A Christian-oriented thriller with a wild but entertaining plot.
In Pasour’s debut novel, a devout Christian college professor thwarts a terrorist attack in England and becomes a prime target of terrorists in America.
Emily Ratliffe always wanted to travel. When she gets the opportunity to present her work at conference in England, her hotel is struck by a biological terrorist attack. All the hotel’s occupants become ill, and many die, as the hotel is put under quarantine. Ratliffe also gets sick but manages to survive thanks to the prayers of an old friend. Ratliffe then decides to save the rest of the hotel—through prayer, and physical and spiritual caregiving. She also uncovers the identity of the terrorist behind the attack. Meanwhile, the professor develops a deep friendship with Edward Fitzwilliam, an undercover British intelligence officer posing as the hotel manager. Ratliffe eventually returns home to her husband and children in North Carolina—but murderous terrorists still have her in their sights, and it’s up to Fitzwilliam to save her. At its best, this thriller is nothing less than an action-packed page-turner. Although the prose sometimes gets overloaded with prayer and Bible verses, particularly in its earlier sections, it flows more easily as the story progresses. However, the early passages do help develop the characters: “Emily reached for Joseph’s hand. ‘It is probably too late for that, but I want you to know that I forgive you and I will continue to pray that you will seek Jesus as your Savior. He will forgive you, love you, and bring you away from this evil. Trust Him.’”
A Christian-oriented thriller with a wild but entertaining plot.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-1462722730
Page Count: 516
Publisher: CrossBooks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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