I AM: The Blueprint of Humanity (Book and Study Guide) by Dave Hernandez

Synopsis: This book is about a journey that starts in the heart and mind of our Trinitarian-God Creator. It’s our adventure, the odyssey of Mankind from Adam to Christ. It’s a voyage both Adam and Christ propose to take you on. It ventures through the dark places of your fallen condition to the pastures of your risen state in Christ. It’s a recovery expedition into your true identity - the original blueprint of every human being that ever existed. The objectif is to clear your pathway so you can find that which mankind has lost - the treasure beyond the valley of the Shadow of Death.

I take on the voices of two main characters who played the most significant roles in the History of Mankind: Adam and Jesus. I do not pretend to speak on their behalf as if I could somehow channel Adam, or prophetically speak as Jesus. It’s not my intent. It’s more of a role play than anything else. I only wanted to make a contrast between the two Adams of History and create a more personable content. I pose them as lecturers, guides, each sharing their role in the vast story of man’s Redemption, each leading you toward finding the lost bounty.

 
Synopsis: With this workbook, I’ve tasked myself to summarise the original book into sets of coherent truths or “big ideas” that you can remember and apply in your life.

There are quite a number of them to reflect on and understand, embrace and implement. It’s worth doing this exercise because the goal of "I Am" is to guide you to a place beyond understanding: to your identity and song as Son-of-God. 

If this “journey” has any value to you, it's because you’re seeking lost treasures. Or at least it's your intention! Perhaps you have already found the field that contains the treasure and want to invest yourself into obtaining its contents. 

I encourage you to invite a few friends to join you around the table with drinks and nibbles and to use this “guide” as a conversation primer. You’ll be surprised where these discussions will take you. I bet they’ll spark enthusiasm and fresh insight. It’s always fun to journey in companionship. 

If you prefer to walk alone, that’s okay too, because you will run into fellow travellers along the way too. 

Use this guide as you wish. I can ensure it will enrich the journey into your “I Am!”.

Review: I was intrigued by the idea of this book--the author writing in the voices of Adam and Jesus. After reading it, I was not disappointed. It gives the reader much food for thought, and provides a deeper insight into the Holy Spirit and its power, which is often ignored in church teachings.

The book leads the reader into a new level of intimacy with the entire Trinity. It is not a quick read, but one to be studied and devoured.  While it can be entertaining and engaging, it can also be convicting in places. 

I would recommend this book to every Christian.

Rating: Four stars

About the author

I was raised and indoctrinated in a denominational stream that had unique views regarding the Godhead and God’s plan of Salvation. The byproduct of their beliefs was a sort of exclusivism that insisted on keeping out of God’s acceptance all people who differ in doctrine. We lived in fear. If we deviated from their dogmas we would lose our salvation. That fear combined with a belief that any slipping away from holiness would ban us from God’s acceptance produced in me a mountain of toxic thoughts about myself and God. I lived in guilt and condemnation.

I'm grateful the leaders and teachers had ingrained in me a love for Scripture and an unshakable faith in God.

Then the unthinkable happened. I fell out of favor. It was one of the most hurtful events in my life. They were my family, and I was banned. But, as I look back today, that event, as hurtful as it was, was one of God’s greatest blessings in my life. It drew me closer to God as my Abba, The Spirit as my teacher and Jesus as my Brother. 

What followed was incredible. They, Elohim, began to shape me. They started by a total dismantling of everything I was and believed. Slowly they became my family. Father, Son and Holy Spirit gradually reconstructed me into a Son-of-God.

The process took over 18 years. During that time, I died to everything I was. I found myself in a cocoon. I pushed boundaries. Sometimes I went off on tangents into dead ends. I often moved forward on tiptoes venturing into the unknown. With doubts and hesitations, I moved forward. Slowly I came back to life as They reassembled me revelation after revelation. God showed me how much I was loved. He removed the guilt and condemnation. Abba taught me Sonship. The Holy Spirit infiltrated deep into the hidden parts of my innermost being, and cleansed me by the washing of the Word. Elohim placed within me a clarity that I cannot contain anymore. I have to let the world know the Good News!

These books are the outcome of that process. 

