Field of Blood - Eric Wilson

Judas. There are few names that can elicit such a negative response. He who kissed and betrayed the Christ later killed himself and spilled his tainted blood at Akeldama – the Field of Blood. His blood seeped deep within the earth, and having been poisoned by the spirit of the Master Collector, infected a burial plot of two families – Ariston and Eros – causing a counterfeit resurrection of the dead. Collectors, servants of the Master Collector, possess the undead bodies of the houses of Arison and Eros and name themselves the Akeldama Cluster. More than just disembodied Collectors, they become a more tangible evil. Not just a demon, but a vampire.

Countering the work of the Collectors are the 36 Nistarim, those that arose from their graves during the Nazarene’s death and resurrection. They wage a battle with the Collectors that remains dark to mortal eyes and recruit Those Who Resist – ordinary people changed by drinking the blood of the Nazarene. Caught in the battle and unsure of how she fits in is young Gina Lazarescu.

Field of Blood is the beginning of an epic trilogy that is the core of an even larger epic story. After spending some time laying the foundations for the story to come, Wilson launches into the story with abandon. Combining intricate storytelling with thematic richness and a literary sense of artistry, Wilson sets the standard for the Jerusalem’s Undead trilogy very high. No other author I have read manages to incorporate such thematic depth while making it accentuate the entertainment of the story.

Wilson breathes new life into the vampire genre, reclaiming the Christian symbolism that has all but been lost in its modern day incarnations. But he does so without sacrificing the thrills and chills that vampires and other creatures of the night have to offer. In a world keen on glazing over the ugliness of evil, Wilson paints it in dark strokes, revealing it as it is – dark and gritty. And while this might disturb some (and it should) it only serves to mimic reality and intensify the redemption that is to come.

Some books you read and give away; others you read and put on your shelf; but the best books stay with you long after you’ve closed the cover. This is precisely the nature of Field of Blood. It introduces us to the story of Jerusalem’s Undead and ties itself in with characters and events that will be familiar to readers of Wilson’s previous novels.

Altogether, Eric Wilson has crafted a literary masterpiece that uniquely and brilliantly explores the redemptive power of Christ’s blood.

Mini Q&A with Eric

TCC: The Jerusalem's Undead trilogy combines vampire mythology with strong spiritual themes and powerfully explores the redemptive power of Christ's blood. Where did the idea for a trilogy like this come from?

Eric: I am always annoyed that we as Christians live in an atmosphere of fear. Instead of running from the vampire theme, I wanted to explore how it had counterfeited the idea that we can find eternal life through Jesus' blood. Vampires find immortal life through humans' blood. I figured, why not write a story that delves deep into history, Judaic and Christian themes, and comes up with a tense battle between good and evil?

TCC: Field of Blood sets the stage for the trilogy and introduces a number of characters in the first hundred pages or so. How difficult was it to set up the foundation for this story?

Eric: Well, some readers get bogged down with all the world-building in the first 100 pages. I had to create a whole new vampire mythos that blended theologically and historically. That took some doing. I visited Jerusalem, Romania, and read thousands of pages of research. I'm proud of how it all came out, but it does require readers to invest time and thought if they want to reap the trilogy's rewards.

Field of Blood - Eric Wilson

A Shred of Truth - Eric Wilson

He was a killer from the very start. He couldn't stand the truth because there wasn't a Shred of Truth in him. - John 8:44

Black is back in a whole new adventure. Less than a year after the events of The Best of Evil, Aramis Black finds himself living with a bona fide country music star. Johnny Ray has finally hit the big time and is ready to take his show on the road. He and Aramis are celebrating on the north end of Nashville's Music Row when Johnny Ray disappears and is later found lashed to a statue, with the initials AX carved into his back. Aramis thought his family’s dark past had come to a resolution, but he soon discovers just how wrong he is.

And all of this just as Aramis was beginning to pick up the pieces of his life once again. He'd even enrolled in college, and was taking a class on truth and mythology. Now there's a killer on the loose and he is demanding one specific item from the buried family treasure that Aramis uncovered in The Best of Evil.

Aramis isn’t sure what a murderous sociopath wants with a Masonic ring belonging to Meriwether Lewis, but the attacker is holding the ultimate ransom, something that Aramis cannot just ignore. Apparently he’d barely scraped the surface of his family secrets. Now, with an ever growing list of suspects, Aramis must not only unmask his attacker but also discover the reason behind the attack. And if and when he does find him, will he react with the violence from his past or the new-found peace of the present?

