http://vinceflynn.com/order-to-kill-book-signings.html#qv
Waiting patiently – sort of – for Mitch Rapp's return. October!
Thank you, Lord, for Vince. And now for Kyle stepping into his writing skin to keep this larger-than-life character on the page. Thank you for inspiring him and giving him the stories to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."
Luke 8:19-21 (NIV)
A portion of the fifth chapter of my WIP, tentative title: Seeing . . .
They ate in silence, a covert solitude between strangers whose lives had intersected. Micah rarely had a companion traveling with him. In fact, it had been several years since his sister accompanied him on a quick day trip, and his pastor rode with him a couple of times in the last two years on day trips. This was something else entirely, and if he gave the specifics too much thought, they’d no doubt shake his resolve.
A woman living in his house. With him. How did this happen? So quickly. Didn’t matter. He had no real qualms about it, sensing this is what God had wanted of him. Strange as it might seem to others, Micah had given up on viewing occurrences as strange. His life reeked of strangeness. In order to handle it, he accepted the unusual, rarely questioning the oddities in his life.
“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was timid and sounded more like an echo bringing him out of his meditation.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Do you always do ‘the right thing’, Micah Jones?” There was a hint of a smile in her voice.
“Hardly,” he answered, glancing over at her.
Quiet filled the cab again. A voice barked over the CB, and Micah reached up to turn it down. The trucker was letting him know there was a “plain wrapper” up ahead. Micah checked his speed and thanked the other trucker.
“You’re a God person?”
Micah couldn’t stifle a laugh. “A what?”
“You know, like a Christian?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He smiled over at her. “Yeah, I’m a Christian—a God person.”
Her swollen lips formed a brief smile in the glow of the dash lights. “So you think I had this coming then? Like because of my many sins?” Her voice took a sarcastic turn.
“Of course not. Why would you say that?”
A long silence filled the cab.
“Isn’t there a saying like ‘You reap what you sow’ or somethin’ like that?”
“Yes there is, but it doesn’t mean that a guy gets to beat up on a girl. Rest assured he’ll get his.”
“You really believe he will?”
“I know he will. We might not get to see it or even know what happens, but there will be justice. Eventually.”
“Even if I hit him first?” Her voice was soft, and he sensed regret.
“I’m sure you had your reasons. Doesn’t matter anyway. He’s twice your size, and he’s a guy for cryin’ out loud. Anyone who justifies what he did to you belongs in jail right beside him.”
The miles led them on until Micah saw a motel sign in a town not too far from where he had to go to get his backhaul. He took the exit and pulled into the back lot where there were two other semis parked.
“I’ll get you a room for the night. I’m well out of hours and my eyes are burnin’. I’ll stay in here, but if you don’t mind, I’ll wash up in your room tomorrow morning.”
“You don’t have to pay for a room, Micah. I can sleep here in this seat.”
“Uh, no. I don’t mind, and you need to rest. Stay here, and I’ll go get a key.”
Father, thank you for every word. Every inspiration, idea, thought process, result. If anything I do is good, it comes from you. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The Chill of Night by James Hayman is the second book in the McCabe and Savage Thriller Series.
I decided to give Mr. Hayman a second chance because The Cutting was a good story – and would've been better minus an abundance of f-bombs and explicit sex scenes. So I purchased The Chill of Night and began reading. There were in fact less f-words, although certainly not a shortage of them, and not so many graphic sex scenes. It's important to note certain language and sexual references can be tolerated (by me) if the context presents no other alternative. I can't say this is the case with Mr. Hayman's first two books in this series. It seems that much of both is overdone and actually takes away from the good storylines leaving the reader feeling more like a voyeur rather than a participant in the search for the killer.
A frozen female corpse is found on the pier in her new BMW's trunk in January in Portland, Maine. When she's identified, PPD Detectives McCabe and Savage begin the search for her murderer. Is it her lover, one of the senior partners at the law firm where she works, the gay former priest who runs a halfway house for homeless teens, or perhaps her creepy landlord? Or is it someone else? How does the young woman suffering from schizophrenia fit into solving this crime? The extreme cold and snow of the Maine winter chills to the bone and seems to make everything that much harder for everyone.
Michael McCabe and Maggie Savage are great characters. McCabe drinks too much to cope with everything, is half in love with Maggie but is fully in love with his girlfriend Kyra while nearly hating his manipulative ex-wife for walking out on him for a rich man but more for abandoning their daughter in the process. McCabe has nightmares about his ex, often involving violence toward her. Maggie knows McCabe too well, appreciates him as a man, as a top detective, and especially as her partner. She's not afraid to expose his tendencies and face their conflicts straight up. The best parts of this series happen between McCabe and Maggie, their interaction and reactions, and listening in on McCabe's thought processes. Although we know more about McCabe than Maggie, Hayman gives us bits and pieces of her makeup and insights.
The Chill of Night depicts a bold killer who supposes he can get away with murder without being discovered but when he learns the police have actual clues as to his identity, he needs to dispose of the one providing those clues. The search, the cold, the confusion, and no shortage of suspects keep the guessing game going until close to the end. Again a good mystery which would be even better without the repeated f-bombs and unnecessary explicit sex.
