B.D. Lawrence's Blog, page 10

Book Review of Chase The Lion by Mark Batterson

Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson

The subtitle of this book is “If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small.” Interesting premise, but I’m not sure I agree with the statement. However, I did enjoy the book and found it both helpful and encouraging. God can give us any size dreams. Every dream we have isn’t going to be so big it frightens us or so big it’s destined to change the world. It may change our world and the impact may be small, but it’s still a dream that God has enabled us to achieve.

Batterson uses stories from history, stories from modern day, and a lot of his own stories to discuss the various points about God giving us big dreams. These dreams, Batterson insists, are not just for us, but for our descendants as well. Dreams are inside of dreams. And possibly our dream is a continuation of someone else’s dream. And that someone else may not even be someone we knew. And our dream could be a set up for someone else’s dream down the line. Again, someone we may not even know.

The book is about following God’s vision for us. His plan for us. And in Batterson’s experience, those visions and his dreams are the same. I’d even say Batterson is using dream as a synonym for God’s calling. And if we want to take it down that route, then I understand his points better. If I substitute dream for calling, I can see how these are orchestrated by God, both before us and after us. I think as you read this book, you might find it helpful to look at it that way.

The Biblical basis and examples Batterson cite are from 2 Samuel 23. He discusses David’s mighty men, starting with Benaiah, who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day (a phrase you’ll read many times) and killed it. This chapter is a recount of the extraordinary deeds of David’s mighty men. Again, I struggled with equating dreams that I have with these mighty deeds. But again, if I change dreams to calling or to what God can and will enable me to do, then I can see the analogy.

I’m not trying to be overly critical but I also can see the danger of someone reading this and coming away thinking they are inferior or small because they don’t seem to have any grand dreams to do world-changing things. I don’t believe all of us are called to change the world. There are some, and possibly Batterson has been one of them. Hence the plethora of personal stories he relates on how he got to where he is. With that said, there is a lot of good material in this book. It can relate to all of us. And it is encouraging for those of us chasing a dream that at times seems out of reach and for those of us struggling with knowing or following what we believe to be a calling from God.

It’s the second of Batterson’s books I’ve read. The Circle Maker resonated more with me and is one book every Christian should read. But this book is close behind it, and well worth the read.

I’ll rank it ahead of Originals and I rated it a 5 out of 5 stars. My critique is more to set up expectations for those who read this review and then decide to read the book.

Non-Fiction

Chase the Lion by Mark BattersonOriginals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

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Book Review of No Where Safe by Kate Bold

No Where Safe by Kate Bold

This is crime fiction, so it hits the justice button. There is one relationship where redemption is achieved.

Harley Cole is an FBI agent who works in the behavioral analysis unit (BAU). She’s described as a profiler. This is a popular role for authors writing FBI crime thrillers. The book opens with Harley being suspended from that unit for going outside the lines while bringing a serial killer to justice. The story of that case would have been much more compelling than the story we were given. Maybe there’s a prequel?

Harley returns to her hometown in New Mexico. There, she’s recruited by the local FBI branch head to consult on a case where two young girls have been found dead in abandoned mines. The story focuses on Harley teaming up with another FBI agent named Calloway and tracking down the killer of those two girls.

This book has a lot of reviews and a lot of them 5 star. I don’t get it. I’ll give it 3 stars. The book suffers from many technical issues. The story itself is okay. The suspense is mediocre. No real thrills until the climax at the end. Unfortunately, the climatic action scene was confusing, so I got lost reading it. Unfortunately for this book, I read it right after reading a John Connolly book. His prose, as I stated in my review, is poetic and engrossing. The prose in No Where Safe is okay, just not memorable.

Most of the technical issues were minor. But the major one I’ve seen other authors make when they writer about the FBI. There is a misunderstanding of what cases the FBI takes. They generally take cases that involve federal crimes. Murder is a state crime in nearly all cases. When Harley gets to New Mexico, the FBI already has this case, the two murdered women. The state police of New Mexico has a major crime squad that would likely handle this type of case. The FBI could be requested, but they would not be sole investigative unit on the case unless a federal crime has been committed. Even in serial killer cases, the FBI works with local authorities. Someone like Kate Bold who has published many books should do better research than she did.