A Shred of Truth is a powerful follow-up to Aramis Black’s introduction in The Best of Evil. As always, Wilson crafts a powerful story of suspense, masterfully weaving history amid the fiction and literally putting the reader in Aramis’s shoes. The spiritual themes are strong, as Wilson explores one man’s struggle against the temptation to the succumb to the old man of his past, and serves to add to the depth and richness of the story. For entertainment, for thought, for thrills, for reflection, A Shred of Truth serves all these purposes. It’s a story that stays with you long after the book is closed.

Mini Q&A with Eric

TCC: In both this book and the first Aramis Black Mystery, there's a secret message that the careful reader can discover. How did you come up with that idea and how hard was it to implement?

Eric: It still surprises me how few people catch that secret message. I tell you on the last page of each story how to decipher it, but readers still miss it. I had fun putting those into the books. In the first, it helped me get my chapters started, because I was confined to a specific letter of the alphabet. The second was more difficult, but it was all part of the challenge. And, of course, that final message is really the message of all my books.

TCC: This book, as well as the book preceding it, has historical ties to Lewis and Clark and the Masons, among others, and literary ties to Alexandre Dumas. What sort of research goes into the historical tie ins, and how in the world do you manage to find such great literary tie ins?

I read between 500-1000 pages of research for each book I write, but most of that never comes into my stories. I love finding history's mysteries and exploring them. When people say we have such a violent culture, I realize they must be very ignorant of history. Studying the past can give us perspective for the present and direction for the future. It's been fun working in themes about Rasputin, the Masons, and WWII into my books. Hopefully it will give them some longevity beyond the suspense elements. Have fun exploring!

A Shred of Truth - Eric Wilson

The Best of Evil - Eric Wilson

Don't let evil get the best of you. get the best of evil by doing good. – Romans 12:21

"Live by the Sword" - "Die by the Sword" Aramis Black's former creed is tattooed into his hefty forearms. But he's forsaken all of that and put his violent life in Portland behind him. He's moved to the heartland of country music – Nashville – to live with his brother Johnny Ray, who's fighting for his shot to be a country music star.

Aramis opens a little espresso shop and begins to put his past behind him. Better a coffee junkie than the kind of junkie he once was. But on a seemingly normal day in the shop, a man is shot and killed. His last words to Aramis: "I need the whip....Spare your soul and turn your eyes from greed." BLAM! A dead man in his coffee shop. But not just any dead man. A dead man whose last words were a direct quote of last word Aramis heard his mother speak before she was murdered.

Way too strange to be coincidental...especially considering that a handkerchief that belonged to his mother had arrived via FedEx earlier that day. Aramis finds himself thrust into a mystery. How does all this tie back to his mother? As the plot thickens, he unravels a centuries-old conspiracy involving a hidden treasure and one of his mother's famous ancestors, Meriwether Lewis.

But mysteries aren't the only thing unraveling in Aramis's world. He’s forced to confront both his father, with whom he has a troubled past, and his uncle, who he blames for his mother's death. And what keys do they play in the mystery? But one thing is coming out of all this. In the wake of the shooting, he has found himself to drawn to one of his employees, Brianne. Sparks fly, and the two hit it off...a budding romance in the midst of so much mystery.

Aramis isn't the only one trying to unravel that mystery. The man in his coffee shop died for a reason. Someone wants the treasure for himself. Aramis must put together the clues and solve the mystery while keeping himself and his loved ones safe from the killer. Being thrown back into the violence of his past threatens his new-found life. Can he conquer evil? Or will evil get the best of him?

Mini Q&A With Eric

TCC: The Aramis Black Mysteries are a shift from the Senses Series books in a few major ways, one being that they are written in first person. How is it different writing from what is a more personal and limited perspective and what caused you to want to write this books in the first person?

Eric: I love writing first-person. It allows me to get deeper into the character's thoughts, and, with Aramis, it was important to let readers see his heart of gold beneath his tough exterior. First-person helped with that. Yes, it's a limited perspective, but it forced me to stay focused on one storyline (which I don't always do in my other books, ha!). To this day, male and female readers alike tell me they love Aramis Black.

TCC: What is up with Johnny Ray Black and his Tabasco boxers?

