SOLVED. Christian fiction from the early 90s - not Peretti [s]

[Kimberly]

All I remember is: man sees woman, falls in love on sight. He's rough & crude; she's a Christian & not at all his type. She gets kidnapped, somehow he does, too ..... they are held in the same place & are tortured, i.e. stung by scorpions ..... he is let go or escapes, converts to Christianity & goes to stay with her parents. They receive a message from her & she's using the biblical names of mountains & such to describe where she has been taken - like the names are "relatives" of hers. The man recognizes the names because he's reading the Old Testament right then, deduces where she is, rescues her & they live happily ever after. Or, something like that. :)

[Kimberly]

I believe the torture included scorpions stinging their eyes ....... any ideas at all?

Someone on another site suggested Peretti, but I've read all of his book synopses & I don't think it's him.

I remember the book being over 500 pages long & I read it in one day - it was that good.

[Kimberly]

Nothing? :(
Everyone else is getting responses, but not me. Did I forget anything? Could I answer something else?

[Andria]

Sometimes it takes awhile, Kimberly. Hang in there and bump your thread every few weeks. Sooner or later someone will know it! I've tried looking around a bit for you, but haven't turned anything up yet. Here's a few questions, though:

Would you say the subgenre was more romance or thriller/adventure?

Where did you get the book? If it was from a library there's a better chance of it turning up in a searchable database. Can you remember anything about the kidnappers or why these two were abducted? Any other details you can remember may help jog someone's memory or provide just the right keyword for searching!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Andria forgot to as you--when did you read this? So we have a "published be XX" search feature. Even if all you can remember is, "last half of 90's" or "first half of 00's". That's still a help.

Also, was it set in contemporary times or was it historical?

[Kimberly]

I read it DEFINITELY early 90s & I got it from my brother. It was contemporary - not historical. I do not, unfortunately, remember why they were kidnapped or the circumstances involved. I'm sorry for being pushy, but I've really, REALLY been looking for this for years (like an itch you can't reach to scratch) & never had anyone even try to help me. I just thought this was that all over again. I will just comment once-in-awhile from now on. Promise.

[Kimberly]

Was not a library book & wasn't all about romance. It was the rest of the story that made it so good. Guy saw girl & told his pals "That's the one for me" - but got way more than he bargained for with her. I've even asked my brother to ask his wife - her cousin read it in a day, too - & they don't remember. It had Christian elements, but wasn't strictly Christian fiction - if that makes sense. I'll ask my brother again, too. Thanks for your help!

[Lee Anne]

Hmm, asked my mom too and this doesn't sound familiar to us, but she wants to read it when it gets found!

Do you think it was from a Christian publisher, or just a general fiction publisher?

[D.M.]

Was it end times, or just a thriller?

[Kimberly]

I want to say female author & Christian publisher ....... but, it was so long ago & I literally DEVOURED the book, so my memories aren't the clearest. It was NOT about the end times. It was set in present-day & was just a novel - not a prophetic interpretation.

[Andria]

Tourmaline, maybe? It seems to have a scene involving scorpions used as torture, from what I can tell from a Google book search.

[Kimberly]

I will check it out!

[Kimberly]

I requested it through the library I work for. I'll let you know!!!!!!!!!

[Sarah]

If it's not the title listed above, you might look intoTed Dekker's stuff.

[Kimberly]

Most DEFINITELY "Tourmaline" by Jon Henderson. Thank you ALL for helping me find this book!!!!!!!!! It has been bothering me for YEARS.

How did you search for this on Google? I have put "tortured with scorpion stings to the eyes" in every way possible & never got anything!

This needs put in the solved category & again - thank you all SO much!!!!!!

[Andria]

Yay! So happy that's the right one!! You're very welcome and I'll move the thread to Solved for you.

I found it by doing an advanced book search, limiting publication date and publisher (trying a few of the top Christian publishing houses) and using just the keyword "scorpion"