BOOK TOUR: Eyeshine by Cy Wyss

Eyeshine

by Cy Wyss

on Tour March 1-31, 2016

PJ Taylor is a reporter with a difference. Each night she turns into a black tabby cat from sundown to sunup. In this first adventure, follow PJ as she chases thieves, drug dealers, and even a murderer. Will PJ solve the mysterious drowning death of cantankerous old coot Chip Greene? Or will a local special needs boy end up taking the blame? Be prepared for twists and turns along the way as PJ applies all her feline senses to this diabolical situation.

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery  

Published by: Nighttime Dog Press, LLC 

Publication Date: November 2015 

Number of Pages: 200 

ASIN: B017WD3WWU 

Purchase Links:             

Read an excerpt:

People called Brooke Annabeth Taylor “PJ,” which stood not for pajamas but for Peeping Jane. She’d been a photographer and reporter for as long as the town could remember—at least since grade school—and her reportage was known for the most candid and impossible photos, like Peter Parker’s but from nearer the ground. Her job was made more difficult by her moniker because once people found out what it was, they shied away and wouldn’t tell her the secrets that are a reporter’s stock-in-trade. As she got older, it got harder and harder to convince anyone to give her a story. Now, at thirty, she was no longer “kitten cute” and able to wile her way easily into subjects’ confidence. Still, she managed to find a way.
With her penetrating amber eyes and easy smile, people found her disarming. She loved her relationship as a freelance reporter with the town’s paper, and all the vagaries that life entails, such as being a night owl and an absolute bulldog for the truth. If she could have chosen her own moniker, it would have likely combined these: Owl Dog. It was particularly inappropriate, however, because she turned not into a bird or canine every night, but into a cat.
She had been a black tabby from sundown to sunup since shortly after puberty. She often wondered why other people didn’t morph into alternate beings for the dark hours, but was admonished very early on by a loving mother to never, never, ever speak a word of it to anyone. PJ liked to think that was because her mother had a similar power and had suffered, but it could have been due solely to the woman’s intelligence and sense of practicality.
PJ’s father had died when she was ten. The man was a scientist, an absent-minded chemist, and PJ was of two minds about his awareness. On the one hand, his cleverness meant surely he wouldn’t have been fooled by a mere wife, no matter how adept at deception; on the other hand, his absentmindedness meant sometimes he forgot to wear shoes. So it wasn’t a stretch to think he might have no inkling about the bizarreness of his wife or daughter.
At sixteen, with PJ in limbo between childhood and womanhood, her mother suffered a tragic and debilitating stroke that took her life within months. PJ then moved in with her much older brother and his family. By then, she had become as adept as her mother at hiding her talent, in spite of the fact her brother was an FBI agent by that time, at twenty-nine, and extraordinarily difficult to deceive. It helped that after he witnessed firsthand the transformation from girl to cat, he immediately went into a long-lasting shock that consisted of utter denial. Instead of considering how her unique power could assist him in his life of crime fighting, he grounded her for a month and kept her largely confined to her room, especially after sundown.
PJ forgave Robert for locking her up, only because of her natural optimism and sense of personal grandeur. Honestly, grudges were beneath her, as were most things mere mono-modal humans did. She focused on her schoolwork and got all A’s that semester. Much later she discovered her brother had to take a polygraph test every year he was employed with the all-knowing government agency. PJ realized Robert had so thoroughly put the image of his sister becoming a black tabby cat out of his mind that he had convinced himself it wasn’t even a hallucination—it simply hadn’t existed at all. There’s no need to lie if you’re a true believer, and that was the most effective path for a forced deceiver. So PJ kept her secret, and Robert kept his job.
Fourteen years later, PJ was irrevocably known as Peeping Jane and Robert had traveled the country and come back in his forties to set up a one-man field office in Mayhap, Indiana. One day, PJ was out with her best friends Clara Goodwind and Vicky Donnerweise at the Mayhap Spring Festival when the sun dipped low on the horizon, threatening to bring the stars closer and the day to an end.
“PJ, why do you always leave just when things are getting interesting?” Clara said.
