Sam Skolnik, High Stakes

Gambling is big business in the United States. And it's not only on Reservations; many states are in the business too, with the proliferation of lotteries and other government-sponsored venues. But at what cost. In High Stakes: The Rising Cost of America's Gambling Addiction, journalist Sam Skolnik investigates the growth of gambling and the growth of its aftermath. Skolnik's study is a systematic look at gambling and addiction from a number of perspectives. He looks at the growing state dependence on gambling, as more and more state governments rely on lottery revenue to fund their budgets (but at what cost?). He also looks carefully at the rise of problem gambling that has inevitably followed on the heels of the increased legalization and availability of gambling. With both stories of people who have been affected, and large scale investigation into the character and scope of problem gambling especially in the United States, Skolnik has written an important book. Especially as many states look at budget shortfalls and grab at the chance for quick revenue, it is essential that we come to grips with the true cost of gambling. Among the important problems he cites are the conflicted role that government plays, with both the desire to protect its citizens but also to profit from the revenues, and the need for independent research into the causes and extent of gambling addiction, as much current research is funded directly or indirectly by the gambling industry itself. In all, this is an informative read on an important and timely topic, and I hope it gains a wide readership. Thanks to Amazon.come Vine program and the publisher for the review copy.

Rick McKinley, A Kingdom Called Desire

In A Kingdom Called Desire, pastor Rick McKinley takes a look at the life of discipleship to Jesus through the lens of desire.In a culture keyed in on finding the thing that will make us the most happy, McKinley calls us to carefully search out our desires, first because God in fact created them, and second, so we can honestly face up to the question of whether we do in fact desire God the most. And it is in the latter, the deep and true desire for God, that McKinley develops his picture of kingdom living. And part of this involves recognizing honestly the desires God has placed within us and recognizing and developing the God-given desire for him that rests beneath them. In a key chapter, "Life and Death," McKinley gets to the heart of what this transformation of desire entails, as he reflects on the need to face our own mortality, and as we do this, to learn to cling to the cross. "I wanted to cling to one part of the gospel: his death for me. I don't want to grapple with the implications of my death in him" (53). Instead of making our own lives into idols, we must come to grips with our own death in Christ, and our new life as Christ lives in us. It is then that we learn to focus on Jesus and desire him and the coming of his kingdom. And key to this new life is that we no longer act out of duty, of a need to produce the life God can appreciate or that can make us worthy before God, we are no longer seeking to do the right thing to avoid negative consequences, but are instead living into the life God has for us, and sin begins to loose its attraction for us. This transformation of life then begins to work itself out in our lives as we begin to recognize the God-given desires that are unique to us, and we see the way God has made us to be, allowing us to seek out things that are God-glorifying and are at the same time fitting to the way God has made us to be, a deep freedom to become who God made us to be in him.

McKinley's book has a nice conversational quality that keeps it from becoming either too academic or to preachy. He also takes an honest tone that gives credibility to his discussion. And I found his discussion of the concept of desire to be overall a helpful one, as I think finding our fulfillment through the realization of our own personal desires is a key idea in our culture today, but also has some potential as an entry point for reimagining our relationship to God. The danger, of course, is of making the gospel a self-help program or a path to personal fulfillment, though I think McKinley is aware of these dangers and steers mostly clear of them. I may quibble with a few points, but overall found his approach to have some merit. I especially appreciated his call to honestly investigate our desires, to see if we truly are desiring God or if we are merely paying lip service to our faith. IN all, this book has some good things to say to those who want to desire God and live for him.

Thanks to the publisher and Amazon.com Vine program for the review copy.

Ben Witherington III and Ann Witherington, Papias and the Mysterious Menorah

Ben and Ann Witherington have done it again in this third installment of the Art West series of mysteries. Paipas and the Mysterious Menorah is a fast-moving archaeological thriller filled with tantalizing discoveries of "biblical" proportions. Biblical scholar and archaeologist Art West finds himself consulting on a new cache of scrolls in Turkey that seem to be from the second Christian century. And as he gets involved with the dig and the newly discovered documents, it quickly becomes evident they have unearthed something of grand significance: the home, church, and writings of the famous second-century bishop, Papias. But the plot quickly thickens as Art is trapped and nearly killed in a tunnel connected to the home. As he recovers from his near miss, Art and fellow archaeologist Marissa Okur, the supervisor of the dig and a person of growing "interest" to Art, find themselves on a whirlwind journey to both understand the significance of the Paipas house and scrolls and to understand the forces that seem to be nefariously aligning against them. Meanwhile, West's friend Kahlil el Said and his daughter Hannah have chosen a wedding gift from their antiquities shop for their mutual friend Grace Levine's upcoming wedding, but the provenance and mysterious contents of their fortuitously chosen menorah come to light, even more mystery and discovery ensue.

