Grace Will Lead Me Home

by Robin Givens,
Miramax, 2007

Most of us know Givens as an actor and as the former wife of boxer, Mike Tyson. It was a marriage that we could have predicted would fail. So when I saw this book on the shelf of my local library, I was intrigued by its title, which hints at the author's spiritual journey.

The story is fascinating. Givens' grandmother and mother were both victims of spousal abuse and left their husbands. While Robin's mother, Ruth, did an excellent job of raising Robin and her sister on her own, the absence of a father left a huge hole in Robin's heart. Furthermore, she felt very much under her mother's thumb during the early years. As a young adult, Givens defied her mother by pursuing an acting career, and rebelled again in marrying Tyson. The union nearly destroyed her and it was not until long after she left Mike that she finally found the wholeness she was searching for in a connection with Heavenly Father.

Women who are in abusive relationships (or have been), or who have experienced fatherlessness will find much to connect with in this book. I had a hard time putting it down. The author relates the facts while remaining gracious to, and forgiving of, her former husband.

My only disappointment is that Givens stops short of filling in some important gaps for the reader. The only post-Tyson relationship she reports on is one she had with Brad Pitt, but she had two sons by other men after her first marriage dissolved. I am sure that the choices she made after leaving Tyson also played a part in her journey "home".

Foul Deeds

by Linda Moore
Vagrant Press, 2007

Rosalind works as a researcher for a private investigator named McBride. She also has a sideline as a script analyst for a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the process of investigating an apparent heart attack that may have been murder, art and life are found to mirror each other.

A director of plays herself, Moore has the inside scoop on all things theatrical and uses this to her advantage in creating the drama that is Foul Deeds. Set in Halifax, the mystery novel is one of the best I've read in ages, and Canadian to boot. Subtitled a Rosalind mystery, I hope this means that future installments are to come.

Sleight of Hand

by Robin Hathaway
Thomas Dunne Books,
2008

Third in the Jo Banks mystery series. Jo Banks is a motel doctor who consistently runs headlong into danger. Shortly after a dead body is discovered on the side of a road in South Jersey, Jo finds herself performing hand surgery in a farmhouse kitchen. Why does the patient, Max, not want to go to the hospital? Is the printing press that caught his hand used for sinister purposes? Where is Max's wife and what does his Down syndrome daughter know and understand?

Initially held at gunpoint, Jo continues to see Max as a patient and to keep his existence a secret. She becomes compelled to know the truth about who he is, and how/if he ties in with the execution- style murder that opened the story.

Hathaway keeps the reader spellbound through many twists and turns in the plot. Jo is an engaging heroine, and the supporting characters are well drawn. I can't wait to read the next in the series, or in Hathaway's other series, the Dr. Fenimore mysteries. Check out www.robinhathaway.com for information about forthcoming titles.

Good News from North Haven

by Michael L. Lindvall
Crossroads/Carlisle, 2002

A pastor himself, Lindvall has put together eighteen stories about a Presbyterian pastor and his quirky congregation in "North Haven", Minnesota. Not quite as hilarious as Philip Gulley's Harmony series (about a Quaker pastor and his assemblage in Indiana), there are nevertheless some laugh-out-loud moments, along with nuggets of wisdom.

Out of Circulation (A Miss Zukas Mystery)

by Jo Dereske
Avon, 1997


This series starts with Miss Zukas and the Library Murders. As with all series books, it is advisable to read them chronologically.

A librarian by profession, I love to read fictional works with librarian protagonists. Sometimes I'm disappointed with the results, but Miss Zukas (Helma) is one of the happy exceptions - a hilarious send-up of the stereotype :)

In Out of Circulation, artist friend Ruth, persuades Helma to join her on a mountain hike to mark Ruth's upcoming 40th birthday. After doing her research and purchasing all the necessary equipment, Helma is prepared for any eventuality on the trail. Good thing - a dead body turns up on the first day. After the victim is removed from the scene, Helma and Ruth trek on to see if they can find and assist his missing partner. An unexpected snowstorm hits, they find a wounded and unconscious hiker, and take shelter in an emergency cabin. Four others share these close quarters. One of them is a murderer.

Kudos to author Jo Dereske for keeping me guessing right until the guilty party is revealed. A terrific read and a great addition to the series.

The Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

by Joanne Fluke

Kensington Books, 2008

Tenth in the series; includes recipes.

When Gus shows up just in time for a family reunion, after a 25 year absence from Lake Eden, his family is thrilled. They also have a lot of questions for him: why did he disappear in the middle of the night without telling anyone where he was going? Why did he stay out of contact? What has his life been like?

Gus appears to have a lot going for him - he flashes a lot of money around, treats everyone to an expensive brunch, tells them about the nightclub businesses he owns, and makes like he's a bigwig. But when he turns up dead on the second day of the reunion, it quickly becomes clear that not everything was what it seemed. There are several people who might have wanted him dead.

Hannah, our amateur sleuth and professional cookie baker, has her work cut out for her. Working with (and against) local cop and sometimes boyfriend, Mike, and with the able assistance of her family and other sometimes boyfriend, Norman, Hannah starts piecing things together. Can she protect her business partner's dad from being falsely accused? Will she catch the killer before he - or she - strikes again?

I knew "whodunit" early on, but it didn't spoil the read because I still needed to know all the threads that pulled it together. I recommend this series, but suggest you read them in order, starting with The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. The only book that really disappointed was The Sugar Cookie Murder, but you might want to read it for the romance angle...

The Shack

by William P. Young
Windblown Media, 2007

Forget Oprah's book choice, this is the book everyone's talking about and the "must read" of the year!

When tragedy strikes the Phillips family, its patriarch, Mack, is overwhelmed with feelings of grief and anger. Where is God when evil happens - why does He allow it, and can He really be trusted ? Three and a half years later, Mack is still wallowing in "The Great Sadness". Then he receives a mysterious note that compels him to return to the scene of the tragedy and to meet God face-to-face.

The story gives the reader much to think about, and presents God and the trinity in a fresh and accessible way. An endorsement from Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, states "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"

Buy your own copy of The Shack - I did. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!