She was a buxom woman with big hazel eyes and bright red hair. Her wardrobe favored items with cats in evidence or implied by pithy sayings, such as “Meow Happens,” which her pink tube top currently sported. The woman was Taft County’s prime cat rescuer, with a warren of dedicated chicken-wire pens covering her backyard and a full-time feeding schedule. When she wasn’t volunteering at the county’s humane shelter, she was ensconced in a network of gossips centered at the Mayhap Memorial Library. Clara was an assistant librarian but party to all the good stories the town could provide. PJ found her an invaluable source. If it happened, or was going to happen, Clara knew about it and would talk.
Vicky stood with arms akimbo and watched PJ inhale an elephant ear. She was a striking woman with hair even blacker than PJ’s and blue eyes where PJ’s were yellow. Vicky was tall and muscular, like a man, but lither and hourglass-shaped inside the bulky kit she wore for law enforcement. She was one of Taft County’s deputies, second in their force only to Sheriff Curtis Denning, whom she happened to be married to.
“Land’s sake, PJ, how do you eat like that? You know I’m active all day, but I can’t eat three of those things without being ten pounds fatter tomorrow. Do you just stay up all night on the treadmill or what?”
A loud cry of enjoyment crescendoed from the fairway before PJ could answer, which was just as well since her mouth was filled with fried dough and she wouldn’t have gotten more than a grunt or two out. She didn’t have the heart to enlighten her friend. Every night, indeed, she ran the treadmill of being feline. She wandered miles in the summertime, searched every nook and cranny of the county, chased rodents and vermin, and napped only fitfully and with one eye open under the shifting moon.
She popped the last of the ear into her mouth and said, “It’s genetics. Some people are luckier than others.”
Vicky and Clara groaned.
Clara adjusted her pink-rimmed glasses and slurped her sno-cone. “At least I managed to keep myself to just one Devil Dog. And sno-cones have no calories after noon—everyone knows that.” Clara was constantly watching her figure, which didn’t seem to keep her from growing more buxom by the year. At the rate she was going, she would be a round octogenarian with a radiant smile in fifty years. PJ thought things could be worse.
“So you two coming two weeks from today or what?” Vicky said.
She was having a cookout, a common occurrence in the warmer months, and the Taylors and Goodwinds were regular fixtures. Everyone knew the cookouts were as much a bid to stuff the people of Taft County with reasons why the Denning clan should hold on to the sheriff-hood for the indefinite future, but everyone came anyway. Vicky’s ribs were legendary, and Curtis’s beer was as tasty and free flowing as anyone’s ever was. Today was Saturday, and two weeks from today was going to be the first big Donnerweise-Denning BBQ of the season.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” PJ said. “At least until sunset.”
Vicky rolled her eyes. “Because you turn into a pumpkin at sunset, right? We’ll never get to see nighttime you. Isn’t Doc Fred helping you with that?”
Doctor Fred Norton was Mayhap’s most celebrated, and only, psychiatrist. Apparently he was a third cousin twice removed to the iconic Oprah Winfrey and had once listened to her problems with aplomb, inspiring her to go on and listen eternally to others. He was given a brief mention in a book of hers, which was now out-of-print. For Mayhap, that was all it took to secure one’s place in the annals of town history. He even had a special shelf in the library to display his pamphlets on the pluses of positive putation, despite the brochures containing more than their fair share of buzz non-words.
PJ’s cover story for disappearing every evening, no matter the weather or event, was a rare and debilitating overreaction to darkness. Everyone thought she ran home to sit in a bright room under full-spectrum lights so she could make it through the dark hours with her psyche intact, her odd and entrenched phobia notwithstanding. Doc Fred made a perfect corroborator. His acute sense of professional delicacy meant he could never confirm nor deny PJ’s hints that he was treating her without success for her illness. Perhaps he had spent the last decades sketching her case study, which would no doubt be picked up by the professional societies should it ever come to a positive conclusion.
“Sorry,” PJ said to Vicky, “I’m not going to talk about it.”
“Oh, right. Shrink’s privilege and all that.”
“Well, get going,” Clara said. “I don’t want to have to carry around any pumpkins your size after dark, if you turn into one.”
“Alrighty. Toodles, people.”