TCC: Oh, Johnny Ray. Well, I wanted Aramis Black's brother to be a humorous sidekick, one who could sometimes be the voice of reason, and at other times be the goofy guy. Johnny Ray thinks he's a real ladies' man, a rising country music star, and a health-food nut. The Tabasco boxers were just a funny addition to that colorful persona.

The Best of Evil - Eric Wilson

Expiration Date - Eric Wilson

Are these the shadows of things that must be, or are they the shadows of things that might be? – Ebenezer Scrooge

After a mysterious encounter with an even more mysterious individual, Clay Ryker finds himself asking that very same question. After a decade away from his childhood home, he finds himself with a failed business, a destroyed marriage, and forced to move back with his parents who treat him like the kid he isn’t. The basketball star’s homecoming is less than stellar, and he soon takes up a job working on creating headstones.

But after his encounter, things get interesting. He discovers that he has the foreknowledge of the date that those around him will die. He knows their Expiration Date. But are these numbers as set in stone before they occur as much as they are when Clay is etching out the date for their tombstone, or can the future be changed?

Theological answers will not suffice and lives hang in the balance, propelling Clay to go after the serial killer who is making Clay’s foreknowledge come true. In the process, he teams up with ex-cop and Vince Turney – someone we first met in Dark to Mortal Eyes – and is forced to face his troubled past.

Suspense and intrigue deepen as Clay discovers just how much his past sins have to do with their present problems. And the stakes are changed completely when he discovers that his ultimate enemy is not even of this world.

In Expiration Date, Eric Wilson has again crafted a wonderful novel that explores Earth’s tension between Heaven and Hell. Very few authors can pull of a tale of the supernatural without resorting to hokey clichés or sacrificing sound doctrine for a good story, but Wilson pulls it off flawlessly, peeling back what we see as reality and opening our eyes to the realm of the supernatural. It’s a novel that will leave you thinking about its concepts and wanting more of the story, and thankfully, Wilson provides both.

While Expiration Date can be read by itself, you certainly don’t want to! After reading it, you’ll be compelled to pick up his other books and see just how well Wilson connects this novel and its characters in with his other works. Those that have previously read Dark to Mortal Eyes will gain even more insight into what exactly the mysterious package is, and those that have read Haunt of Jackals will be in for quite a major surprise.

Mini Q&A with Eric

TCC: How was writing the second novel to be published different than the first one?

Eric: We were living with friends, waiting for a house deal to go through, and so the writing space was limited and stressful. I spent many nights locked in the bathroom, sitting on the floor with my back against the tub, typing on my laptop so as not to bug my wife, kids, or our gracious hosts. I ended up writing Expiration Date in three months, while still working 30 hours a week at FedEx/Kinko's. It was very different writing under contract, with deadlines, and reader expectations.

TCC: Clay discovers he can see the future, the exact timing of someone's death. What was your purpose in writing and discussing such foreknowledge?

Eric: If you knew someone's date of death, their Expiration Date, would you try to change it? Could you? Or is it already predetermined by God? I wanted to explore the idea of fate vs. free will, of Calvinism vs. Armenianism. We tend to put theological ideas into tidy boxes, but they often have elements of both sides. The twist in the story is that our free will can also upset Satan's plans.

TCC: This book ties to another of your books in a major way. What was it like for you to discover that you could interconnect these two novels?
 

Eric: Expiration Date is the bridge between my Senses Series and my Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy. It has some elements from the first series, some of the same characters, and then it adds a huge twist to that in Haunt of Jackals, book two of the trilogy. I knew, as I started the trilogy, that I wanted to weave in themes and characters from my earlier books--everything from Addison Ridge Vineyards, Sgt. Turney, Josee Walker, Rasputin, and WWII mysteries. As I started writing Haunt of Jackals, I flirted with different ways of connecting the series, but the key came when I realized that Kenny Preston, from Expiration Date, was thirteen years old, the same boy-to-man age for the Concealed Ones in my trilogy. From there, the rest was easy--and hugely fun!

Expiration Date - Eric Wilson

Dark to Mortal Eyes - Eric Wilson

There is a battle of monumental proportions raging just beyond the skin of this world. Inevitably, this battle seeps into what we can see in this physical realm and confronts us, confounds us, and disturbs us. While we must deal with the consequences of this supernatural battle, the reasons, nature, and occasionally the existence of this battle remain dark to mortal eyes. Earth's tension between heaven and hell. Marsh Addison is discovering what exactly that means.