The other minor issues? While looking for a house in the desert Harley loses her cell signal. That’s understandable, but in this case the mapping program and GPS lost signal. Doesn’t happen. GPS doesn’t rely on either cell or WiFi. And if the route had been established when in cell range or WiFi, the map would have been downloaded. Fortunately, one can navigate without cell signal. At one point, Harley flashes her badge, the one she had to turn in when she was suspended. Harley is a profiler, yet never once works up a profile on the killer they are chasing. Once she suspected a serial killer, that would have been one of the first things she’d do. Finally, during a fight scene in a pitch black mine, the person being fought against is wearing night vision goggles. Harley has a flashlight. Only once does she shine that in the person’s face.

This book also suffered from another flaw that I’ve mentioned in several others I’ve reviewed. I just didn’t like Harley Cole. There was little to like about her. She was impetuous. Everybody she met she accused of being the killer. She sacrificed her marriage for her job. During the story she did very little to make herself likeable to anyone, though for some reason people bent over backwards for her. She was the proverbial bull in a china store.

Overall, the book was okay. I read to the end. The story was compelling enough to want to know who the killer was. But it’s unlikely I’ll read another from this author.

The book had some minor profanity. No on page sex. And the violence is reasonable and not graphic. This one moves to the end of the rankings at this point.

Every Dead Thing by John ConnollyCitadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko KloosNo Where Safe by Kate Bold

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Short Story: Blood on the Cat

Blood on the Cat

Marble Hill is a small town in Iowa. It was built so that no one ever has to make a left turn. Read the story and you’ll get the reference. This town also has a disproportionate amount of crime. Chief Tom Petrosky gave up his detective job with the Chicago police to move back to live with his mother after his father died. Many of the crimes that Chief Petrosky will take on are based on real life crimes. Some well-known, others not so much.

Blood on the Cat is one of those stories based on a true crime. But in this case, the main resemblance to the real crime is one of the pivotal pieces of evidence, the blood on the cat. Don’t try to figure out what crime this is based on, as it’s something I found on the internet looking at case files quite a few years back.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Chief Tom Petroskly, forensics officer Patricia Johnson, and some of the residents of Marble Hill. Check back each month for new installments into the Marble Hill Crime Blotter.

Read the story

Book Review of Originals by Adam Grant

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

I read this book for work, so it has nothing to do with justice or vengeance. But potentially, it could be redeeming, bringing out one’s hidden innovation potential.

Originals covers many areas. These areas include how creative people differ, how original ideas are thought up and moved forward, actions for leaders to encourage originality in organizations, tips for people to shake up the status quo, research on innovation, and more. Grant writes about what drives innovation and originality, the different types of people who are innovators, how originals form coalitions and how they can best drive their ideas. He discusses first movers (pioneers) versus settlers and the advantages and disadvantages. There’s a section on cultures that drive innovation and good decision making. As a writer, I found many of the concepts in the book both enlightening and encouraging.

Adam Grant also sheds light on historical figures who he classifies as originals. Some of these are or were innovators. Some are or were organizational leaders. Some are or were cultural movers and shakers. The history interwoven with the concepts brought the concepts to life and showed how they apply.

Grant references many research studies and case studies. The back of the book has over thirty pages of references.

My only complaint is that Grant jumps from idea to idea frequently, so the reader needs to pay attention. I took quite a few notes. The chapters are long, but they do include sub-headings. If you’re like me and like to stop at the end of a chapter, you can at least stop at a section end. Overall, it’s a short book with less than three hundred pages of content, excluding the references.

I recommend this book to pretty much everyone. I believe all of us, wherever we are on the spectrum of an original or innovator can take something of use away from this book.

Since I will be reading and reviewing several non-fiction books this year, I’ll have two separate rankings, one for fiction and one for non-fiction. Being the first non-fiction book, it tops the list.

Non-Fiction

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant

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Book Review of Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

All three of the themes are in this intense crime thriller. Revenge as Charlie Parker pursues the man responsible for his wife and daughter’s death (no spoiler, it’s in the prologue), justice as most crime thrillers and PI novels deliver. Redemption started. As this is the first in a series of currently twenty books, redemption will play out slowly. I reached back in time as this novel was released in 1999. Number twenty was release in 2022.

