As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
Psalm 103:15-16 (NIV)
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If I ask you for an immediate response for these 5 things – without thinking, just reacting – what would you list?
Five of your favorite books
Five colors, listing your favorite first
Five beverages you drink fairly regularly
Five greetings you use most often
Five songs you love
Boom! Just answer quick!
Father, thank you for fun, for favorite things, for feasible solutions, for fancy foods, and all kinds of funny things. Anything and everything good and perfect comes from you. Thank you for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Our former front yard and pasture and one of our horse sheds on a winter day several years ago. Our winters rarely give us snow, especially this much (and I know to some of you this isn't much at all), but this was one of those for us.
Father, you left beauty in every season all over this world. We're grateful for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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So. I've been asked, as I'm sure many authors have been, which of my novels is my favorite. One might think that's a fairly simple question. But it's not. In fact, it's every bit as difficult to answer as being asked which novel that I've read is my favorite. Ha!
All the "qualifiers" come out after that last inquiry. For example: Which genre? Because surely no one can expect just one answer to the "favorite" question. It's just not that simple. Ever.
Each novel that I've written at any given time can be my favorite or lumped together with a couple of others to occupy that temporary categorization. But, realistically, I can't answer that question. I'm not a prolific author. I began this second "career" rather late in life and went completely off the charts when after 8 1/2 years I produced my first novel (Hope of Glory), a comprehensive story of middle echelon Thoroughbred horse racing. Christian Fiction. That saga was 700+ pages in excess of 400,000 words. Is it my favorite? No. Yes. Sometimes. Not. You see how this goes.
We authors have to love what we write or why bother? I can't speak for the motivations of other authors, but I know for me I must love the characters and want to get deeper into their stories as they're revealed to me. They become my best friends. I hate saying goodbye to them, but there comes a time when they – and I – need to move on.
So, yeah, this Wednesday I'm wandering around "the favorite novel" topic and really, really love my new WIP. Sigh.
Father, thank you again for every story, every character, every word. Apart from you, I can do nothing. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Is it? More than a feeling? You decide. One of Boston's better known songs.
Father, you know hearts and our human weaknesses to always go by our feelings. We're always desperate for you, for your truth. Help us all to find it in you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Left to Lure is Book 12 in this Adele Sharp Series by prolific author Blake Pierce.
Left to Prey left Agent Adele Sharp (FBI/Interpol/DGSI) confronting her mom's, her best friend and mentor's, and her former fiancé's brutal murderer at the police station in Paris after he turned himself in knowing the 10-year statute of limitations had passed without his arrest for brutally murdering her mother. Left to Lure opens with Adele sitting across from the under-sized psychopath who leers and grins at her on the other side of the table at police headquarters in Paris. The police have not been able to gather evidence enough to hold him on any of the murders, his latest being that of Adele's former fiancé in California. She knows he's committed all of them and more, and that he also attempted to kill her partner Agent John Renee and her dad, who could both identify him as having attacked them but without any evidence. She blames herself for all of their deaths even though she was just a child when she discovered the bloody, carved up mess he'd made of her beloved mother.
The fact that his latest ploy is to speak with her directly, to taunt her, to revel in the fact that he's the victor of their last battle and still plans to do more damage in her life, is just about more than she can endure. Dark thoughts consume her desire to somehow rid the earth of the brutal creature, and when John vocalizes her thoughts hinting at an offer, she tries to reel her emotions in to the place of being a better human than the criminal who haunts her every moment. She finds herself consumed with finding the evidence to convict him before he's able to do any more damage, and she's terrified he'll somehow gain access to her dad again or to John.
Their boss Foucault is leery of her emotional state and reluctantly relies on Agent Renee to assure him she's okay enough to travel to Italy with him on a case where a body is left hanging from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Adele is running on empty. The emotional toll and horror of the murderer of people precious to her on the loose are consuming her ability to take care of herself, to focus on their case, to sleep, and at times to be civil to John who has become equally precious to her. As if she could protect him (he being former Special Forces, incredibly strong and able), that's the sole reason she agreed to accompany him on the case, but that leaves her dad to worry about back in Paris. However, Foucault has arranged for a cop to cover the house and John has called in favors from his Special Forces buddies to also watch over her dad, her dad not happy about any of it, a cop who insists he can take care of himself.
There's no denying Adele is intermittently falling apart, and John is in a protective mode he's never fully engaged before. She hates that he's being that way with her, and he's at a loss as to why. She insists he's pitying her and to return to his "normal" semi-rude self, all the while hating how she feels, how she's unfocused, how she's treating the man she's come to deeply care for, and how she's in a frenzied state of mind over who will be next on the "Spade Killer's" list.