In a story that spans three generations, Dark to Mortal Eyes is an intricately crafted work of suspense that ties in gritty and dark storytelling with supernatural elements and a strong spiritual theme. Marsh first has his world turned upside down when his wife, Kara, announces that she’s asked the daughter they gave up for adoption – Josee – for a visit. Then, on the day that Josee is supposed to meet Kara, Kara disappears in what appears to be a catastrophic car wreck and Marsh becomes the prime suspect.

Marsh soon discovers the stakes of the game he is about to play. Someone knows much more about his family’s past than he, and they are willing to do anything to uncover the sins of his father. But there is something working with them. Something dark, sinister, and otherworldly. Marsh, Josee, and Sergeant Vince Turney find themselves not only in a battle of flesh and blood, but in supernatural battle that could have global consequences.

Dark To Mortal Eyes is Eric Wilson’s debut novel, published in 2004. Eric breaks into the industry with a bang, crafting an intricate and complex novel of suspense unlike anything I’ve ever read. Few authors can pull off the level of detail, artistry, and complexity this novel brings and yet make it exciting and page-turning. I’ll be honest. This is not your normal, everyday novel. The pace is a bit slower, the plot more intricate, the themes a bit deeper. This book will require you to think, and the questions it asks will haunt you long after the book ends.

Ultimately it is a story of flawed characters on the pathway to redemption. Whether it’s Marsh, Josee, the Sarge, or the mysterious figures they are fighting against, all are seeking for redemption. Some find it, some don’t, but it is Who they look towards for their redemption that makes all the difference.

Mini Q&A with Eric

TCC: This was your first published book, correct? What was the feeling in finally seeing your book - your creation - in print?

Eric: Yes, Dark to Mortal Eyes was my first published novel, although I wrote a complete WWII novel when I was seventeen years old. (It's still sitting in a drawer.) I was so excited to see a book in print, after decades of dreaming, planning, and working toward that goal.

TCC: How have you changed as an author from the writing of Dark to Mortal Eyes until now?

Eric: I've learned a lot about writing and storytelling, but I keep seeing more things to improve on. I'm finally making a living at writing, but it took six books before I could go full-time. It's tiring to remain creative and still "marketable," especially for those of us who just love the art of fiction, but I would never trade the chance to do this.

TCC: Did you have any idea when you were writing this that you would tie it in with your later novels?

Eric: I had a five-book series planned from the start, called the Senses Series. After my first two novels, my champion at the publishing house moved elsewhere and I was left floundering a bit. I never got to write the other three books in that series, so I figured out ways to weave its threads into the Jerusalem's Undead Trilogy. In some ways, the end result is even better than I planned. In other ways, I regret not getting the chance to flesh out those three Senses books. It is what it is. A writer has to stay flexible in today's changing market. I'm thrilled to see all seven of my novels (not including my three movie novelizations) tied together in one epic story.

Dark to Mortal Eyes - Eric Wilson

Erin Healy Interview

Erin Healy, author of the upcoming Thomas Nelson release Never Let You Go, was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to talk to me a bit about her novel, the writing process, and what's coming up for her. She is the bestselling coauthor of Kiss and Burn (coauthored with Ted Dekker) and is also an acclaimed editor for numerous bestselling authors, Dekker included. So without further ado... 

TCC: This is your first solo release, coming after your two releases co-authored with Ted Dekker – Kiss and Burn respectively. What was different in the writing process? Is it easier or harder than collaborating?

Erin: Writing solo is a process of self-discovery for me. I’m learning how to find my own voice and how to craft my own stories. The “spirit of Ted” was always with me, looking over my shoulder, and one of the most challenging aspects was to put the “what would Ted do?” questions in their place. My stories, while bearing a few similarities to his, will be (I hope) judged on their own merits.

TCC: Never Let You Go is somewhat darker and grittier than either of your previous two novels, which I will admit, mildly surprised me at first. Is this type of story the type you prefer to tell?

Erin: Really? You think it’s darker/grittier than Burn? Interesting! I don’t set out to write dark and gritty stories. But when thinking about story I’m always first drawn to thematic elements, and I want to explore those elements with depth and honesty. Unforgiveness is an ominous topic, so in this case the ominous streak was inevitable.