Charlie “Bird” Parker is an ex-New York cop who retired after a brutal murder of his wife and daughter. This book is really two books. One could stop after part two of four parts and feel they’ve read an entire story. Parts three and four are the second case that Parker pursues, though it’s a case he’s been pursuing since he retired, the killer of his family.

Parker isn’t officially a private investigator – no license yet – but he’s asked by a former colleague to help find a missing woman. This leads him to Virginia and into the search for a serial killer who has been murdering children. After resolving this case, he’s led to New Orleans on a tip that the killer of his family may have killed a woman there. This killer is bizarre. His murders are graphic and gruesome.

This novel is a classic private eye novel. We have the loner tough guy who has limited social skills, though Parker gets by. He works with not just one, but two shady sidekicks. Parker is a recovering alcoholic. He falls in love but pushes the woman away, so it doesn’t last. He has a love / hate relationship with the local authorities. He blurs the lines between legality and criminal behavior in the name of solving the case. All the tropes we’d expect of a PI novel.

Connolly writes poetically. Some of his descriptions jump off the page and immerse the reader in the scene. My only issue with that is believing Parker is that philosophically deep. The writer is present in this book and sometimes took me away from the character as I struggled to reconcile the prose with the lone ex-cop PI character of Charlie Parker.

My second complaint is more around my preferences. This book is long. And we get deep backstory on characters that are maybe present for fifty pages total and on some that are not even in the story. We also get deep backstory on New Orleans and many of the locations in the city. Many readers enjoy this and if that’s you, coupled with Connolly’s excellent writing craft, you’ll enjoy this story. I could have done without all the backstories of minor characters, who I forgot twenty pages later anyway. But the story engrossed me and kept me plowing through.

As for content, some profanity, though not over the top considering the dark story. A little on page sex. No over the top violence, but descriptions of the murder scenes are gruesome and graphic.

This is book read number two this year, and I’ll rank it ever so slightly above Citadel. Will it stay number one? Time will tell.

Every Dead Thing by John ConnollyCitadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos

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Book Review of Citadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos

Citadel (The Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos

I had to read book three after finishing book two of this series. This final volume (or is it?) definitely has justice. The adversaries are out for revenge. And one of our main characters finds redemption, though in an unusual way.

Like book two (find the review here), this book is told through the eyes of the same four characters. This interesting approach does have some limitations as some of the action we the readers must infer because it happens off screen. The four characters continued to fascinate me. They all have interesting journeys. And I can see all of them continuing in future books.

I’m not going to rehash the story as you can read that in my previous review. I looked forward each night to reading this book. It had a terrific build up to the climax. Good drama, action, suspense, and excitement.

I only have two complaints. First, the climax was a letdown. If we use a boiling kettle of water as our gauge measuring a climax where lukewarm is a total flop and violent boiling is unparalleled excitement, this one is hot water almost ready to boil. I found after the long build up, it cooled off too much. Kloos turned down the flame. Things were too easy. I appreciate the length being cut off at three hundred plus pages, but I could have tolerated another fifty to seventy-five pages for a more action-packed finish with a bow put on it.

Which leads to my second complaint. Kloos left many things wide open. We never find out any actual names of people behind the insurgency, except one who is alluded to. And the insurgents still have people and equipment floating around out in space. Maybe Mr. Kloos will write another volume? We’ll see. If not, then it would have been nice to have a bow on things.

I recommend the entire three book series to any science fiction fans out there, especially if you like military science fiction. Even if you aren’t all that keen on military SF, this one has plenty for everyone. The characterization is solid, the action good and it’s not too technical for someone not that interested in the science of science fiction, but technical enough for those who are.

And like book two, it’s mostly clean. There is some profanity, but it’s not over the top. And many of the characters are military, law enforcement or spacers, so it could have been much more. No on page sex. The violence is muted.

First review of the year, so of course, it sits at number 1.

Citadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos

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Book review of Ballistic (The Palladium Wars book 2) by Marko Kloos

Ballistic (The Palladium Wars book 2) by Marko Kloos

I’ve strayed from my usual crime fiction and read this military science fiction book. It’s book two of a three book series. I’d read book one over a year ago and decided it was time to finish the series. As for theme, it does carry a theme of revenge with some characters experiencing redemption. Whether there’s justice, we’ll have to wait and see in book three.