I greatly enjoyed the first two installments of the Witheringtons' Art West Adventures, and this third volume is certainly no different. The writing is solid, the settings are uniformly enjoyable, as are the characters. Especially valuable is the obvious familiarity with both the ancient and modern intricacies of the middle east, as well as the thorough knowledge of biblical studies and archaeology that they bring. And unlike Dan Brown's imaginative fiction concerning Christian origins, the Witheringtons' imaginings are informed and plausible, even if they occasionally indulge some of Ben's minority opinions (such as the fictional confirmation of Lazarus's identity as the "Beloved Disciple" in the fourth gospel), but none of these judgments can be argued to be misleading or distorting. And for me one of the greatest values of these great mysteries, beyond their obvious intrinsic worth as fun reads, is that they bring to life the investigation of the ancient world and its documents and dramatize the revelations that can come from the pursuit and interpretation of ancient sites and documents. So I highly recommend all of three of the extant Art West Adventures, and look forward to the unveiling of future volumes.

Special thanks to Bob Todd and Pickwick Publications for the review copy.

William Kent Krueger, Northwest Angle

Thanks to Amazon Vine and the publisher for the review copy.

In this mystery filled with wonderful texture, Cork O'Connor and his family encounter mysterious evil forces in the aftermath of an epic storm that sweeps across the Lake of the Woods. While vacationing near the Northwest Angle in northern Minnesota, the O'Connors are caught in a fierce and destructive storm which scatters them across the lake. Jenny, Cork's daughter, washes up on a small island and discovers, in the storm's aftermath, a murdered woman and her hidden infant. This sets in motion a great chase, as unknown forces seem to be after the child. The O'Connors are eventually reuinted, but the plot only thickens as they begin to put the pieces together. The murdered woman, Lily Smalldog, worked for a reclusive band of fundamentalist Christians driven by apocalyptic visions of the End Times, and though they seemed to care for her, something doesn't seem right. Meanwhile, Lily's fugitive brother is on the loose, and Cork needs to figure out how he fits into the puzzle before more people get killed.

Krueger writes like a Tony Hillerman of the North, as Cork's Ojibwe heritage and the Native American background of the mother and baby come to play a key role in the story. He also develops a number of the characters, as each wrestles with the past, as well as trying to forge a way into the future. Jenny agonizes over her relationship with her boyfriend, Aaron, with the question of children at the center of the conflict. Cork is tring to move forward after the death of his wife, and is reluctant to be caught up in more violence. And in numerous characters, as well as in the main plotline of the book, the nature and identity of God/The Great Mystery become a key element, with the certainty of the fundamentalists and their End Times vision of God occupying one extreme, Henry Meloux and Amos Powassin, two Objiwe wise men and their vision of The Great Mystery on the other end, with Mal and Rose, Cork's brother- and sister-in law, and their Catholicism occupying a more moderate voice. Cork embodies this larger theme, with his spirituality coming "as much from the teaching of men like Henry Meloux, the old Ojibwe Mide, as it did from the text of the New Testament" (181). This honest wrestling with God's nature and purposes lends an agreeable depth and reflectiveness to the mystery genre and serves to make this a great read, both as a compelling mystery and as a work of thoughtful fiction. Though I personally may not agree with the way Cork chooses to resolve some of these themes (in what appears to be an easy syncretism between Ojibwe spirituality and Christianity), I do appreciate the authenticity of the questions and the perspectives that are being portrayed, and hope the dialogue continues in his future books.

In capturing the texture of the Lake of the Woods (I had the pleasure of reading the first half of the book while on a fishing trip there), and the people who live there, as well as building deep and interesting characters, Krueger has written a great book. I look forward to reading some of his others.

Stephen Lawhead, The Skin Map

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy. This book is the first in a new series by the prolific author Stephen Lawhead. The concept is a relatively intriguing one: London-resident Kit Livingstone sumbles on a "Ley line," an invisible portal between different universes of our multiverse. He is apparently possessive of some faculty that allows him to do this. And things get immediately stranger when he meets his great-grandfather, who helps him understand this new ability and this trans-universe travel. Soon he, and separately his casual girlfriend Wihlehmina, are off on adventures in other times and places. Wilhelmina ends up in 17th century Prague, and her storyline is a fun one, as she develops as a character and learns to navigate life in a different time and culture. Kit, meanwhile, is thrust on his own adventures in London and elsewhere. And as the story develops, we learn that there are forces for good and evil competing to track down the pieces of a mysterious map that holds important keys for navigating the ley lines.