TCC: Relationships and character dynamics are really at the crux of what heightens the suspense and tension, as you see the characters’ brokenness and dysfunction. What made you want to explore such a topic?

Erin: As most of us have, I’ve witnessed the corrosive effects of bitterness in good people. I became intrigued by two observations that surprised me: one was the trickle-down effects of bitterness on a particular unforgiving person’s child, and the other was a growing awareness of how painful and difficult forgiveness can be even for Christians. Of all people, we should be swiftest to forgive ALL offenses, but we aren’t. Not by a long shot.

TCC: The book also contains more than a hint of the supernatural. It manages to be subtly obvious, if I can throw out a paradox, it’s evident but not overbearing. I’ve encountered very few authors that can write about the supernatural, especially the demonic, without reducing it to an overemphasized caricature, but you pull it off flawlessly. What went into your mind as you were creating those characters and how did you manage to keep them from becoming caricatures?

Erin: Thank you! Probably 90 percent of the credit for this should go to my editor, Ami McConnell of Thomas Nelson, because my first draft in fact fell into the caricature trap. Having someone like her point out to me where and how I’d done that made it much easier to avoid. Sometimes we writers just have to get the caricatures out of our system. I need to find out which wonderful writer first gave this sage advice: most of the time, the first thing you think to write needs to be thrown away, because it will be the obvious, the clichéd, or the caricatured. The second thing that comes to mind might also have to go, for the same reason. And if you work really hard, perhaps the third or fourth thing you come up with will be worthy of being called fresh. I try to keep this in mind as I write.

TCC: Again, going back to the novel’s characters, did you craft the characters around the plot, or did you craft the plot around the characters?

Erin: Tough question. In my next novel (The Promises She Keeps, January 2011), I can say with certainty that I crafted the plot around the characters. In Never Let You Go, the chicken-and-egg question is a little murkier for me. I had pretty clear ideas of both character and plot when I began writing, and I made adaptations to both as I wrote in order to make the story work.

TCC: Now Never Let You Go releases in a month. Officially on May 4, I believe. My ARC copy has a little note at the top of the front cover from Thomas Nelson’s Senior VP and Publisher Allen Arnold and it says “Trust me – one of the BEST novels you’ll read all year.” What are your thoughts on that and what does it mean to you to have such high praise coming from your publisher?

Erin: What a gift! I’m humbled and grateful for the level of enthusiasm Thomas Nelson has thrown behind me at this critical juncture in my career. Every member of their team, from Allen down to their interns, has overwhelmed me with their kindness and professionalism. This book wouldn’t have been all that it is without their support.

TCC: Do you have any new projects that you’re already in the middle of or see on the horizon?

Erin: Does this sound at all like Ted? My next novel is even better than Never Let You Go! I’m very excited for The Promises She Keeps, which is also a supernatural thriller. Two women--a talented young vocalist with a fatal disease, and an aging art collector devoted to witchcraft--are seeking immortality. When their paths cross with an autistic artist who draws his promising visions for others’ lives, all three are plunged into a flesh-and-blood confrontation over the true meaning of eternal life. 

TCC: Erin, I'd like to thank you for your time. And for the readers, I want to remind you that you can keep up with Erin on both Facebook and Twitter as well as her website - ErinHealy.com

Erin Healy Interview

Never Let You Go - Erin Healy

Broken – That is probably an accurate one-word synopsis of the state of Lexi’s life. Seven years ago her sister was murdered. Then her drug-dealing husband walked out on her, leaving her to scrape out a meager existence and raise her daughter. Now Warden, a figure from Lexi’s past, someone with ties to her, her husband, and her sister’s killer has come back to haunt her. Either she testifies on behalf of the killer at his parole hearing or her daughter dies.

Never Let You Go is a story about many things, but mainly it’s a story of relationships – primarily the relationship between Lexi and her daughter Molly. Molly’s all Lexi has left. Her mother has little interest in her life; her father because mentally unstable when her sister died; her husband abandoned her. Molly is it – and now that relationship is being threatened. Lexi is a lonely, flawed, and broken soul, and Never Let You Go is her story of redeeming and restoring the relationships that were once broken.

Erin Healy, in her solo debut, crafts wonderful characters that drive this wonderful drama of redemption. The supernatural elements are subtle enough to not be overbearing but poignant and obvious enough to leave you wide-eyed with mouth gaping, leaving you with the realization that not all battles are between flesh and blood.

