Fiction Archives - Josie's Bookshelf

I Will Fear No Evil! It’s Easy to Get Hooked on Reading This Christian Mystery Series

It’s been so long since I discovered this series that I forget how I discovered it. The good news, for you, is that the author, Debbie Viguie, is a prolific writer and is about to release the last book in the Psalm 23 Mystery series. Book 23 is on preorder and is title Forever. The latest book Amazon currently has is book 17. The first book is The Lord is My Shepherd. Christianbook has the first two books together in one ebook. The secret to gaining access to the preorder books is to join her Facebook fan group. Debbie posts often in the fan group.

This entertaining saga is a character-driven murder mystery series. In the first book, Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter. Cindy Preston is a secretary at First Shepard Church. She stumbles across a dead man’s body in the sanctuary. Jeremiah Silverman is a rabbi that works at a Jewish Temple next door. Jeremiah has a mysterious past that is gradually revealed as the series picks up steam.

Debbie weaves information about Passover celebrations and Jewish traditions in the background, but the story centers around how Cindy and Jeremiah meet and work together to solve mysteries they discover in their hometown. Detective Mark Walters tries, unsuccessfully, to convince Cindy and Jeremiah to let him handle the investigation. Once engrossed in the story, it feels like you’re watching a movie instead of reading a book. (The book isn’t for the squeamish, but it’s not graphic.)

Please chime in and comment below if you are familiar with the series.
(Also, I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to give this series a try!)

Ten of the Best Family-Friendly Stories

Are you searching for stories the whole family can read and enjoy? I’ve listed some great imaginative stories that you can enjoy together. I’ve also included a few bonus books that contain plays your family can use to have your own theater night. Summer is a great time to read together.

10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

9. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

8. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

7. I Want to Go Home by Gordon Korman

6. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

5. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

4. By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

3. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

2. Little Women or Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

1. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Plays:

Cinderella Outgrows the Glass Slipper

Theater for Young Audiences

The BFG: A Set of Plays

Audiobooks:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

A Wrinkle in Time

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Little House in the Big Woods

The Hobbit

read by Rob Inglis

read by Andy Serkis

Please share this post with a friend that is looking for book ideas for their kids for summer reading fun.

The Best of Christian Science Fiction From A Small Publisher that Selects 4-8 Stories a Year

update: Bought in 2014, and still publishing speculative fiction with a Christian Worldview, Enclave Publishing.

Have you heard about Marcher Lord Press (since October 2008)? I’m glad I heard about it and have been following their progress. They had a sale on one of their ebooks, By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson, so I bought it. I couldn’t believe how quickly I reached the 500th page and wanted to read more. The 2 sequels are To Darkness Fled and From Darkness Won. The trilogy is available for a low pice!

By Darkness Hid is told from two points of view, Achan Cham and Vrell Sparrow. Achan Cham, a lowly servant and a stray, aspires to become a Kingsguard Knight. Sir Gavan, a Kingsguard Knight, decides to train Achan, as Sir Gavan used to be a stray himself. Achan is even more unusual because a stray usually has knowledge of one of his parents, but Achan doesn’t know who either of his parents are.

Vrell Sparrow flees and dresses as a stray boy to avoid an arranged marriage. Vrell’s mother is in agreement and tells Vrell she can come home as soon as Prince Gidon chooses another woman. Vrell knows how to bloodvoice, so she plans to keep in touch with her mother that way.

Bloodvoicing is a communicating with thoughts. One of the Kingsguard Knights that is escorting Vrell uses bloodvoicing as well. Jax, the Kingsguard that uses bloodvoicing, tells Vrell that bloodvoicing is a great power when used for good. He also tells her to thank Arman for the gift of bloodvoicing. Vrell knows that Arman is the only true God. Vrell and Achan communicate by bloodvoicing before they meet. I’m going to stop the review now, so I won’t reveal too much of the plot.

I enjoyed the well-written story. Jill Williamson created an interesting world in this book, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series. If you read the book, please leave a comment to share your favorite part of the story.

5 Favorite Christian Fiction books

I plan to continue to review many books, but today I thought I would give you my top 5 favorites. It is hard to narrow it down, but I chose the books that really made an impression.

Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick – I have read this one several times. The main character, Sophie, is so appealing and it was easy to connect with her and cheer for everything to work out for her.

Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn – I love all the sisterchick books, but this was is the one I remember best. Jenna is invited to cook for a group of missionaries in a restored palace in Venice. She invites her sister-in-law, Sue, to come along as a helper. Jenna and Sue have a great time and grow closer as they discuss God and the struggles in their lives.

Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury – The first book A Thousand Tomorrows was excellent, but sad, read. This book continues Cody’s story and he finds love. It also tell more about Carl Joseph and his friend Daisy. My favorite character was Elle, and I loved her patience as she works with Carl Joseph and Daisy.

Evidence of Mercy by Terri Blackstock – This is the first book in the Suncoast Chronicles series, and one I’ve read several times. The story starts with a plane accident and the suspense continues throughout the rest of this fast paced story. Lynda is a spunky attorney and a very likeable Christian woman.

A Penny for Your Thoughts by Mindy Starns Clark – I’ve reviewed this one on the blog, and it’s the first book in a great series. Callie’s job is to investigate nonprofit organizations that have applied for grant money & she stumbles accross a murder mystery. This series is very fast paced and easy to read.

Please post your favorite Christian fiction books, and we’ll all have a great list to refer to when looking for a book to read!

