Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Waking Lazarus by T.L. Hines

Jesse will be home in four days. I can hardly wait. Sleeping is just as hard for me as it is for Mia. Today he's in New Orleans exploring the French Quarter and looking at more devastation. He said the damage is beyond imaginable and that trying to rebuild is difficult for the families, because they are being so overcharged for material. It makes me grateful to live where I do. I'll take thunderstorms and blizzards over hurricanes any day.

Waking Lazarus by T.L. Hines is a terrific debut suspense novel. Jude Allman has died three times before and come back to life. He's a walking medical mystery. He's also trying to hold on to his sanity by hiding from the world, but as a killer begins stalking children, Jude finds that he may no longer be able to hide. While the review of this book on Amazon.com describes the book as grisly, I don't feel that's true. Hines does a terrific job of giving just enough detail to give the reader the creeps without resorting to gross-out. He also leads the reader on a merry chase through many red herrings. The narration switches with each chapter keeping the reader jumping and guessing, but Hines' writing is very clear at delineating who's speaking. Jude's gradual adjustments to the world seem natural, and his inner strength shines by the end of the book. Hines also manages to tie in several Christian themes into the story without ever proselytizing. Rachel's faith is as much a part of her character as Jude's anger at God is a part of him. There are many layers of mystery within this novel, and I was greatly impressed by the quality of writing. I look forward to reading more of Hines' work. To purchase the book at Amazon.com go here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764202049

To check out T.L.'s blog and learn more about him go here: http://www.tlhines.com/blog/

Not only is T.L. a great writer, he's also a nice guy. I hope to have an interview with him up tomorrow or Friday.

I found a great used book sale today and bought tons of books for 10 cents a piece. One of my favorite things in the whole world. I even found Mom a Judy Bolton.

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