Review: This is a very unusual book.  The main character turns into a cat at sundown, and then turns back into a human at sunrise. She wears a collar with a camera while she is a cat, which provides photos and videos for her freelance reporting job. Mutt, her dog, is her nightly sidekick and helps her out as much as he can. Her older brother is an FBI agent who has apparently blocked out any memory of her "condition.

When she is accused of being the ringleader of a series of robberies in her trailer park, and of trying to frame the kids in the park, she is determined to clear her name. When an elderly resident of the park is murdered, her situation gets even worse, as she is seen as the prime suspect. 

This is one of the most fun mysteries I've read this year. It's unique, well written, and very easy to read. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys paranormal cozies.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating:  Four stars

Author Bio:

I live and write in the Indianapolis area. After earning a PhD in Computer Science in 2002 and teaching and researching for seven years, I’ve returned to the childhood dream of becoming an author. I better do it now because I won’t get a third life. Behind me, I have a ton of academic experience and have written about twenty extremely boring papers on query languages and such, for example this one in the ACM Transactions on Databases. (That’s a mouthful.) Now, I write in the mystery/thriller/suspense genres and sometimes science fiction. I know for some people databases would be the more beloved of the options, but for me, I finally realized that my heart wasn’t in it. So I took up a second life, as a self-published fiction author. Online, I do the Writer Cy cartoon series about the (mis)adventures of researching, writing, and self-publishing in today’s shifting climate. I also love to design and create my own covers using GIMP.

Catch Up:

Eyeshine Tour Participants:

Visit others on the tour! In addition to the great reviews & features you could win your own copy of Eyeshine!

March 01 - Review @ 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!
March 04 - Showcase @ Mystery Suspense
March 05 - Interview/Showcase @ BooksChatter
March 08 - Review and Interview @ Rockin’ Book Reviews
March 09 - Review @ Ashleyz Wonderland
March 10 - Review @ Hott Books
March 11 - Showcase @ Bookalicious Traveladdict
March 12 - Review @ Jaquo Lifestyles
March 14 - Guest post @ Books Direct
March 16 - Review @ fuonlyknew
March 17 - Review @ Book Babble
March 18 - Review @ Lets Talk About Books!
March 21 - Review @ Buried Under Books
March 22 - Review @ Wall-to-wall books
March 24 - Review @ Just Reviews
March 27 - Interview @ Cozy Up With Kathy
March 28 - Review @ Melissas Mochas, Mysteries and More

Don't Miss Your Chance to WIN:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for Cy Wyss. There will be 1 winner of 1 $10 Amazon.com US Gift card. The giveaway begins on March 1st and runs through April 1st, 2016. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

 

PRODUCT REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: Loved + Blessed Box Of Encouragement

It seems subscription boxes are really big these days. Everywhere I turn, a friend is posting about the most recent box they received in the mail. I've never heard of a box quite like these, however: a monthly box of encouragement for women.

Here's what the website has to say:

Each month the box of encouragement™ includes:

• a MINI POSTER for your home or office
• a repositionable REMINDER STICKER perfect for your mirror, laptop or tablet
• a SCRIPTURE CARD sized to fit in your pocket or purse
• a removable KEEPSAKE THEME CARD
• a special GIFT OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Our boxes are full of little gifts of surprise and delight that help remind you to walk in faith throughout your day.  Our gift of encouragement changes each month.  You'll receive gifts of jewelry, prayer accessories, stationary, journals, home decor and more!  

I recently received one of these boxes, built around the theme of BEAUTY.

My MINI POSTER: Beauty does not require perfection.

My REMINDER STICKER (which is on my laptop): You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

My SCRIPTURE CARD: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.  1Peter 3:3-4

My KEEPSAKE THEME CARD:  

BEAUTY

We know that inner beauty is what is most important in the eyes of our Creator, but YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL on the outside too! No matter what anyone tells you, the standards of beauty in this world mean nothing. God created you just as you are for a great purpose. From the hairs on your head to the bottom of your toes, He knew what He was doing and didn't make any mistakes. Don't let the fake and unattainable standards of beauty that the world promotes fool you into thinking you are not beautifully and wonderfully made. Celebrate you and the God who took care in creating every inch of you.

My SPECIAL GIFTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT (a bracelet and a prayer journal)

I love this entire idea, and was very happy with the contents of the box. I'm not sure that I would be interested in a monthly subscription, but I like that they provide the option of ordering previous boxes individually. That way, if you know someone who is in need of a specific type of encouragement, you can go to the website, find the appropriate box, and send it off to them.  Here are some of the currently available options:  



 
And now for the giveaway!!  For your chance to win A YEAR OF ENCOURAGEMENT (12 free boxes!) go here:   http://bit.ly/lovedandblessed Good luck! 