The back flap of the novel says it “defies easy categorization.” That’s definitely true. Supernatural thriller. Suspense. A hint of romance. Healy gives us a bit of everything and the result is a starkly realistic look into the broken relationships in the life on one troubled woman. In a culture that understands neither love nor forgiveness, Healy has created a novel that teaches us a bit about both. Both bitterness and forgiveness come at a high price, and Lexi is forced to choose between the two.

Whether you’ve been a fan of Healy since her co-authored novels (Kiss and Burn) with Ted Dekker, or are new to her name, with stories like Never Let You Go, Healy is sure to enthrall and entertain, and you might even gain some perspective along the way. This is the type of novel the world needs. Real people put in real situations stricken with doubt yet catalyzed by hope. My only caution is that once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down. 

For even more, check out my interview with Erin Healy here.

Never Let You Go - Erin Healy

Should We Fire God? - Jim Pace

Let’s face it. From our perspective it doesn’t look like the all-powerful, all-good God we serve is always up on things. The Bible says He’ll take care of us and that He’s in control and yet if we turn on the news we see just how unsafe things can be. Why do bad things happen to good people? Does he even hear my prayers? Can He do anything about them? We aren’t the first generation to struggle with this. King David felt the same:

² Now hear my prayer;
      listen to my cry.
 ³ For my life is full of troubles,
      and death draws near.
 ⁴ I am as good as dead,
      like a strong man with no strength left.
 ⁵ They have left me among the dead,
      and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
   I am forgotten,
      cut off from your care. – Psa. 88:2-5

So what are we supposed to do? Jim Pace asks the question very bluntly in the title of his book Should We Fire God? Jim is a graduate of Virginia Tech, copastor of New Life Christian Church at Virginia Tech. On April 16, 2007, Jim Pace had hundreds of people asking him that question when a gunman unleashed his fury on the campus. He was thrust into spotlight to answer the question, every TV reporter wanted to interview him. They expected him to have an answer. Should God be fired?

In a book that his part theological discussion, part autobiography, Pace shares how that one day changed his life and formed his theological response to this question. With a conversational tone, Pace backs up Biblical principles with stories from a practical reality.

Pace suggests that isn’t always a bad thing, and that we can’t always see the reason God has for letting us go through what he does. He suggests that out of God’s love, He’s given mankind the ability to mess things up, but then He’ll walk through those tough times with us. In the end, Pace concludes that God should not be fired, because He’s doing exactly what He should be doing—allowing us to have the freedom to do evil, then being brokenhearted and walking with us through the pain.

For those interested in a layperson level discussion of the problem of evil, this is a good add to the collection. Pace reminds us of all that God has done, and reminds us of all He’s promised to do. And when that happens, all pain from this earth fades.

Should We Fire God? - Jim Pace

Be Skillful - Warren Wiersbe

The book of Proverbs is filled with some of the best known and widely quoted truisms in Scripture. I have known several people who have taken to reading through the Proverbs once a month to continually gain wisdom from the practical advice this book offers.

Warren Wiersbe, in the subtitle to Be Skillful accurately summarizes the purpose of the book – God’s guidebook to the wise. Be Skillful is one of the classic books in Dr. Wiersbe’s BE commentary series, one of the most loved layperson level commentaries I have ever seen.

As a student of theology, I am no stranger to Bible commentaries. On the whole, I have found Dr. Wiersbe’s series to be both theologically sound like compulsively readable. Wiersbe writes in a conversational style that draws the reader in and holds his interest.

Wiersbe uses both a chapter by chapter and topical approach in the commentary, providing a chapter by chapter look at Proverbs 1-7 while employing a topical methodology for the remainder. In light of the literary structure of Proverbs, I found this to be a most useful method of study.

Through the majority of the commentary, Wiersbe lifts key themes from the Proverbs such as a chapter on popular sins (disrespect, greed, pride, and so on), as well a study of Proverbs’ recurring contrast of the wise and the wicked.

Study questions at the end of each chapter help the thoughtful reader to more fully and accurately process the wealth of Wiersbe’s material. In addition, the publishers of Be Skillful – David C. Cook – also publish a great Bible study series built around the commentary that would be great for either individual study or a Sunday School curriculum

When it comes to commentaries, Wiersbe’s BE series is top-notch, and these new editions published by David C. Cook only serve to further enhance and solidify their reputation.