There are the bones of a good story here, as well as some fun parts to this book. But overall it was really lacking in compelling characters and action to drive it. I was hoping for more from Lawhead, but he hasn't yet delivered. I hold out some hope for future volumes in the series, to see where he takes the action and how he develops the characters, but I'm not in a big hurry to get to them. If you read this one, know that it's only the beginning of the story.

Don Hoesel, The Alarmists

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy. Brent Michaels is a professor of sociology brought in by a special Pentagon unit to consult on a series of seemingly random yet troubling escalations of violence across the globe. Colonel James Richards wants his advice on whether there is any sense that can be made of the scattered events that can point to either a cause or purpose behind them. The team is led all over the country and the world, investigating an oil rig explosion in Texas, political unrest in Afghanistan, and mysterious digging in Antarctica. Brent and the team seem always a step behind, but a picture does seem to be emerging that points beyond merely random occurrences of violence to a coordinated attempt to raise panic. But why? And who could manipulate events the world over? As they race to figure it out, Brent begins to wonder if these events are leading up to some great polarizing event meant to cause global panic, and sees the fast approaching mythic doomsday of December 21, 2012, as a likely time. So with only days to go, the team must figure out who is behind the plan and stop the world from careening out of control.

Hoesel's story is interesting, and Brent Michaels is a relatively strong main character. This book takes you to myriad locations and drives you on to its ending. It is pretty solid adventure fiction. The villain is a little implausible and stereotyped, as are some of the characters. And the main plot line likewise lacks some plausibility. But this is countered by relatively solid writing and a handful of stronger characters, along with some good action at exotic locations. My largest complaint about the book is probably its cover: it pictures a young-looking man with darked-out eyes holding his hand in front of his face. The problem is that this image seems to have absolutely no connection with anything in the book, at all. It doesn't fit the description of any of the characters, and certainly not the main characters. I don't want to belabor the point, but you do judge a book by its cover, and this one just doesn't work. An image of an oil derrick exploding or of an older professor-type character would have been plenty compelling, but it seems the art department didn't bother reading the book. That doesn't directly detract from what is otherwise a pretty good book, but it does warrant a mention. In all, I'd give the book 3.5 stars (though because Amazon doesn't do half stars, I bumped it up to four).

Margaret McLean, Under Fire

Thanks to the Amazon Vine program for the advanced review copy.

I loved this book. It was truly a pleasure to read and is a powerful debut from an attorney-turned-novelist who has obviously taken care to hone her writing craft. The story centers around a fire that breaks out in a Senagalese Market in Boston. During the rescue of the two occupants from the apartment above the store, one of the firefighters is shot and killed. The fire appears to be arson, and the store owner, Amina Dialla, a Senagalese immigrant, is arrested and charged. The story unfolds in the courtroom as this emotionally charged case plays out. Amina is represented by Sarah Lynch and her uncle Buddy Lynch, who believe in their client's innocence, but at the same time realize that there is more to her story than she is willing to let on. And the trial gets off to a bang when Sarah is shot by an gunman who appears to be attempting to kill Amina during the arraignment proceedings. From there the pressure mounts as the firefighters and politicians are calling for justice, while Sarah and Uncle Buddy are racing to find evidence that can clear their client and show who really started the fire. As shady mortgage deals, political intrigue, and possible connections to another arson case from a few years before all come to light, along with a homeless man's story about seeing an angel emerge on the roof during the fire, there are a lot of pieces that need to be put together.

McLean's book is a riveting piece of legal fiction, with great courtroom scenes, lots of action, and building tension, as the reader pulls for Amina Dialla but also knows that they don't know the whole story yet. She uses the perspectives of various jurors throughout to both develop their characters and give nice texture to the courtroom arguments. This book is well built, with a great story, interesting characters, and a case that just needs to be solved. The ending is a worthy payoff without being to facile or predictable. In all, this was one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while, and I look forward to more.

Philip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau (short story)

I listened to this audio book as part of the Amazon Vine program, so thanks to Amazon and the publishers for the review copy.

This is a great story, and the recording is well done. In this one-hour short story, Philip Dick builds a great little tale investigating the very fabric of reality. Ed and his wife Ruth are normal, everyday people with normal, everyday jobs. But one morning, Ed shows up late to work. And it turns out to be the day that his work segment is being "adjusted." So he stumbles unaware into a piece of reality that is deactivated for tweaking. He manages to escape, but has to try cope with this glimpse behind the curtain, as he comes to realize that reality is being manipulated by someone from the outside, and he even comes to learn why, when he meets the man "behind the curtain." Dick's story is a fun and also meaningful exploration of themes of providence, determinism, and fate, and I look forward to discussing it with others. This short story is very evocative of Farenheit 451 in the way it takes a look at reality that is at once fantastic and plausible, and he gives the reader or listener great food for thought. And the story is just plain fun. It is a riveting hour of listening, well narrated by Phil Gigante. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!