Fascinomas - Fascinating Medical Mysteries

Fascinomas is a book of true medical mysteries. Each short story presents the patient’s symptoms and then goes into the process of making the diagnosis. These are interesting cases with unusual symptoms and the diagnoses takes a lot of true detective work. The stories have been collected by the author from different doctors around the country. My favorite story was Chapter 9, Medicine Can Be a Humbling Profession. Of course to explain why it was my favorite would give away the mystery and I won’t do that, but it was honest and definitely humbling for the doctor involved. Clifton K. Meador, M.D. is also the author of True Medical Detective Stories , another excellent book on medical mysteries. I highly recommend both True Medical detective Stories and Fascinomas-Fascinating Medical Mysteries. Love the book's cover!!

Grief: A Mama’s Unwanted Journey by Shelley Ramsey

This is a difficult book to read and I am sure a difficult book to write.  This is also a difficult review to write. 

If you want to know what the experience is “like” when you lose a child, the author explains it well. I could identify with all of the emotions, shock, and reactions from other people. I could especially relate to the example of the friend that spotted her in a store and immediately turned her back and walked away. It would have been much more helpful, however, to explain more about how deeply these reactions hurt. 

Unfortunately, if you are going through this experience, and you are looking for guidance or comfort, there is not much here.  Her story is all about her and her son and there is very little reaching out to try to understand the grief of others.  This is evident in her repeating over and over that her son did nothing wrong and made no mistakes even though he died in a single-car accident.  She explains in detail how God provided for the pastor of her church to be with her husband when he was informed of the death. How perfectly her church guided them through the experience. I saw no effort to see through the eyes of someone whose experience was different, and the attitude was as if God gave her family preferential treatment. Did you have more faith than I? No, I don't think so.

I'm sure that writing this book was helpful for the author, but I don't think she was at a stage in her grief at which she could look beyond self and reach out to others.

What Are You Afraid Of? By David Jeremiah

If we are honest, we will admit that no matter how strong our faith, we sometimes have fears.  In What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears With Faith, we learn to face those fears, work through them,

and revitalize our faith.  The fears covered in this book are common uncertainties such as financial security, illness death, and even a fear of God. Using his own experience and those of others, Dr. Jeremiah gives practical advice and encouragement to bring the fears under control.

This is not a light read, but neither is it dry. The stories are interesting and the advice pertinent to our daily lives.  I received this book from Tyndale for review so I read it through, but I plan to go back and read it as a Bible study, perhaps a chapter a week. 

Settled Blood by Mari Hannah

Settled Blood is the second in the DCI Kate Daniels series. The book seemed to be a little too much of an attempt to be an all inclusive genre. This mystery, thriller, suspense, police procedure and lesbian romance instead ended up a little muddled. There are very descriptive crime scenes, and the high suspense tension lasts until the end of the story.

I usually enjoy a methodical police procedure, but in this book, it seemed the details were too repetitive. How many reports does the DCI Kate Daniels need to receive ( and seem surprised about) stating the fall victim was alive when she hit the ground. It did nothing to add to the horror of the crime. Also, the pining over her ex-girlfriend seemed out of place in the middle of a tense drama.

This is a British author so there were quite a few terms and British slang that I was not familiar with, but that was not a big drawback because it just took a quick search online to find definitions. It did break up the flow of the story though.

A copy of this e-book was provided by Edelweiss, Above the Treeline.

Last Light by Terri Blackstock

We have all had situations arise when our power goes out, sometimes for a day or two.  What would happen if it went out everywhere. How would our smart-phone addicted society react without anything electronic?
Last Light explores how a family adjusts and recreates their lives under the most primitive of conditions.  Travel, food shortages, lack of medical care are all situations explored in the story.

The characters were realistic and well-done, but the oldest daughter, Deni, was so unlikable that I really didn't care about her or her goals.   Had she been portrayed as younger I could have understood her bad choices, but at her age she should have been more mature.

This is definitely a solid Christian book with scripture and Christian philosophy of life as the family struggles with decisions concerning sharing, concern for others, suspicion of neighbors and working together as a community.

A Very Sad Time

Michael Palmer, one of my absolute favorite authors died has passed away. His 20th novel, Resistant, is to be published in May. His memorial service is today.

Darkness First by James Hayman

When a doctor reaches out to try to help an abused woman, the woman ends up dead and the doctor severely injured.   Suspicion surrounds the doctor when a bag of Oxy is found in her pocket.  Detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe know the killers name, but soon learn that is leading them nowhere, and the murdered woman’s young sister is in grave danger.

Darkness First does an amazing job of drawing the reader deep into the story. With its shifting locations and characters, the story is progresses very meticulously.  There is the perfect balance of narration and dialog, and the characters are well-developed and interesting. This mystery/police procedural was an all-around great read, and I highly recommend it for fans of this genre.

I received a review copy of this book from Witness Impulse in return for an honest and fair review.

If You Were Me and Lived In Norway by Carole P. Roman

Carole P. Roman's If You Were Me series travels this time to "The Land of the Midnight Sun", Norway.  As her previous books in this series,she gives bits of information about the country that would be most
interesting to children.  It covers places you would go, activities you would participate in, foods you would eat, and basic information about daily life in Norway.

I am always so impressed with these books. Text appears on one page with a full page illustration on the facing page. The illustrations are colorful and detailed.  This is an excellent introduction for children to the world around us and cultures that are different from ours. I highly recommend the entire series.

