Christmas Odyssey by Anne Perry

Anne Perry write mysteries taking place in nineteenth century London.  I have read all of her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series and am working my way through her Monk novels.  For the last several years Perry has come out with a Christmas novella centering on one of the minor characters in her series.

The novella for this season is the darkest one she has written.  Granted, since she is a mystery writer, one expects a murder or two in the story.  In this novel, however, one travels to the very depths of the dark part of London to opium dens and prostitution houses.  Most of the novel centers there with only a bit of light at the end. 
Maybe I want Christmas to be all goodness and light and not about a father's request to find his son lost in the dark underground of London.  Maybe I don't want to be reminded that it took a friend and a small band of misfits to find the son and offer him freedom from his bondage.  This story was a good reminder that Christmas is not just tinsel and trees but really is about rescuing the lost trapped in their own desires for pleasure.

Ballantine Books, 194 pages.

Publisher information:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345518583

Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers

This is the second half of the somewhat biographical story Rivers has written about her family, begun in Her Mother's Hope.  The strained mother daughter relationships continue down to the next generations.  The misunderstandings and hurt fester as sins and life-changing events are not shared openly.  It is not until the last daughter takes a drastic chance does reconciliation come to her mother and grandmother.
Rivers is a great writer and the story captured my interest.  As with any epic tale covering several generations, there are times when conversations are detailed while at other times years go by without even a mention.  I found that a little disturbing in this novel as it seemed to me that some of the detail recorded was not nearly as important as some of the events that were just noted as having happened.
The events in this book are within my generation so I did not learn as much about past times and different places, as I did in the first book.  I know one theme Rivers works in her novels is each generation repeating the sins of the previous one.  I got a little tired of that happening in this book. 
Nonetheless, it is a good read.  For those who like to curl up with a good book for a few days, at nearly 600 pages, this will do fine.

Tyndale House Publishers, 564 pages.

Publisher's information:
http://www.tyndale.com/Her-Daughter's-Dream/9781414334097

Under the Cajun Moon by Mindy Starns Clark

I like the way Clark writes.  I consistently read her books because her characters are real Christians.  They struggle and have doubts while they are in troubling life situations.

I also like her writing because the reader learns something about the people of the area or its history.  This novel takes place in Cajun country and you end up learning quite a bit about their history, character and customs and well as some about the early history of New Orleans. 
I also like her books because they are just good mysteries.  This one involves the early efforts of the French to get people to settle in this relatively unknown territory in the new world through deception involving gold statues.  The current story is woven through the older one.  The two stories collide in danger and intrigue .  And then there is also the hint of romance.  Just enough to make it interesting but not too much so that it dominates the mystery.

Harvest House Publishers, 332 pages.

Publisher information:
http://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/books_fictionbook.cfm?productID=6926249

What Good is God? by Philip Yancey

Regardless of how Yancey begins his book, this is not a book you would give a nonbeliever to encourage him to understand that belief in God is a good thing for society.  (There are other books that do a much better job in that area.)

Yancey's book contains stories of his travels and the texts of talks he has recently given.  "I go in search of faith that matters," he says in his afterthoughts.  (284)  While he does give some great examples of faith that is making a difference, he also gives many glaring failures.  "Admittedly," he writes, "the church has at times contributed more to the problem than to the solution...in my writing I bend over backwards to acknowledge rather than deny the historical flaws of the broader church."  (284)
Atheists don't need any more reminders of how the church and Christians have failed to live out the gospel! 
I think Yancey truly wants to encourage Christians to live out their faith.  He concludes that God has called us (believers) "to demonstrate a faith that matters to a watching world."  (287)  There are books that do a much better job at that, however.  The Hole in Our Gospel (Richard Stearns) and Radical (David Platt) are two that come to mind.
Perhaps Yancey should have titled his book, "What good are Christians today?"  And I would have to answer, based on Yancey's book, not much.  While he does give some great examples of Christians living out the gospel he also reminds his readers of so many failures to do so (his Bible college experience, apartheid, the civil rights movement).  He even asks the quesion he admits atheists must delight in, "...for what will the church be apologizing 150 years from now?"  (177)
I puzzle as to why Yancey wrote this book.  I've like his earlier books.  But the message this book conveys is certainly mixed.  I'd skip it.  If the title suggests to you that you give it to someone, please read it first!  You may very well change your mind.

FaithWords (Hachette Book Group), 287 pages.

Publisher's information: 

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780446559850.htm

City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell

When China became open again to visitors from the West, we were glad to hear that the church had survived the severe communist years. But we may have forgotten the sacrifice that many early missionaries made establishing the church in China.