SOCIAL CORNER

Instagram @passhopeon

Pinterest @lovedblessedbox

Twitter @lovedblessedbox

Facebook lovedandblessed https://www.facebook.com/lovedblessedbox/?fref=ts

Your Body by Ryan Wood MD

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Health, Fitness and Dieting

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (November 7, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1519180357
• ISBN-13: 978-1519180353

Synopsis: This book gives a basic understanding of how the body works, utilizes calories, human anatomy; medical conditions, nutrition, laboratory panels, and results. There is substantial morbidity and mortality associated with poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. This book will provide material for developing a guideline for an individual life plan and goal towards a healthy lifestyle. This book includes education, information, and a comparison of hypotheses versus facts. Positive aspects of diet recommendations along with examples of incorrect information is given.  Recommendations and questions, regarding laboratory panels, and medications, to bring to your health care professionals is also illustrated.

Review:  This is one of the best health and dieting books I have read in quite some time. It is full of important information, but it is written in a way that makes it simple to understand.  I would recommend it to everyone who is concerned about staying healthy, whether you are wanting to diet or not. 

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating: Four stars

About the author

Dr. Wood is board certified in both Family Medicine and Sports Medicine.   He is currently the program director of a back pain program.  He received his undergraduate degree at Old Dominion in Exercise Physiology and PreMed.  During undergraduate training he had the privilege to study abroad at Keele University in England to study neurobiology and travel through Europe.  

 

Prior to attending medical school he was a body builder and served as a personal trainer to many professional athletes and movie stars.  Upon completion of medical school he went back to Oklahoma with his wife and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Oklahoma in addition to starting his family.   He is now a stage 4 Burkitt’s like lymphoma survivor, in addition to battling an immunodeficiency disorder.   

BOOK TOUR AND GIVEAWAY: Mirror World by John Calicchia

BOOK INFORMATION

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Psychangel Books (August 27, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0986102008
• ISBN-13: 978-0986102004

Synopsis: What would you do if you could see the future in a mirror? Would you save those you love, or die trying? 

When Cailyssa Larkin looks in a mirror she has an ominous feeling that someone is watching her. Stranger still, she has visions that foretell the future. While visiting her Uncle Spencer, Cailyssa gazes into a mirror and sees a dark future that only she can change. With the future of her own world hanging in the balance, Cailyssa bravely enters the portal to the Mirror World. Here, the Dark Lord controls all the mirrors and bends reflections so all creatures see evil within themselves. With her sister Terry, her mysterious best friend Daemon, and a host of weird and wonderful creatures, Cailyssa embarks on an epic quest to overcome the evil forces trying to destroy her world. She can only defeat the Dark Lord by finding her true self and discovering the family secret that has led her to Mirror World. 

This book, written by a psychology professor, integrates famous psychological studies in the story. Readers will enjoy learning important life lessons through the psychological concepts illustrated in the book.

For More Information

Mirror World is available at Amazon.

Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Book Excerpt:

“You’re not getting away so easily.” I ran after him, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. “You’re the most confusing man I’ve ever met. One moment you’re cold as stone—pretending that I don’t exist—and the next moment you’re on one knee, and it looks like you’re ready to propose to me. Listen, I don’t need a boyfriend, but I do need some answers!”

“I will only do so if you require it of me,” Daemon said as he turned back into the cold soldier boy. “But please don’t require me to explain, I beg of you. It is still too painful for me.”

“No deal, big boy. If you’re tough enough to pull an arrow out of your chest and heal yourself from a sword fight, I think you are strong enough to talk to your best friend and explain things. So talk. I require it…and no more kissing my hand!” I said with great determination.

To my surprise, Daemon slowly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. My jaw dropped to the ground, not because I was looking at his perfectly chiseled chest of course, but because I just never knew what to expect from this man. He slowly turned around and showed me two long scars on his back that looked like a letter V. He slowly turned back to face me. “Cailyssa, didn’t you ever think that it’s a bit odd that we have the same birthday?” Daemon said this as if he expected an answer.

“No, I just figured it was a coincidence, and it was always kind of cool to celebrate my birthday with my best friend. What’s the big deal, anyway?” I said as I awaited more information.

“Although it is a vague memory in my mind, my life before I was born into your world was filled with great sadness. I did something horrible, something that is unforgivable,” Daemon said.

“What do you mean your life before you were born—like when you were in your mother’s belly or something?” I was perplexed.

“I don’t have a mother, Cailyssa, only humans do,” Daemon said earnestly.

My specular skills started to tingle, and I started to see some images in my mind. They were beautiful but very frightening to me. I blurted, “What do you mean? You’re not human? Are you some kind of alien or something?” I tried to say this as I laughed confidently, but I was scared of what I would find out.

