Critical Pursuit by Janice Cantore

Brinna Caruso is a cop whose passion is finding missing children and catching molestors who prey on them. She has a personal stake in this issue because when she was a small child she was kidnapped by a molester and left to die in a remote location. She was miraculously rescued and she wants that outcome for all the little girls. Detective Jack O'Reilly lost his wife and unborn child to a drunk driver and he is questioning everything in life right now. He wants off the homicide beat for a while and becomes Caruso's partner. Together they pursue the bad guys and hash out the meaning of life and the existence of God which both are skeptical about after what they have been through.

This book is well written and keeps you waiting to know more. The struggle with the issue of God's existence is woven into the story and is not clunky or irrelevant to the plot. It is a natural conclusion to the feelings being generated by the action. The fact that Ms. Cantore was a cop herself makes it all real and helps the reader get a feel for the job at hand. I felt there could have been a little more conflict if Brinna had actually met up with her molester in the final pages of this story but it was not diminished by the fact that she didn't. It was still a very satisfying read.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale for review. I did not receive any compensation for completing the review. All opinions are my own.

The Cry of My Heart

Babies and God-breathed Life are subjects close to my heart. What is breaking my heart is the abortion culture in our country today. I have always known at a gut level that life and babies are precious and that we have no right to mess with that. From the moment the sperm meets the egg in the womb and the baby begins to form a separate life has been created. To willingly murder that baby is an act of evil. Yes, I've heard all the arguments about rape and incest. In truth only about 1% of abortions are results of rape / incest. A similar percentage are due to trying to save the life of the mother. The rest are performed entirely for "convenience." The baby in the womb is a person in its own right. It has its own fingerprints, DNA, blood type etc., separate from the mother. He or she is not an extension of its mother's body parts. The baby is not responsible for the act that was committed to start its life. That baby has as much right to live as the selfish mother or father who wants it aborted for whatever reason they think they have.

Life and babies are so precious to me that it hurts my heart to see the things that are going on in our society today. So many people would love to adopt a newborn but instead they are being brutally murdered. I had three difficult pregnancies in my life. On the second one I miscarried. The devastation of losing those little lives (there were 3) was devastating to me for years afterward. I cannot imagine the pain there would have been if I had been responsible for that miscarriage. I still mourn for those little lives. My daughter has had similar difficulty with her pregnancies. She has had several miscarriages and 3 live births. All of her pregnancies have been high risk and one of the live births resulted in the baby dying almost immediately after birth. The baby died in her arms. That was 10 years ago and we still mourn that little life and the lives of the others that she miscarried. To both of us the thought of anyone deliberately taking the life of a baby in utero is horrifying. My daughter was offered an abortion when it became apparent that her baby had serious problems but she wouldn't even consider it. The opportunity we had to hold that precious life in our arms as she went to meet her Maker was something we would not trade for anything in the world. When I was pregnant with my daughter, the medical personnel told me since I was having a difficult pregnancy and there was the possibility of something being wrong with the baby, I should consider an abortion. I told them in no uncertain terms that would not ever happen and I would die first before I let something happen to my baby. And through some genuine miracles, she was born beautiful and perfect and is, along with her brother, the joy of my life.

A Simple Change by Judith Miller

A Simple Change is the 2nd book in the Home to Amana Series by Judith Miller. I had the privilege of reviewing Book 1 as well. One might think that as simple as life was in the Amana colonies, the books would be very similar. Not so -- only in location. The stories are quite different and both very compelling. In Book 2, Jancey Rhoder returns to the Amana Colonies with her parents, who left the Colonies when they were very young. Now Jancey's mother is ill and her parents have decided to return to their roots. Although Jancey's life has been very different from life in the Amana Colonies, she does not want to be separated from her mother during her mother's illness so she decides to go with them. Her ambitious boyfriend had hoped to end up with her father's company and was not pleased with this move. As Jancey settles into the new life, another young man catches her attention and she sees in him the gentleness and kindness of her father. Now she needs to choose. Several other complications along the way make it a shaky path to travel but her trust in God leads her to the correct destination.

This book is very well written and could certainly be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys historical novels. This book makes you want to keep reading till you figure it all out. I love a little mystery mixed in with the romance. I am awaiting anxiously now for Book 3.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for review. I did not receive any compensation for completing the review. All opinions are my own.