Bo Caldwell has given us a tender novel about her maternal grandparents, missionaries who went to China in 1909. As young Mennonites, Will and Katherine independently realized God had called them to China missions.
After being on the mission field for a time, they discovered their love for each other and married. They ventured three day's journey from their home base to establish a new mission compound. Ministering to people who were suspicious of them, they began to see converts and make trusted friends. They survived the emotionally painful death of their infant daughter, the turbulent time of rebellion against the Manchu regime and the rise of Sun Yat-sen. They provided medical help and encouraged hygiene and prompted their women converts to not wrap their daughter's feet.
Six years after they had arrived in the village they had fifty six members in their congregation. They were plagued by bandits and suffered illness. Yet they persevered.
The 1930s saw the rise of communism and it became evident that there was increasing hostility toward foreigners. Where their presence had at one time provided protection for the city, now they realized they must leave to keep their friends from harm.
They gave up their dream to live the rest of their lives in China and returned to the U. S. after 27 years in China. The culture shock upon their return was much greater than when they had gone to China.  And their adventure was not over as more trials awaited them in their latter years.

Caldwell has written a wonderful novel. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like to know what missionaries endured to establish the gospel in China a century ago.

Henry Holt & Co., 304 pages.

For a conversation with the author, go to: http://www.blogger.com/tbbmedia.blogspot.com/2010/11/author-inspired-by-her-missionary.html

Publisher's information: http://us.macmillan.com/cityoftranquillight

This book was provided for review by The B & B Media Group.

The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead

Ley lines provide the way to travel the Neolithic pathways between worlds.  The visible universe occupies only one dimension of our common reality.  There are other dimensions and where these dimensions impinge on one another, lines of intersection form.  Humans can move from one dimension to another along those lines.

Kit, late in meeting his girlfriend, hastens down an old London alley and finds himself transported to a London of generations ago.  His great grandfather encourages Kit to help find the skin map.  This was a map tattooed on the man who had investigated the lines of intersection.  Adventure follows
We find that it is possible to travel into the past and it is possible for someone from the past to travel to this time.  Where we readers live is the Home World and all other worlds and histories are in the past.  No one can travel to the future of this world as it has not happened yet.
In general I am critical of fantasy but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The plot and action are well done.  The only miss-step was at the very end where a rescue happens "out of the blue," so to speak.  This series will continue but we have to wait nearly a year for the next installment.

Thomas Nelson Publishers, 400 pages.

Publisher information:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595548041&title=Bright_Empires_#1__:_The_Skin_Map&author=Stephen_R._Lawhead

Surprised by Worship by Travis Cottrell

Surprises. We love the good ones, like a surprise birthday party with friends. Yet there are surprises no one wants, like the unexpected late night phone call. There is also the anticipated surprise, waiting for the results of the medical test. Travis knows, “God is into surprises. Huge, life-altering surprises.” (30)

Travis is all about worship. He has been the worship leader for Beth Moore for 13 years and is the worship pastor at a Baptist church in Jackson, TN. He shares his insights about God's surprises in this slim book.
We want God as long as He is safe. How do we feel when His unexpected surprises turn our thoughts and theology upside down? Do we still worship Him when facing pain and loss?
Travis writes about a variety of worship issues. What place does feeling have in worship? How can we worship when we are in pain, when we are waiting? Is there form and order to worship? Do our personal preferences about worship prevent us from receiving God's surprises? Can we worship God through the arts? How does worship heal hurts?
Travis says, “...worship rightly entails all of who we are.” (73) “We know God with our minds; we experience Him in our spirits; and we express the joy of His presence through our voices and bodies.” (47) Worship is more than what we do on Sunday morning. “Worship consists of submitting to God and His will in every facet of your life, and then loving and praising Him whatever the outcome.” (131)
Through telling the events of his own life and those of biblical characters, Travis encourages us to long to worship God even when we are in placed we never wanted to be. Travis knows God will meet us there.
This book is not an in depth look at worship. It might be appropriate for a new believer but a seasoned believer will find nothing of significance here.

Zondervan, 158 pages.

Publisher's information:
http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310330356&QueryStringSite=Zondervan 

Tandem by Tracey Bateman

Vampires in a Christian novel? With the success of the Twilight series of vampire novels, Bateman has given Christians an alternative reading experience.

Tandem is the sequel to her earlier vampire adventure, Thirsty. Bateman has created a world where some vampires give in to the craving for human blood while others take a higher moral road and only hunt animals. Vampires with the differing views clash and it appears for a time that the evil ones will win.

An interesting aspect of this novel is that Bateman addresses the issue of God and redemption. Can a vampire be redeemed? One of the vampires is convinced hunting for blood is morally wrong and the only way to God is to withdraw from doing so. Without the nourishing blood, he dies. It is left to the reader to contemplate his eternal destination.
Bateman's vampire novel, would be an alternative to the Twilight series for older teens. I can see them being discussed in Christian youth groups or teen reading groups. There is plenty of meat in here (no pun intended) for discussion regarding God, redemption and vampires.

Waterbrook Press, 312 pages.

Publisher's information:
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307457172