Father, thank you for the abundance of talent and creativity you dispense so generously. Please lead those who use the gifts you've given them to yourself. Nothing is better than knowing you. Please bless James with a personal relationship with you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Most young ladies remember their first love. Good or bad, the memory lives. Some of those females end up with their first loves. Others discover that although the love held a treasure so rare and individual as to never be duplicated, it passed with time, events, and growth. Faded like a radiant sunset mesmerizing a gaze until there's simply nothing left to see but darkness.
Passion released, unguarded emotion, declarations of never ending love. All heartfelt. Intense. Romantic. Laughter and tears become the staples of surviving it. Words gush and fall into silence. Communication makes awkward attempts to explain feelings so confused and un-explainable.
It sometimes ends without closure. Hidden in secret memories. Rarely surfacing except when an aroma, a song, an expression sends those recollections bombarding a present with little room for the past.
First love no less real than the last love with its own memorial in the hearts of lovers.
Father, you are Love. We can only attempt love because of you, who you are. We fail at its perfection, trying to capture a glimpse of its purity but realizing we are stained by sin and incapable of the glory inherent in how you intended it. Forgive us for our impurity and selfishness. Thank you for the redemption you offer, the eternal Love that covers us in Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
As summer slides into its off-season, this lovely shot of a Weeping Willow sends my thoughts to the name of this beautiful tree. Its leaves and branches curve downward after sprawling up and outward. Like tears falling to the ground, someone captured the imagery in naming this tree.
With another year of marking the tragedy and terror of 9/11, there was much weeping on the 15 year anniversary of the attack against America. Great loss, great sacrifice, great sorrow accompany the date and remind a nation how quickly lives can be changed.
Little can be said that hasn't been said. Anger is not displaced. Sorrow dominates. Weeping continues.
Without God hearts will see only death and peril in this treacherous world and in spite of different speeches extoling hope and promise, the only One able to provide those is our One True God in His Son Jesus Christ. People can scoff at this assertion, even laugh it off, argue the conclusion, or insult the faith of us who believe. Those feelings and attitudes won't erase or even affect the Truth. God is. He cannot be mocked. Evil has its day, but those who follow after it will not have the eternity they seek – if they seek eternity. There is one truth. Not many. It's not man's truth – because without God all man has are lies, falsehoods, theories, and philosophies.
One of my favorite scriptures, so poignant for today, is Colossians 2:8. I always include it when I sign a book I've written.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. (NIV)
Monday morning musings . . .
Father, only you can save souls. Only you can inspire us to pray for souls. Only you can draw those souls. Please, Holy Spirit, draw the lost to you. So many perish – not your heart's desire. Help them to see who you truly are. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."
Luke 8:16-18 (NIV)
ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL . . . This is what the flag stands for. This is the country of the National Anthem. Imperfect in its population but not in its standards. Blessed by God because it was built on God's principles. To disrespect the flag is to disrespect all this country has strived to be. Yes, people have failed to live up to the standards on which this nation was built, but that doesn't weaken the principles. It shows the weakness in people who fail to base their lives on God's standards.
Father, forgive us. We've ruined so much of what you made beautiful. Please restore beauty from ashes. Please have mercy on our nation once again. We ask in the Name, Authority, and Blood of Jesus, Amen.
The lyrics are quite clever and seemed appropriate somehow. Hope you enjoy it. For the most part, I'm not a fan of 80's music, but this song is cool. Hope you like it.
Father, humanity fails to understand the majesty of who's really in charge. Thank you for rescuing me from myself. I love you, Lord. Help each one to realize who you truly are. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Let me give the disclaimer right from the start of this review. There's some graphic sex in The Cutting by James Hayman and too many f-bombs. There's also a reason I decided to order it for my Kindle, but I can't remember why. I'm fairly sure it was because of a Twitter reference and not anticipating the overkill (no pun intended) of sex and language (probably stupid on my part), I invested in the story. Nevertheless, for those who can ignore bad language and explicit sexual depictions, there is a real thriller here which definitely on the merits of writing and story could have survived without the graphics and superfluous ugly language. But, because of the language and sex, I can't in good conscience recommend it to most of you who follow this blog.
The story begins with a young boy committing an atrocity. We don't know who this child is, but we know he's not going to turn out well. (I almost quit reading after it.) Skip ahead to an ugly murder and mutilation of a young female in Portland, Maine. Sergeant Detective Michael McCabe and his partner Maggie Savage take the lead on the case, but the entire PPD is needed to search for the sadistic killer. Very quickly another similar victim disappears while doing her routine run before work. Is there a connection to the victim and the missing woman? When details of the murder surface from the Medical Examiner, McCabe finds there has been another case in Florida from some time ago. The skills of the mutilation imply this isn't just any killer.
Although this is much like a police procedural once the first victim is discovered and the second woman goes missing, there are peripheral interrelationships. McCabe is a divorced father of a 14 year old girl and has an artist girlfriend he's serious about; Maggie is single, playing the field, and a loyal partner to McCabe. The character development is very well done, the writing is good (with the exceptions of overdone graphics in sexual conduct and language). There is perpetual conflict, innuendo and twists, and more murders before the truth is discovered while time is running out for the missing woman.
The Cutting by James Hayman is a solid thriller with a psycho villain partially hidden while McCabe and Savage try to figure out who, where, and why this killer is able to seize his victims and if they are somehow connected to each other. A very good story – just wish it could have eliminated the explicit sex and foul language.
Father, I pray you would remind James of who you are, that he would know you as you want to be known, that he would realize his gifts and talents are from you, generously given to him. Please bless him with your insights. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
