Liar's Legacy, by Taylor Stevens

Taylor Stevens's newest novel Liar's Legacy is a sequel to Liar's Paradox.  To save time, I will merely copy portions of my review of Liar's Paradox because my thoughts are pretty much the same:

"Stevens writes the action well.  The fighting and hunting scenes are breathless and exciting.  The weakness of [Liar's Legacy] is the rest of the story.  Why are these people hunting each other?  Who is Clare, really?  Who's calling the shots?  To the extent that these questions are answered, I never really cared.  Stevens falls into the same problem as a number of movies I've seen, where assassins are targeting each other but the motivations are murky.  That's the case here.  Stevens sheds little light on who these assassins have worked for, or who their targets have been.  We just know they are now targeting each other.  It just seems pointless and cartoonish. . . ."

That's pretty much it.  It's a pointless hide-and-seek chase on an international stage.  I wanted to like this more, but quickly got bored of the pointlessness of it.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Follow Me, by Kathleen Barber

What happens when a young lady who has, through constant posting and tireless effort, gains over a million followers on social media, but gets one who follows just a little too closely?  We see fandom turn to obsession.  In Kathleen Barber's novel Follow Me, Aubrey posts all about her social life and has become a well-known social media influencer.  She lands her dream job in D.C., which works out great for one of her online admirers, who couldn't be more pleased that she is moving to his town.

Throughout Follow Me Aubrey's tension builds as the creepy men around her and the creeping online stalker seem to start colliding.  There's the handsy coworker who she initially trusted and liked.  There's the landlady's creepy son, who lets himself into Aubrey's apartment.  There's Nick, the super cool college boyfriend with whom she rekindles a friendship (with benefits).  There's the creepy guy who hangs out at the museum where Aubrey works.  With the creeping she experiences online, will she be able to find a normal boyfriend?

At first, I thought, "Well, this is going to be predictable and a bit dull."  Of course Barber knows better than that.  My predictions were wrong, and she took the story in a direction I didn't expect.  She accomplished her goal: to keep me eagerly reading to the end.  There were things I didn't love about the book.  Aubrey makes some dumb decisions.  One of the key relational connections was just a little too coincidental.  Some of the characters were just a little too cardboard cutout.  However, Barber makes up for it with the tension she builds and the way she brings it all around.  This is a good beach read or a keep-you-up-all-night-on-a-Saturday-night read.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The True Story of Zippy Chippy, by Arte Bennett, illustrated by Dave Szalay

Zippy Chippy is a racehorse who never won a race in 100 tries.  Arte Bennett tells his story in the children's book The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn't.  Despite coming from a strong bloodline, Zippy Chippy never ran fast, and sometimes just stood there in the shoot when a race started.

Despite his history of losing--or not even starting--every race, his playful personality made him a crowd favorite, even among people betting on races.  Due to the notoriety he gained, he showed "you can lose and lose and lose and still be a winner."

This is a cute story with cute illustrations by Dave Szalay, especially for horse lovers and race fans.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

I've Got a Home in Glory Land, by Karolyn Smardz Frost

Karolyn Smardz Frost was an archaeologist working in Toronto when she uncovered the home of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn.  In I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, Frost reconstructs the dramatic story of the Blackburns's escape from slavery to freedom in Canada.  The result is a breathtaking example of the determination to be free, an insightful encapsulation of life in the US and Canada in the 19th century, and an inspiring tale of some of those who set the groundwork of freedom for many others.

I've Got a Home in Glory Land is the kind of history book that is captivatingly readable, and that sheds a great deal of light on the larger picture by focusing on the unique experiences of an otherwise relatively unknown family.  Frost has done a great service by bringing the Blackburns's story to light.

Deep State, by Chris Hauty

Chris Hauty's first novel, Deep State, is a timely, politically-charged page turner.  Hayley Chill's career takes a fast track to the inner circles of power as she moves from an Army base to the basement office of a congressional aides into the President's circle of trust.  When she sees evidence that the President's Chief of Staff may have been murdered, she becomes a target herself. 

Hauty keeps the action going with the cat-and-mouse, who-can-you-trust game.  He presents a convincing, if a bit dark, view of Washington political culture.  It all comes together very nicely in the final confrontation.  However, not to give away the ending, but Hauty tears down a pretty good novel with his denouement.  The character of the president is, in part, clearly modeled after President Trump, and I was impressed that Hauty didn't let politics get in the way of a good story.  But at the end, he let stupid politics ruin a good story.  This is obviously a novel and a genre that will have politics infused into the story, but in my opinion the way Hauty does it takes away from an otherwise enjoyable political thriller.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Running for Our Lives, by Robb Ryerse

Almost everyone, at one time or another, complains about our elected officials and the state of our nation/state/town.  Very few of us have the guts to step out and put our names on the ballot in order to make some changes.  Robb Ryerse had the guts.  In Running for Our Lives: A Story of Faith, Politics, and the Common Good, Ryerse tells his own unlikely story of his campaign for the U.S. Congress.

As a kid, Ryerse was a political junkie with dreams of someday running for office.  Then God called him into full-time ministry, so he pursued theological studies and became a pastor.  After several years as a pastor in a fundamentalist denomination, his theological convictions shifted and he planted a more liberal church, where he remains as pastor.  In Running for Our Lives: A Story of Faith, Politics, and the Common Good, Ryerse tells the story of his return to the dream of political engagement, as he ran for U.S. Congress in 2018.