The backdrop of the story is set five years after a war between several planets ended. The planet Gretia invades the planet Pallas trying to grab palladium, a valuable mineral that all the planets use. Gretia loses the war and is now occupied by the conquering planets’ military. But now, someone is stirring the pot. Throughout book one and two, we don’t know who that someone is. Could be Gretian separatist protesting the occupation or could be someone else. But it becomes clear in book two that this group wants a new war to start.

Kloos tells his story through the eyes of four very different characters, who in the beginning are completely disconnected. In this book, those characters start to come together. Aden spent many years in a Rhodian (Rhodia – another of the planets) prison as he was a Gretian Blackguard. In book one, he’s released from prison and is trying to start a new life. Solvieg is the heir to a large corporation on Gretia. She’s thrust into leadership because her dad has sanctions placed on him due to the war. Idina is a Pallas (another planet) military sergeant who is part of the occupying force of Gretia. Dunstan is a Rhodian commander of a military ship patrolling space helping to keep the trade routes safe.

The world that Kloos builds is believable and fascinating. For fans of military or any science fiction, this book should rank up there with other great series. Both book one and book two end in cliff hangers. The downside of a series like this is book two and three are not stand alone enough to only read one of them. You’ll need to read the series. And that’s where I’m headed next is book three.

This is a fairly clean read. Some profanity but not as much as you might read if it was a modern military novel. No on page sex. No over the top violence.

The four primary characters all have their flaws but are all likeable. The plot moves well and kept me reading. I rarely wanted to put the book down, but sleep is still a necessity. If you’ve never read military science fiction, this would be a good series to start with as it’s an easy read. The technology is handled well. Nothing overly complicated nor totally unbelievable. I’ve enjoyed this series and look forward to book three.

I’ll rank this one sixth of the books I’ve read this year. Not quite a five star, but a high four-star.

The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenLost Light by Michael ConnellyBallistic by Marko KloosMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasBorn to Die by Lisa JacksonCalculated Risk by Lynn ShannonThe Tapestry Bag by Isabella MuirThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott

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Book Review of Calculated Risk by Lynn Shannon

Calculated Risk by Lynn Shannon

This surprisingly good book (I’ll get to the surprisingly in a bit) was about justice, with vengeance as the motive for the bad guys, and redemption around love for both the main characters. I say surprisingly because this is a romantic suspense novel, thus going into it I figured mostly romance with a dribble of suspense. However, this book featured a lot of suspense. Lynn Shannon upped the thrills as the book went on. It’s an intense story and kept me on edge while reading, wondering what would happen next.

Addison Foster is a lawyer who represents women who have been battered and are trying to get out of their marriage. She lives next door to Jason Gonzalez, an ex-marine who is suffering from PTSD. Yes, it’s this couple that spends the entire book making excuses as to why they can’t get together as a couple. Addison’s ex-husband abused her. He’s now dead due to an overdose. Therefore, she’s reluctant to enter into another relationship. Jason was the sole survivor in an incident in Afghanistan, so suffers not only from PTSD but from survivor’s guilt. Therefore, he isn’t worthy of Addison’s love. Enough of the romance. If you like the standard romance tropes, you’ll like this novel. And if you like suspense thrillers, you’ll definitely like this novel.

Someone is trying to kill Addison. The first chapter starts with an attempt on her life. And every couple chapters throughout, until the climax, there are more attempts. The ante is upped as the story goes on. The mystery is okay. There’s a limited set of suspects, but there could be someone we don’t really know as well, since Addison’s job makes a lot of ex-husbands angry. Addison and Jason feel they must find out who the killer is because of distrust of the police, due to one of the suspects being wealthy and friends with the police chief. Addison goes through a couple scenarios and a couple of main suspects. The climax has a surprise, though it was set up earlier, so the reader will say, “Oh yeah, I thought so and so was involved.” You’ll have to read the book to find out who so and so is.

This is a Christian novel as well. And the Christianity is well-done. Jason and Addison are Christians. But unlike a previous Christian suspense novel I reviewed, not everyone around them is. This book seemed a more realistic mix of Christian and non-Christian. And it’s a good example of people who try to live a Christ-like life. The thing missing is there is no presentation of the Gospel, no testimony from any of the characters. Prayer and reliance on God are weaved into the story. Christian and non-Christian alike will enjoy this book.