Be Skillful - Warren Wiersbe

The Bride Collector - Ted Dekker

He kills them because he loves them. He loves them because God loves them and he has been chosen by God. And they have been chosen by God. And God is the groom; they are the bride; he is The Bride Collector.

In one of Ted Dekker’s most intense novels to date, FBI specialist Brad Raines and a serial killer known as the Bride Collector engage in a battle of wits and time as the killer closes in on his final victims. Seven is the number of perfection. Seven is the number he shall collect. The seventh will be the most beautiful.

But Raines won’t be able to catch this criminal on his own. The Bride Collector—Quinton Gauld—has proven himself to be quite intelligent, almost to the point of psychosis, and perhaps beyond it. When all traditional methods fall short, Raines, in a desperate attempt to come closer to catching Quinton, visits a private psychiatric institution that houses savants: the extraordinarily gifted but mentally ill.

Raines first thinks he can gain some perspective by visiting the place. Gauld’s mental makeup seems remarkably similar to the residents of the center. But then he meets Paradise, a young girl diagnosed with schizophrenia after watching her father murder her family—a young girl who can allegedly experience the final moments of a person’s life when she touches the body—a young girl he finds utterly fascinating. He also meets Andrea, Cass, and Roudy, three other residents who work with him to help him understand the killer. It’s a fun and sometimes bizarre look into the lives of these fragile people with such powerful minds.

It’s a high-stakes chess game and Raines can’t even see his opponent’s pieces. When the killer targets a forensic psychologist and good friend, the case becomes even more intimate and personal. As the moves are played and the story comes together, the thread that binds it winds tighter and tighter, connecting and drawing in the storylines. Captivating plot twists leave the reader guessing, but then upset that he didn’t see it coming. The intensity heightens as the Bride Collector closes in on his goal. And the more Raines learns about this killer, the more he realizes he must be stopped.

With intelligence and insight, Dekker delivers a terrifying foray into the twisted mind of a serial killer who believes God has called him to kill. But beyond that, The Bride Collector is the story of Paradise, a broken girl who realizes just how special she is. You could read hundreds of reviews that say what a great serial killer novel this is—and they’d be right—but at its very core, this is a love story. This is a story of a girl who thought she was unlovable who finds out that she is God’s favorite. This is the story of what it means to show love, of what it means to be the apple of God’s eye.

 Very few novels have ever captivated me in theme, in story, or in character development the way The Bride Collector did in all three of those positions. For those seeking a thrill, it’s a twisty turny ride into the abyss; for those seeking an intelligent read, it couples outstanding writing and character development with a theme worth thinking about long after the book is finished. Despite not being the first serial killer novel Dekker has written, The Bride Collector is unlike anything he’s ever written.

The Bride Collector - Ted Dekker

The Bride Collector Contest

He loves them because they are beautiful. 

He kills them because he loves them. 

If you're reading this on the homepage, then you can see the ominous countdown just to the right. The Bride Collector is coming. It's NYT bestselling author Ted Dekker's latest thriller, and you could just maybe get yourself an autographed copy. Here's the deal.

METHOD ONE: Recruit your friends to follow me on Twitter! Spread the word. Have them send me an @reply or DM letting me know who referred them. (Example: @Critic4Christ I was referred to you by @totallycoolperson). Each referral gets you one entry.

METHOD TWO: Re-tweet me! Whether it's to let people know that I'm giving away an autographed copy of The Bride Collector or just what my latest review or interview is (and I have a bundle coming up). Each RT will earn you one entry. 

METHOD THREE: Refer me to your friends on Facebook. Just have your friend write on my wall and say so-and-so referred me, and you'll get one entry into the contest.

METHOD FOUR: Don't want to bug friends or strangers? Well, you're costing them the chance at missing out at great reviews and contests, but you can still be entered to win. Just comment on THE BRIDE COLLECTOR review and receive an entry.

On Sunday, April 18, I will tally up everyone's entries, and draw a name at random. That means that someone with 1 entry could win, or that someone with 100 entries could win. Those of you good with probability and statistics understand which one is more likely. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and spread the word!


But for those of you that can't wait. The Bride Collector releases on 4/13. And if you preorder through Amazon.com, you will receive a never before published novel written by the infamous Thomas Hunter himself - To Kill With Reason. For more details on that, click HERE.

The Bride Collector Contest