Maggie Bright by Tracy Groot

There is something about Tracy Groot's writing that is spellbinding.  Honestly, it always seems to take me a chapter or two to get into her novels, but once I am in I am IN.  Tracy Groot writing makes you feel the intensity of the situation, even though this happened long ago.  You feel as if you are living in those moments, desperate to know the outcome.  What is so impressive about her writing is that she doesn't use all sorts of words to make you feel the depth of emotions.  She doesn't describe the carnage or romantic love or loss.  Instead, somehow as she tells her stories you feel all these things with a depth unusual for a novel.  Her writing is so on-point that you are seeing and living the experience without all the "fluff language" of other authors.

When I had to put the book down to do other things I found myself thinking about it and thinking about the history.  She makes me want to learn more about Dunkirk and about WWII.  

This beautiful and gripping novel is for any reader.  I love that Tracy Groot is a Christian writer and wrote this book in a way that I could give it to a non-believer and I know it would be a seed-planter.  Clare's words to Williams arrest your heart and stay with you.

While there are multiple characters they weave together in such a way that you are not distracted by them but desire them all to be well at the novels end.  You won't want to miss this book or any of her other previous books.

I received this book free from the publishers. All opinions express are my own.

Threads of Suspicion by Dee Henderson

From the publisher:
Evie Blackwell's reputation as a top investigator for the Illinois State Police has landed her an appointment to the governor's new Missing Persons Task Force. This elite investigative team is launched with plenty of public fanfare. The governor has made this initiative a high priority, so they will have to produce results--and quickly.

Evie and her new partner, David Marshal, are assigned to a pair of unrelated cases in suburban Chicago, and while both involve persons now missing for several years, the cases couldn't be more different. While Evie opens old wounds in a close-knit neighborhood to find a missing college student, David searches for a private investigator working for a high-powered client.

With a deep conviction that "justice for all" truly matters, Evie and David are unrelenting in their search for the truth. But Evie must also find answers to the questions that lie just beneath the surface in her personal life.
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This is the second book in the Evie Blackwell cold case and I have to say that I missed some of the characters from the first book and was sad to not know more about them.  But the book quickly catches your attention and you become immersed in the stories.

As with the first book, what is interesting is how much tension and suspense Dee Henderson can create from a cold case. These are cases that didn't have an end and yet nothing more seems to have happened--but there is a lot of suspense and tension.  It's brilliant, really.

Evie is a wonderful and complex characters. I loved to read about her and how she navigates her professional and personal life.

This books are dark in a way that is hard to describe but Henderson handles it all well.

I received this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Words of Grace by Jackqui Grace and Dee Arrand

This is a unique and delightful 28 day devotional book unlike any I’ve ever seen before.  Each day has a daily scripture, a short devotional relative for today’s women, a challenge and a coloring page.  As you color the page it is the reader’s time to reflect on the scripture. You then  apply the devotional to your personal life.  As you accept the challenge you pray over how you will bring that challenge to light in your interactions with others.  The daily passage is soothing, calming and uplifting.  The exercise of coloring as you reflect on the passage is a fun and meaningful way to spend time with God.

The Glory of the Messiah – An adult coloring book by Susan Perlman and Shelly Skoropinski

The story of the Messiah is told in the pages of this unique coloring book.  It starts with the perspective of the Hebrew writings foretelling the promised Messiah.  Hebrew symbols are combined with Old Testament prophecies.  Then the fulfillment in New Testament scripture is given to tell this story.  Illustrations depict the prophecy promise on each page.  This is a great way to share the story of the Messiah with a friend.