The Dark Side of Grace by Ronald Chapman Blog Tour Book Review

About the Book:

A devastating terrorist bomb blast at a spiritual retreat outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, sends journalist Kevin Pitcairn and his beloved Emmy on a quixotic quest to understand the roots of violence. Traveling across the country deep into the bowels of Southern Appalachia, their search takes them through a long-standing rift in the American consciousness to confrontations with remarkable and anomalous characters, some of them deeply spiritual, others well-grounded in research and psychology.

In this sequel to the much-acclaimed A Killer’s Grace, Pitcairn and Emmy return to the exploration of innocence while adding to it a deepening understanding of injury and ordeal―and its amazing corollary of Post-Traumatic Growth. As the quest and its dangers rip their lives apart, doors open that lure them back and forth across the country in search of tendrils tying together the events and anguish, as well as bringing the protagonists more deeply together.

• ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1948749874

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Terra Nova Books (May 1, 2023)

• Genre ‏ : ‎ Mystery Action & Adventure, Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction, Psychological Thriller

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages

• Buy the book: Amazon 

• Add it to Your GoodReads list: GoodReads reading list

My Review:

This novel is a sequel and while it can be read relatively well on its own, to fully appreciate the story one should read the earlier novel first. There are many references to life events in the earlier novel that have ramifications in this one.

This is a gritty novel. There is a great deal of language some may find offensive. There is a great deal about AA and how it teaches one to manage life events. There is also quite a bit about various religious techniques, such as Buddhism, exploring how people grow and develop self awareness. A major theme of the novel is how people recover from trauma and experience post traumatic growth. The idea is to have an experience be a springboard rather than deep, enduring damage. The importance of telling our story is part of that recovery technique. There is also the idea of a new way of dealing with violence.

Chapman's writing style is good. The plot, while it seemed to ramble at times, held my interest to the end. This novel is a good example of one written to communicate the author's views on various topics. Teachings are woven into the plot through character thought and interactions with others.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Ronald Chapman is an author, speaker, and facilitator of approaches that increase well-being-ness and produce breakthroughs when practiced deeply and in a sustained fashion. He is the creator of Seeing True™ and Progressive Recovery, resources dedicated to exploring concepts of engaging, releasing, and transcending blockages in our lives. At the heart of Seeing True and all of his work is the Greek notion of “metanoia,” which could translate as a profound change of heart. Ronald maintains two core businesses as well. Leading Public Health provides facilitation, strategy and consultation to public health clientele, while Magnetic North delivers similar services to a broader array of clients.

Ron spent many years as a national award winning radio commentator on KUNM radio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is an elite Accredited Speaker through Toastmasters International, and an accomplished leadership facilitator working with clients from all over the world, including the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Ron currently resides in Atlanta, and spends much of his time immersed in art and beauty wherever his travels take him.

You can find out more at https://www.ronaldchapman.com/author and https://www.seeingtrue.com/blog and https://www.progressiverecovery.org/  

Enter the Giveaway, for a chance to win a copy of the book:

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2023/05/the-dark-side-of-grace-by-ronald.html

Contest closes June 18.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through WOW! Women  on Writing. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)