I focused on the inside of my mind and tried to organize the various images that floated by. I captured one of Daemon as he was before he was born into my world. My jaw hung open, and I tried to form the words but I had great difficulty doing so.

“You’re an, an, an…angel?” I asked in disbelief.

Review: This is a fascinating book on several levels. If you just read the story as it is, you'll find a great young adult fantasy novel. But if you look deeper, you'll discover the psychological concepts behind the story, and perhaps learn something about yourself in the process.

The cover is the first thing which hooked me. And the author's writing style draws you into the story quickly. The book is easy to read, and it keeps you engaged from beginning to end. The plot has its share of twists and turns, and is full of fascinating characters. 

I can hardly wait to find out what will happen in the next book!

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating: Four stars

About the author

I’m John Calicchia and I write stories of fantasy, action and adventure. In the fall of 2015 my book Mirror World was released! It's a story of two powerful young sisters and their epic battle against evil. But, this book has something in it most do not: hidden secrets. It's a teen and young adult fiction book with a self-help book hidden inside. You see… after publishing in psychology books and journals for decades I felt my writing was not helping the young people I love to work with. So, I took famous psychology studies and put it in the characters and plot in Mirror World. As you become part of the story you can learn about psychology or you can just enjoy the story! You can also get a free copy of the users guide to help you understand the psychology behind the book by joining my website www.johncalicchia.com

John Calicchia Ph.D. is a professor of psychology who also works with children and young adults as a licensed psychologist. He lives near Boston with his lovely wife and two amazing daughters. You can usually find him in the pool swimming with his two big dogs.

For More Information

Visit John Calicchia’s website.

Connect with John on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more about John at Goodreads.

GIVEAWAY!

John Calicchia is giving away 2 $25 Amazon Gift Cards!

Terms & Conditions:

By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.

Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Certificate

This giveaway begins January 4 and ends March 31.

Winners will be contacted via email on February 1.

Winners have 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK TOUR AND GIVEAWAY: Those Who Walk In Darkness (Jacks Jackson Mystery #1) by Joyce and Jim Lavene

BOOK INFORMATION

Those Who Walk In Darkness
(Jacks Jackson Mystery Book 1)
Historical Mystery
Print Length: 266 pages
Publisher: J. Lavene (March 8, 2016)
ASIN: B01AS8NN6Q

Synopsis: Three years ago, Julia Jackson was a well to do young woman from Boston whose fiancé, Jonathon, was killed right before her eyes. Obsessed with finding the killer, a man whose face she saw only in a flash as he walked up and shot Jonathon, she leaves her family and her life behind. She starts a new life as ‘Jacks’ Jackson—a cigar smoking, dead eye, female Pinkerton agent…pretending to be a man. 

Now Allan Pinkerton needs Jacks to find the man who kidnapped the wife and son of a railroad official, David Boyd. Their only clues are the severed finger from the man’s wife, complete with wedding ring, and a map of the Qualla boundary, the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina. 

Jacks doesn’t like the way the whole thing sounds from the beginning. David Boyd isn’t important enough to target for a kidnapping. And why travel so far with two hostages? 

But Pinkerton tells her that he believes the man responsible for the kidnapping worked with Jonathon’s murderer in a train robbery five years ago. Jacks agrees to go after the kidnapper with hopes of catching him before he can reach his home grounds. 

Pinkerton insists that Jacks bring three men with her—Boyd, her new partner, and a Cherokee guide named Running Wolf, who’s always watching her, like he’s trying to figure it out. 

Can Jacks catch the kidnapper with her secret—and her life—intact? 

Review: Another great new series from my favorite, most prolific mystery writers.  This one has several things which make it unique. First of all, the main character is a woman posing as a man, living in 1870s Chicago. Secondly, it is unusual to find stories about a strong female character in that time period. Third, there are mentions of Indian spiritualism throughout the story.

There are only two people who are aware of Julia's true identity, and they have agreed to keep her secret. Everyone else sees her as "Jacks" and treats her as a man.  She finds herself in some interesting situations because of her secret.

The book is fast-paced and full of surprises. It really takes you back to the time period in which it is based, as well. The characters are fascinatingly written, and I look forward to more adventures with Julia/"Jacks" in the future.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating: Four stars

About the authors

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

Webpage – www.joyceandjimlavene.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene

Amazon – http://amazon.com/author/jlavene

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene

a Rafflecopter giveaway