Wife

Visible Threat is the latest police thriller written by Janice Cantore, a veteran Long Beach police officer herself. This is book two in her latest series, which follows police officer Brinna Caruso. Brinna is a kidnap/abuse survivor herself, so she wants to make sure no other girl is kidnapped and abused like she was as a child. Along with her police dog Hero, she works to eliminate crime. In this book, she's caught up with former partner Jack O'Reilly into a dangerous mystery involving a murdered girl which leads to them uncovering a human trafficking ring. There is a bit of a romantic storyline between Brinna and Jack as well, which rounds out the suspense. I absolutely loved this second book about Brinna. The first one, Critical Pursuit, was excellent; but this one managed to top even that. There is the perfect blend of suspense, drama, police work, and a bit of romance. This one will grab you from the first page and you'll have trouble putting it down! I highly reco...

The Orchid Murder: Untangling A Web Of Unsolved Murders And Legal Malpractice by Christine Hunt is a thick, weighty true crime book. I do love the true crime genre, so I was especially interested in reading this book. I'd never heard of this case, either, so it was something new rather than the same popular, re-hashed crimes. This book tells the story of the murder of Bob Nachtsheim, and more fully, the wrongful persecution of his former boss, Norm Wartnick. This isn't so much a tale about what happened to Bob, but rather what happened to Norm after Bob was murdered, and what the author terms as an attorney's betrayal of his client. I enjoyed reading The Orchid Murder. The beginning was a bit hard to get into at first, and it contained quite a bit more legalese than the standard issue true crime, but once I got into the story it was a much easier read. It is scary how just being in the wrong place at the wrong time or knowing someone can get you branded as and persecuted a...

The Passion Principles: Celebrating Sexual Freedom In Marriage by Shannon Ethridge immediately intrigued me. I've read many books about sexuality in a Christian marriage, but most all are lacking in some area: geared toward virgins on their wedding nights (I've been married 12 years), or skip the touchy subjects altogether, or don't cover the particular areas I'm interested in/need help in. This book seemed to be the answer to all the "lacking" Christian sexuality books. The Passion Principles is divided into four sections: Celebrate The Spiritual Side Of Sex, Celebrate The Mental Side Of Sex, Celebrate The Emotional Side Of Sex, and Celebrate The Physical Side Of Sex. Each section has chapters broken down by subject and the book is basically written in a Q&A type format (with answers to 40 intimate questions), which I really enjoyed. I absolutely loved this book. Ethridge didn't shy away from any aspect of sexuality (anal sex! oral sex! sex toys! por...

A Godward Heart: Treasuring The God Who Loves you is a compilation of short devotionals by John Piper. It's an attractive small hardcover that is easy to carry around and use in conjunction with your daily Bible reading. This book includes 50 meditations, or short devotions. They each include a Bible verse to center on and then a few paragraphs expounding on the topic of the verse. The devotions promise to be thought-provoking and soul-enriching, and Piper delivers on that promise. I truly enjoyed A Godward Heart. As a Christian, I'm always looking for devotional books to enrich and expand my daily Bible reading and have read many such books. I really enjoy the ones that are deep and really touch my soul, as opposed to many which are more superficial or "fluff" in nature. This book is truly very deep and will give you a lot to meditate on doctrinally. As a note, John Piper is a Calvinist (I am not), but there are still many great truths in this book regardless if you...

The Power Of A Half Hour by Tommy Barnett promises to help you maximize your time and day with just a focused half hour. Some people seem to have more time in their day than others, but the truth is we all get the same 24 hours each day. Barnett promises to show the reader how to maximize your entire day with just half an hour. He shares the key to productivity - making use of small, manageable moments throughout your day. He promises to help you increase productivity in all areas of life: Purpose and values, Personal goals, Faith, Character and attitude, Dreams, Career, Relationships, Marriage and family, and Church involvement and ministry. I was excited to read this book as I have always had a serious time management problem and I feel like I'm always running two steps behind in my day and never quite able to accomplish everything I need or want to in any given day. I've read different tips and heard sermons and lessons on time management, and have learned some tips, but st...

Seeing The Voice Of God: What God Is Telling You Through Dreams & Visions by Laura Harris Smith was an extremely interesting book. In it, the author promises to demystify nighttime dreams and daytime visions. She claims to help you discern if what you see is from God, study the ten most common types of dreams, discover tips for better dream recall, interpret dream symbols and imagery, and review the best sleep cycle apps. The book includes a comprehensive dream symbols dictionary with over 1,000 Biblical dream symbol definitions (including verse references). The book includes ten wide ranging chapters dreams, visions, and how God speaks. There are also a list of FAQs in the back, plus notes and references. Now, I will begin my review by saying I take books of this type with a huge grain of salt. I typically find this style of book is mostly New Age theories wrapped up with a few Christian words, or they're much more charismatic than I prefer. However, Laura Harris Smith sucked...

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl is an intriguing mystery based around some true events and an actual picture Wiehl's FBI agent father took of her as a child. The story blends the drama of the Civil Rights movement with a modern day murder mystery. Protagonist Lisa Waldren is now a federal prosecutor in Boston and barely remembers the Civil Rights era, but finds herself thrust back into the past when she realizes she and the girl she was photographed with may have been the only witnesses to a murder - and the murderer doesn't want them to talk again, ever. I requested this book with some trepidation as I'm not usually too into reading about the 60s and the Civil Rights movement (I generally prefer more contemporary fiction), but I do love a good murder mystery/suspense novel, so I decided to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. I was hooked in within the first couple chapters, and couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. I am anxious to read more of Lis Wiehl's ...