Readers can't help but applaud Ryerse's energy and desire to make a difference in national politics.  One of his biggest frustrations throughout the campaign is the prominence of large corporate and PAC contributions.  He writes that "elections shouldn't be determined by who can raise the most money from corporate PACs and special-interest groups.  They should be about who has the best ideas to represent the people of the district."  I totally agree with that sentiment, but neither should he overlook that fact that PACs and special-interest groups sometimes share interests with the people!  Case in point: the NRA represents the interests of millions of gun owners, who gladly elect representatives who resist excessive limitations on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

It was interesting to read about Ryerse's adventures as a candidate with little budget going up against an entrenched, well-funded incumbent.  He set out to buck the idea that only the wealthy can run for office.  As a middle-class bi-vocational pastor, he didn't have much personal wealth to back his campaign, but he managed to make it work.  More citizens should follow his example and bring energy and passion to congress.

The frustrating thing about Ryerse's book and candidacy is the fact that he is very liberal on most positions, but chose to run as a Republican, then tries to play the victim because he couldn't get much traction in his conservative district.  He has some historical claim that his positions are more like the Republican Party of a few generations ago, but the fact that he takes the opposite position from today's Republican Party on issues like abortion, economic policy, immigration, guns, etc. should have given him a clue that he might not be the toast of every Republican gathering.  Running as a Republican in a Republican district while opposing virtually every plank of the party platform, in hopes of gathering enough liberals, Democrats, Greens, and independents to unseat the incumbent Republican representative seems deeply cynical and deceptively immoral.

Ryerse makes it clear that he is opposed to every bit of Trump's administration and policies.  Starting from weeping on the night Trump was elected, to his campaigning for a bunch of Democrats in the 2018 election, he can't find a single good thing about Trump.  He quotes one of his comrades: "White evangelicals have been complicit with the Trump administration. . . . We're calling Christians to repent and vote differently" which to him and Ryerse means flipping the House to the Democrats.  This sentiment is deeply offensive to Christians everywhere who chose to vote for Trump out of a belief that Trump's policies better represent their convictions on issues like abortion and religious liberty.

Ryerse thinks "people ought to vote based on the common good."  Oh, the common good like low unemployment, strong job growth, a stronger military (accompanied by declining overseas engagement), secure borders, and a more conservative judiciary?  I know on some issues one can disagree about what is the "good" and that some people are more globalist than nationalist, but it would seem that on an objective level, even the most liberal among us can agree that it's a good thing that employment is at an all-time high, which translates into a higher level of dignity and prosperity than any government program can produce.

In short, good on Ryerse to get involved and put himself in the arena of public debate and action.  On the other hand, his cheerleading of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and his absolute contempt for Trump--and, not to mention, Trump voters--erase any semblance that he has a postpartisan or non-partisan message.  And, by the way, while he rails against those who "sell their soul to a corrupt and corrupting system," he'll have an easier time finding such corruption among those with a D after their name.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Lead Me, by Matt Hammitt

Matt Hammitt was riding high as the lead singer of the popular and successful band Sanctus Real when his wife confronted him about his absence from the family.  If he wasn't on the road, touring with the band, he was at home, emotionally distant.  His wife confronted him.  "Matt, I need you to step up.  For me.  For our children.  Be the man of your house.  Lead this family."  In response, Hammitt wrote "Lead Me," which became one of the band's biggest hits.  In his book, Lead Me: Finding Courage to Fight for You Marriage, Children, and Faith, Hammitt tells the story of his life with the band, his marriage, and the fight to turn around his marriage and family life.

Fans of Sanctus Real definitely will want to read Lead Me.  The story of Hammitt's life and marriage is interwoven with the life of the band.  They started playing together in high school, and Hammitt met his wife when he saw her at some of their shows.  As newlyweds they toured together, living with the rest of the band on the tour bus.  She worked the merch table while he played the shows.  Once they started having children, she stayed home while he was on the road.  The growing success of the band was contrasted with the growing tension of home/road life.  Hammitt is not shy about revealing the struggles they shared. 

I was reluctant to read Lead Me for one reason.  Whenever the song "Lead Me" comes on the radio, I have to resist the urge to change the station, not because I don't like the song but because the song is so convicting.  They sing:

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

My struggles are very different from Hammitt's but the song forces me to consider the ways and times I fail to lead my family.  I was relieved and encouraged to read Hammitt's confession that he feels the same way!  He writes that he sang this song at their shows with the reality nagging him that he was not living up to the message of the song.  "For years I sang it with shame.  Now it feels hopeful instead."

That's the good news; his own song played a part in convicting him to change his lifestyle, leave the band, and spend more time with his family.  He began to receive invitations to speak at marriage conferences and to join the teaching staff of FamilyLife.

Hammitt leads by example end encourages men with empathy to fix their priorities and to lead their families.  He points out that "many of us spent years dreaming about finding the right person, but how much did we spend dreaming about being the right person?"  "Lead Me" the song and now Lead Me the book encourage and convict me to be the man my wife dreams of and the husband and father God has called me to be.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!