2010 October 25

Book Review: The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan

Title: The Miracle of Mercy Land
Author: River Jordan
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Publication Date: September 7, 2010
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-0307457059
Genre: Literary Fiction

From the Publisher:

What if you had the power to amend choices you made in the past? Would you do it even if it changed everything?

Mercy Land has made some unexpected choices for a young woman in the 1930s. The sheltered daughter of a traveling preacher, she chooses to leave her rural community to move to nearby Bay City on the warm, gulf-waters of southern Alabama. There she finds a job at the local paper and spends seven years making herself indispensible to old Doc Philips, the publisher and editor. Then she gets a frantic call at dawn—it’s the biggest news story of her life, and she can’t print a word of it.

Doc has come into possession of a curious book that maps the lives of everyone in Bay City—decisions they’ve made in the past, and how those choices affect the future. Mercy and Doc are consumed by the mystery locked between the pages—Doc because he hopes to right a very old wrong, and Mercy because she wants to fulfill the book’s strange purpose. But when a mystery from Mercy’s past arrives by train, she begins to understand that she will have to make choices that will deeply affect everyone she loves—forever.

My Review:

Beautiful, lyrical, and full of hope, The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan is an unforgettable book. While classified as Christian fiction it does not read like a traditional Christian fiction book in the sense that an element of magic is used throughout the story. Mercy is born in the backwater town of Bittersweet, Alabama and is raised by her preacher father and heavily influenced by her Aunt Ida. She leaves Bittersweet for Bay City where she ends up working at a local paper and learns her boss has the biggest secret of all. Doc Philips has a book mapping out the choices of every person to live in Bay City, yet what can Mercy and Doc do with this knowledge? Jordan asks the reader to look deep within themselves as well as her characters, to look at how every choice made, influences the path currently being taken and begs the question of whether or not it is possible to reverse a poor choice. The Miracle of Mercy Land is an exquisitely written story filled with well-developed and realistic characters and vivid descriptions of life both in Bittersweet and Bay City, and while this magical quality was not one I was particularly fond of, it managed to get across the author’s intentions and in so doing works well in this novel. I would recommend The Miracle of Mercy Land to any reader who is looking for a delightful afternoon of some introspective literary prose. I believe this would make a lively discussion group choice, especially for Christian groups, and the book gives some good discussion topics at the end to help lead off a lively discussion.

About the Author:

River Jordan is a critically acclaimed novelist and playwright. Her books include The Miracle of Mercy Land, Saints In Limbo and The Messenger of Magnolia Street. She speaks around the country on the “Power of Story” and produces and hosts the radio series, Clearstory from Nashville, Tennessee where she makes her home.

I received a complimentary copy of The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan from KBK Public Relations to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

Book Review: The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen by Joel M. Andre

Title: The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen
Author: Joel M. Andre
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: August 21, 2010
Paperback: 224 pages
ISBN: 978-0980037760
Genre: Fiction, Horror

Book Synopsis:

All around her Lauren Bruni is faced with destruction. Her marriage has ended, and her professional life is at the breaking point. For Lauren, this is only the beginning of her pain.

In the small town of Cottonwood, AZ everything seems to be headed in the same direction. A serial killer is on the loose, and his trail of victims holds no connection. His rampage escalates and becomes far more brutal with each murder he commits.

As Lauren attempts to prevent her own life from collapsing down around her she must stop a killer with supernatural strength. But there is something far more sinister in the works than she could ever imagine. In the end it is up to Lauren to make the ultimate sacrifice to save a community from the purest form of evil.

My Review:

A gruesome double-homicide opens The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen by Joel M. Andre. This is the first book I have read of his and I got the sense that Detective Lauren Bruni has been in other novels, which made her background more difficult to relate to, as this was my first introduction to this woman. Andre writes an extremely detailed book, which at times can be rather gruesome and not for the faint of heart. A mysterious stranger, dressed in jeans, a cowboy hat and impeccable black boots is going around viciously murdering people. I stopped counting the murders at the fifth. Lauren Bruni and Miguel Sanchez are supposed to head up the murder investigation, each having secrets of their own, actually most of the investigative team does. Andre creates a strange ensemble of people, who are crazy, dim-witted, or unlikable in quite believable manners. Lauren Bruni, the protagonist, is a character who is difficult to feel compassionate about, for she is rude, speaks her mind, and at one point, is visited by a specter who informs her the killings cannot be stopped by anyone but her as she and her missing daughter, Magnolia, are the key and yet, she is not phased by this. Cry of the Fallen is supposed to be a horror story and it has been a long time since I have read a horror story, however, this story did not keep my attention nor did it make me want to know what was going on in this town. I wish I had liked the story more. I believe there was a lot to work with and the details were quite vivid, except in the character development. Had I known and cared for the characters I probably would have been more invested in this book. If you like reading about mysterious killers with near-inhuman strength, tea parties with corpses, and a lot of infidelity and dark secrets, then The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen may be for you.

About the Author:

Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry. Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection, Pray the Rain Never Ends. Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale of redemption.
October of 2008 saw Joel release his second book, Kill 4 Me. A tale in which a woman is haunted by a vengeful spirit through text messages and instant messaging. Taking some time off and doing a lot of soul searching, Joel took things in a new direction and dabbled in the Fantasy Genre with, The Pentacle of Light. The tale dealing with five major races battling for control of Earth, and the acceptance of their God. Finally, after missing his detective Lauren Bruni, he released the book The Return in October 2009, this time moving the action from the North Pole and placing it in the small Arizona community he was raised in. Currently, he resides in Chandler, AZ.

Joel M. Andre’s THE BLACK CHRONICLES: CRY OF THE FALLEN VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘10 officially began on October 4 and end on November 26, ‘10. You can visit Joel’s blog stops here during the months of October and November to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen by Joel M. Andre from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.