Readers of the Adele Sharp Series might struggle with the in-depth emotional descriptions of Adele's mental state. Although not hard to understand, it's consistent throughout this story, and at times might feel redundant. One might wonder just how many times she can barely sleep in her pants suit and not take a shower before returning to work on the case.
When she and John finally start putting the potential for a lead together which lands them in Spain, John expresses something very important to him which truly touches Adele's heart, but suddenly after some thought, she's horrified when she's sure she knows who the killer will go after next. The unexpected supposition and following discovery are done very well and the description covers every possible reaction of Adele's realizations of her long and painful journey.
Father, you've given Blake so many stories to tell. Please continue to bless those gifts. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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"I, even I, am He who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more."
Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
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Five things for which I have next to no patience:
Driving behind people who choose to drive under the speed limit
In most cases: reading non-fiction
Injustice
Narcissists
Condescension and Arrogance
Father, you know I'm not a really patient person, but you've tempered my impatience along the way. Thank you for that and so much more. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Many years ago, I had just received that Konica 35mm camera and would soon be on my way to Great Britain and Europe after working for a year to save the money to go. I'd just turned 20 and a friend and I would be leaving soon for our great adventure that lasted for nearly 3 months getting us back just a few days before Christmas. Amazing trip.
Father, you protected me in spite of me. I didn't know your Son at that time and yet you watched over me. I can never thank you enough for that and for rescuing me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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The Terminal List by Jack Carr is the first book from this SEAL-turned-thriller-author's cache of five in the James Reece Series.
Yes, there is profanity as one might expect from a general market thriller, but it's not exorbitant. Yes, there is a lot of violence and death as one would also expect in this revenge-motivated thriller. No, there is no biblical reference to "Vengeance is mine," says the Lord. But there is enough horror to at least understand how a top-tier Navy SEAL might decide he was the only man left standing to exact that vengeance on those who perpetrated the horrific losses he (James Reece) endured and is tapped to be the fall guy for them by those who engineered it all.
An operation which hasn't gone through the obvious channels is thrust upon Reece and his Team, and Reece has a bad feeling which he can't quite quantify about the mission. Something's not right, but until he can pinpoint it, it's a go. As he and another member of his Team watch everything erupt into complete and abject death and destruction at every level of the op, the overwhelming sense of guilt, helplessness, and utter sorrow envelop him. But there's more. As the evidence trickles out, the destruction of everything Reece has ever treasured is lost.
In his mind revenge is the only option. And it will be extreme. And hopefully he'll complete it before his end is due.
Carr writes with authority, and the reader can tell he's creating from real-life experience as a former SEAL. In his Preface he states that he is not James Reece, but if nothing else, he writes from a kindred spirit to the character. The first paragraph in his Preface is an absolute WOW. He never dumbs down the terms for the readers which is why there's a Glossary of Terms in the final pages of the book.
Carr's hero is broken from his losses, but he's focused and will do anything to complete the list he's made of those who designed and directed the hellish deaths that have motivated Reece to design and direct his own version of hellish deaths for them who believe they are above the law, the Constitution, and whose objective is pure power and untold wealth at the expense of anyone who gets in their way. Reece calls in all his favors from those who owe him and those who care for him. They are as devoted to him as he is to his cause. And of course there will be a Judas in his midst.
The Terminal List is a novel written by a man's man. For a first novel, it's exceptional. I shook my head at the couple of 1-star reviews on Amazon. They clearly held a different viewpoint from the author's and didn't realize how whiny they sounded in their assessment of the story, unable to apparently see what real corruption can do and that it does exist in parts of our government. Not to mention how that ugly political corruption can affect those who wear the uniform and risk their lives on missions that once kept our country safe. We are indebted to the real military, and those who wilfully ignore or denigrate in any way what our elite military does and sacrifices should never be allowed a place in the government of the United States of America.
As a Christian, it's always difficult for me to see characters who have no faith, who assume their fates, and who act accordingly. It's the tough part of reading general market literature. I root for the heroes but in the end that vacancy from the spiritual always leaves a void. Reece did acknowledge God once, deciding it might be wise to pray once he was almost done with his vengeance mission. Not unlike "foxhole religion", God is the last resort. Just one of those things . . .
I do recommend this novel for those who appreciate the military, who desperately want to see our Republic cleaned up and honored, and for those who admire genuine manhood. I'm looking forward to the second in the series.
Father, only you know our hearts and minds. Only you save souls. I thank you for Jack Carr and all that he's accomplished with the gifts and talents you've given him, all that he's given to and for this One Nation Under God. Please continue to bless him in every possible way and make your presence and direction known to him all along the way. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