Robert B Parker's Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman

I enjoyed very much this latest Jesse Stone book. The author, Michael Brandman, is carrying forward the late Robert B Parker's series.   I have not read all of books in the original Stone series, but the character in this book was exactly as I expected him to be. His moods, actions, and interactions with the characters are all as I envisioned Jesse to be.  The only problem I had was the portrayal of Jesse as a cat person instead of a dog person!  

 I especially enjoyed the interaction with Jesse and his friend in the nursing home and it was absolutely in character for Jesse. Although a little different, it is still a great addition to the story of Jesse Stone. I hope CBS will pick up this book and make another Tom Sellick Jesse Stone movie!

365 Pocket Devotions

The best way to start my day is a good devotion to focus on the things of God. 365 Pocket Devotions has a daily text with a Bible verse taken mostly from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Each day begins with “A reflection on:” and then a main topic, followed by times when this topic will be most applicable to my life. Just a few of the topics are Gentleness, Hope, Joy, Unanswered Prayer, Finding True Life and Grace. There is also a Topical Index at the back for those days you may need a particular topic.  In spite of our busy days, these brief passages are perfect for a quick focus for the day.

The Bible passages are perfectly matched with the devotion text, not something I always find in devotionals, and even though the text is short, they are meaningful. One of the shortest devotions was on Hope, and I thought it was also one of the most powerful.

The cover is a pretty color that stands out so I can’t misplace it. It is made of smooth imitation leather and the binding seems very secure for long use.

My only complaint was the numbering of the pages. Instead of a perpetual calendar type labeling, it was just Day 1, Day 2, etc. I found it much more difficult to remember where I was, although it does have a ribbon place marker which does help. I would still have preferred a month and day format.

I received a review copy from Tyndale in return for my honest opinion. 

Grievous Bodily Harm by Jane Bennett Munro

Marcus Manning is hired to help with transitioning a privately owned hospital to one of the large hospital corporations. Unfortunately, he is an over-the-top jerk harassing his subordinates. Just one of those subordinates is the main character, Toni Day. The story held my interest, but there was absolutely nothing believable in the story. The culture in the hospital didn't ring true, and most of the characters have such exaggerated personalities that they became obnoxious, especially the wise-crackin’ Toni. While I know the book was written in a lighthearted manner, there was one incident in the book that just irritated me. Toni and another character, Jeannie, are talking about other hospital employees and one in particular. She was a fellow medical professional, a Certified Nursing Assistant, and they ridiculed her lack of education. They also called her feeble minded.
It was Just OK for me and I think it needed less dialog and more narration.

Bumper Wipe Clean Activities by Juliet David and Illustrated by Marie Allen

Nice and compact, this Bumper Wipe Clean Activities book can be carried along for use while traveling or for a home busy-book. The book has bright colors and good illustrations and with seventy pages of activities, it will keep a child busy for a quite a while. Of course, the wipe-clean feature allows for reuse.  The activities include dot-to-dot, mazes, tracing words and numbers, color pages, drawing pages, misplaced items, same or different, and so much more.  The hardcover and laminated pages are very sturdy and the book opens flat for ease of use.

The book comes with one dry-erase marker, but a note on the back of the book states that most good quality felt-tip pens and crayons can be used on the laminated pages.  The book is labeled for 3+ and for most of the activities that is a good guideline.  I recommend this as a project book or a fun devotional activity book.

I received a review copy for Kregel in exchange for a honest review.

Stillwell, A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash

Stillwell is a very sad story of the grief of a newly widowed father, his children, and the adjustments they must make. The grief overwhelms most of the book and the ghost story gets rather lost in it. I wish the dramatic scenes at the old home had started more slowly and built up gradually. The house and grounds needed more description in a way to create more of a creepy atmosphere. I did like the characters and it was a fast easy read.

Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold by Joyce Magnin

Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold is the second Harriet Beamer book. In the first book Harriet has come to point in her life when her family thinks it is best that she move across the country to live with them. Now in the second book Harriet is settle in, but is restless and looks for things to do and friends to find. She meets Lily and Old Man Crickets, a teen and her father. Harriet immediately gets swept into “gold fever”. This is a lighthearted book a quick read, and even a little silly in places. The message of what having a true treasure is evident as Harriet spends more time with her son and gets better acquainted with her daughter-in-law, Prudence. It was an OK book, but I preferred the first book for two reasons. In the first book Harriet’s personality was that of a long-time married woman, recently widowed, becoming a bit of a free spirit. Although I don’t think it was the intent of the author, in this book, I think Harriet came across as someone flighty and of impaired judgment due to aging. The other reason was that I was totally put off by a conversation Harriet had with the illegal aliens hired to do construction work in Henry’s home and the following discussion about it between Henry and Prudence.

Zondervan has provided me with a complimentary advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®. in exchange for an honest review.

The Fastest Growing Religion on Earth by Doug Bremner

Full Title: The Fastest Growing Religion on Earth: How Genealogy Captured the Brains and Imaginations of Americans

The title is a little misleading as this book is not about religion, but more about a growing obsession and passion for genealogy. I have spent about twelve years researching my genealogy, but I have always found that it is difficult to be interested in someone else’s history. Fortunately, Douglas Bremner is an excellent writer, and he has the ability to draw the reader into his story. I found it a little difficult to follow at times, but then I find it hard to follow my research when it gets a few generations back. This is not a recitation of names and places, but a real story of the history of this family and the struggle in finding information about a broken family. I enjoyed reading about his method of finding and connecting with people for whom he hoped would hold the key to his story.