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes

I love the Sisterchick series, so I read this one as soon as I could after it was published. Robin Jones Gunn does a great job with this series, and she takes me along with her again as she visits a foreign land. This books is about two friends who have been life-long penpals. Noelle now lives in Holland. Summer finds out she has an abnormal medical test and decides to visit Noelle before having to face more testing.

I want to visit the Corrie Ten Boom house and museum, so it was nice to get to visit with Summer and Noelle. They visited so many great places and had such an adventure one afternoon on an unusual boat. Noelle and her husband treated Summer like an honored guest. Summer was refreshed from the visit and from her quiet time with God every morning. I’m looking forward to traveling again with the next set of sisterchicks!

Get Cozy, Josey

I’ve enjoyed reading this series by Susan May Warren and hope she will continue to write about Josey. Get Cozy, Josey is the third book in the series. The first book, Everything is Coming Up Josey, follows Josey as she moves to Russia as a missionary. The second book, Chill out, Josey!, is about her married life as she continues to live and minister to the people in Russia. The third book continues her story as she moves her family to Siberia, mostly to support her husband. She ends up making many friends and reaching out to the women of the village.

I like Josey because I can identify with her. She is insecure about herself, but trusts God to help her. She is braver than I am, though. I don’t think I would be willing to do without indoor plumbing! I admire her dedication to her husband. She moves to Siberia because he’s excited about it, and when his excitement wanes, Josey encourages him. Josey does have to prove to the town and her husband that’s she’s been faithful, but you’ll have to read to find out why.

Inside Story

I found the first book in this series, Frasier Island, at the library and decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did because I found another talented author. Since then, I have read Finding Marie and now, Inside Story. The characters in these stories are engaging and interesting to follow. I have also read and enjoyed a few other mysteries by Susan Page Davis, but this series is my favorite so far. The third novel, Inside Story, is about Claudia, Marie’s sister. She is a journalist and works for a magazine, Global Impact.

I love this story! The story is fun, suspenseful, and leaves me cheering for the main characters. Lieutenant Bill White is believable and easy to admire for his charitable work and dedication to the navy. Claudia is a risk taker and does whatever it takes to find and tell moving human interest stories. I don’t want to say too much and give away the story, but I think you’ll enjoy this one.

The story does make me wonder whether the U.S. Navy would authorize embedding a magazine correspondent with a secret mission unit after deployment, but this is minor and doesn’t detract from the story. The majority of the story takes place in the Philippine jungle. Marie, Pierre, Rachel, and George (characters from the earlier books) appear in this story to help Claudia, Bill, and Bill’s unit.

My Heart Remembers

This is the first book I’ve read by Kim Vogel Sawyer, and I’m very impressed. My Heart Remembers was an easy, enjoyable read. I would gladly read another book by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

The basic story is Maelle, the oldest child in her family, is asked by her Da to take care of her brother and sister during the fire that burnt down their apartment. Her Da went back in to gather some more belongings and bring his wife out with him, but they never made it. Maelle is alone in New York with her brother Matthew and infant sister, Molly when a policeman finds them and takes them to an orphanage. The lady in charge of the orphange places them on an orphan train bound to Missouri. Here the three children are taken by three different families. Seventeen years later, Maelle is still searching for Matthew and Molly. She heads back to Missouri in the spring of 1903 hoping that she will find them.

Sisterchicks Go Brit!

Well, I’ve taken quite a vacation from this blog. Part of my vacation was time I spent in Prince Edward Island, Canada (2 weeks) and the rest I just haven’t been writing. Speaking of vacations, I did enjoy reading the new Sisterchick novel, Sisterchicks Go Brit! (Sisterchicks Series #7). If you haven’t discovered this series yet, you’re in for a treat. These fun books can be read in any order as each novel has new characters. Robin Jones Gunn is a talented author, and she makes you feel like you are traveling with the sisterchicks (see my Sisterchicks in Gondolas review).

I have been to London, England once, so it was nice to read about some of the places I visited in 2001. Kellie and Liz are given airline tickets to visit England by Opal. Kellie, who is trying to start an interior design business, offers to decorate Opal’s apartment. Liz helps Kellie and mentions that she has always wanted to visit England. Opal wants to return to Olney, England to visit her sister so she gives Kellie and Liz the tickets as payment. Kellie and Liz do spend some time in Olney when they first arrive, but after a few days leave to explore England on their own. Liz just can’t wait to see Big Ben. The plans don’t quite go as expected, but Liz and Kellie see that God has other plans for their vacation. I like the way Kellie and Liz allow events to happen and aren’t too uptight about their vacation plans changing. They explore Oxford and Exeter College as well as London. They were able to see more than they had planned. On the way to Windsor castle, they met a young lady from France, Annette, who was traveling alone. They invited her to join them and immediately connected. After spending the day together, Annette invited them both to visit her in France.

The story flows well and puts you in the mood to have an adventure of your own. I’m glad I read it before going on my trip! We made friends with a couple the first time Sean and I visited Prince Edward Island. It was an instant connection like Robin Jones Gunn described when they met Annette. We have kept in touch over the years. They have discussed coming to visit us sometime, too. I felt like God did guide our trip, too. I was wishing we could see the talented fiddle player that we saw on our first visit to PEI in 1995. He went on to travel and play all over the world. We have been listening to his CDs, but haven’t seen Richard Wood in person since that first island visit. He was going to be playing before we arrived and after we left the island. We were strolling through the Charottetown area with our friends, and a couple of guys were playing music on small stage. One of the gentlemen starts playing on a fiddle and our friend says, “That’s Richard Wood.” I felt so blessed to be able to hear him play again.

I would love to hear about your vacation. Did you feel God directing your vacation? Did you instantly connect and make a new friend or friends?

Category: Fiction