Being a Christian novel, it’s clean. No profanity. No on page sex. Just some kissing. And the violence is reasonable and necessary for the story. I’m going to put this at number ten. It’s a good book and I recommend it for anyone that likes clean suspense thrillers with a romantic element. And this is book one of a series called Triumph of Adversity. There are currently six in the series.

The Letter Keeper by Charles MartinRight Behind You by Lisa GardnerMoonlight Awakens by John Matthew WalkerWin by Harlen CobenLost Light by Michael ConnellyMurder Board by Brian SheaAnna: A Cliff Ford Mystery by Terry TolerThe Man Burned by Winter by Pete ZachariasBorn to Die by Lisa JacksonCalculated Risk by Lynn ShannonThe Tapestry Bag by Isabella MuirThe Mechanic by Tom FowlerInto the Flames by Liz BradfordYou Are Invited by Sarah A DenzilGirl, Alone by Blake PierceOne Night in Sedona by Carrie Latimer.Coffin Cove by Jackie Elliott

Commission earned

Short story: The Greatest Gift

The Greatest Gift

I’m taking a departure from the normal theme of my stories to offer you this Christmas story.

I don’t know about you, but for me and my family, 2022 has been a rough year. In the span of thirteen months, we lost three parents.

I am dedicating this story to the memory of my parents. My mother died in August and my father in November. Please note, though, the story in no way reflects our family.

I hope you’ll enjoy this story and more importantly, I hope you find encouragement, hope and the Christmas spirit in this story.

Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Merry Christmas.

Was Justice Served?

Was Justice Served?

 

Last month, a man named Murray Hooper was executed in Arizona for a double murder that occurred in 1980. He’d been in prison for forty-two years before being executed. According to the article lower courts had previously rejected attempts to introduce DNA and fingerprints from the crime scene. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute plea.

The quote in the article from Mark Brnovich, the Arizona Attorney General, was, “The people of Arizona made it clear once again that those who commit heinous crimes in our state will be held accountable.” But were those who committed this crime held accountable? There were two other men convicted with Murray Hooper and they both died in prison.

I’m not here to argue for or against capital punishment. Arizona has capital punishment. What I’m arguing is that our justice system is messed up if criminals convicted of a capital crime sit in prison for forty-two years before the sentence is carried out. And if a person has been on death row for that long, and is now seventy-six years old, is there really a point to the execution?

The article went on to say that this was the first execution since 2014, when they were halted. Okay, but that means Hooper had been incarcerated for thirty-four years at that point.

Why does it take that long to carry out a death sentence? Our justice system needs an overhaul. If there is going to be capital punishment, then it needs a process in place to carry out the executions within a reasonable amount of time. Appeals should not take more than six months. Therefore, if appealing to the three courts above the district court, the longest someone should stay on death row is eighteen months.

The governor can always stay an execution as well if there is doubt or circumstances warranting a stay.

I’m sure there’s some family around that remember what happened and maybe they’ve been given some closure. However, they’ve had to live without that closure for forty-two years. One might argue that the victims were once again slighted by the court system, a trend that seems to be increasing.

As far as the rest of Arizona, I doubt there’s many people who remember what happened. The message sent wasn’t what Brnovich thought it was. We have not told criminals that they will be held accountable, at least to the point of death, when it takes that long to carry out the sentence. Quite the opposite. Don’t worry about the death penalty. Chances are, if caught, you’ll die in prison. For this crime, that was the result for two-thirds of the convicted criminals.

There are two primary benefits to the death penalty. Neither of which was realized in this case. First, as crass as it may sound, is cost. We’ve held a prisoner for forty-two years. The average cost of an inmate in an Arizona prison is roughly $25,000. Holding Hooper for forty-two years cost the state just over $1M. At that point, another few years would not have mattered much.

The second benefit of the death penalty is as a deterrent. If executions are swift and public, they can be a deterrent for capital crimes. However, in this case, it certainly wasn’t swift. The risk reward factor of committing a capital crime does not bring execution into play when death row inmates stay in prison for decades.

If we are going to use capital punishment, then we need to use it effectively. Leaving prisoners convicted of capital crimes in prison for decades is not an effective use of capital punishment. Justice, in this case, was not served. The courts and the state failed the victims and the citizens.