Miracle Drug by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

About the book:
Miracle Drug (Abingdon, September 2015)
Overcoming these odds will take more than a miracle drug—it will take a miracle.
The infection wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did. The treatment was supposed to take care of it, but it didn’t. Then Dr. Josh Pearson discovers why—his patients, including the former President of the United States, have been dosed with a different strain of the original virus, one that is universally fatal. The only chance for survival is treatment with an experimental drug, but the manufacturer might already have discarded its supply.

As if treating the President of the United States isn’t stressful enough, the situation goes from bad to worse when Rachel Moore, a nurse Josh is falling in love with, falls ill. With the nation’s eyes on him, Josh must pull off a miracle to save a man who holds a good deal of power and the woman who holds his heart.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the author:

 

Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician who writes “medical suspense with heart.” His novels have won multiple awards: a semifinalist for International Thriller Writers’ debut novel; finalists for the Carol Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, and Romantic Times’ Reader’s Choice Award; and both finalist and winner of the Selah Award. Miracle Drug is his ninth published novel. He and his wife live in Frisco, Texas.

Margie’s Comments: I love medical mysteries and thrillers, and Doc Richard Mabry tops the list of authors I enjoy reading in this genre. His newest release, Miracle Drug, doesn’t disappoint my expectations when reading a medical thriller. 

The plot is well paced and starts off with a bang . . . and ends with a bang, as well. J The characters are “real” and well written. From the untimely death of the former President’s chief medical physician to the explosive ending, the characters grow, change, and in many cases end up much stronger spiritually, emotionally, and physically, knowing that in the end God is always in control.

                   

The only thing I don’t like about reading medical thrillers is the symptoms my mind tries to imitate. I have come to the conclusion that I have an overactive imagination! If you or someone you know loves the complexities of the medical profession and pharmacology, I highly recommend Miracle Drug by Richard Mabry.

Lightning by Bonnie S. Calhoun

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Lightning
Revell (October 6, 2015)
by
Bonnie S. Calhoun


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year.”

She loves to write with body count, blood, or blowing things up. She also has mad skills at coding HTML, and website design. And she lives in a log cabin in the woods with fifteen acres and a pond full of bass, though she'd rather buy fish at the grocery store. Bonnie shares her domain with a husband and two cats, all of whom think she’s waitstaff!

Her latest series is a YA dystopian with Revell titled Stone Braide Chronicles. The first book Thunder published in 2014. The second book Lightning published Oct 2015. There are also two FREE e-book short stories. Tremors is the prequel to Thunder, and Aftershock (short story) comes before Lightning.


ABOUT THE BOOK:



After she found her real father, life for Selah should have felt settled. But the horrors have just begun. In her broken world of toxic earth and tribal clashes, Selah must battle the forces of nature alongside those in the Mountain who are calling for her blood. Haunted by the pain of mounting losses, she forges on, seeking her lost family and uncovering new mysteries. But the ultimate betrayal of her own body may soon make her quest impossible as it becomes apparent that what has made her new could also drive her to a life of madness.




If you would like to read the first chapter of Lightning, go HERE.


Review to come later.

The Methuselah Project by Rick Barry

The Methuselah Project (Kregel, September 2015)

Nazi scientists started many experiments. One never ended.

Roger Greene is a war hero. Raised in an orphanage, the only birthright he knows is the feeling that he was born to fly. Flying against the Axis Powers in World War II is everything he always dreamed—until the day he’s shot down and lands in the hands of the enemy.

When Allied bombs destroy both his prison and the mad genius experimenting on POWs, Roger survives. Within hours, his wounds miraculously heal, thanks to those experiments. The Methuselah Project is a success—but this ace is still not free. Seventy years later, Roger hasn’t aged a day, but he has nearly gone insane. This isn’t Captain America—just a lousy existence only made passable by a newfound faith. The Bible provides the only reliable anchor for Roger’s sanity and his soul. When he finally escapes, there’s no angelic promise or personal prophecy of deliverance, just confusion. It’s 2015—and the world has become an unrecognizable place.

Katherine Mueller—crack shot, genius, and real Southern Belle—offers to help him find his way home. Can he convince her of the truth of his crazy story? Can he continue to trust her when he finds out she works for the very organization he’s trying to flee?

Thrown right into pulse-pounding action from the first page, readers will find themselves transported back in time to a believable, full-colored past, and then catapulted into the present once more. The historical back-and-forth adds a constantly moving element of suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

Rick Barry is the author of "Gunner's Run," another World War II novel, "Kiriath's Quest," and more than 200 articles and fiction stories. In addition to being a World War II buff, he is the director of church planting ministries at BIEM, a Christian ministry operating in Eastern Europe. He holds a degree in foreign languages, speaks Russian, and has visited Europe more than fifty times. Rick lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Margie’s Comments: Several years ago, I discovered I like books with a blending of a historical story with the contemporary, a kind of truth and consequences type of story. When I first considered Rick Barry’s The Methuselah Project for review, I was intrigued, not sure where a story with the hero who never ages could go when he was introduced to the twenty-first century. The changes in society, technology, and every other area of life, especially in the US are so completely alien to the world Roger Greene grew up in. Yet, as he and Katherine meet, learn each other’s stories, and work together to seek the truth in their mixed-up world, I was pleased to see how believable and real the premise is.

The author has created characters I like and desire to cheer on through the end of the book. In fact, they are still with me even after I finished reading the book. Because of the demands of my life outside of reading, I had to set aside the book occasionally, but the story drew me back more frequently than usual and it kept me reading long after I should have put it down. While I don’t want to give any spoilers here, I will only say that I’m wishing the story could have gone on. Of necessity, not all the threads were neatly tied up and concluded. So this story will continue on in my own imagination, as will Roger and Katherine continue to live.

So if you’d like a fresh perspective on World War II, The Methuselah Project delivers that. The author has definitely done his homework in research and storytelling. I will be looking for more books by Rick Barry in the future.

Firefly Summer by Kathleen Y'Barbo

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Firefly Summer
Redbud Press (June 23, 2015)
by
Kathleen Y'Barbo


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish, to name a few.

Kathleen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She holds a BBA from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and a certification in Paralegal Studies, and is a former member of the Texas Bar Association’s Paralegal Division.

A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen Y’Barbo has four children of her own as well as seven bonus kids she gladly inherited when she married her own hero in combat boots (read about their real-life romance here!). Kathleen is proud to be a military wife, even if it did mean giving up her Texas drivers license.


ABOUT THE BOOK:



A new cowboy romance from award-winning author Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Trey’s biggest challenge isn’t performing surgery … it’s restoring Sessa’s heart!

Artist Sessa Chambers may never recover from losing her prodigal son. Even as she grieves the tragic decisions that led to his death, and left her with a toddler to raise, she’s asked to work on her dream project—restoring carousel horses for the Smithsonian. But she can’t do it on her own …

Dr. Trey Brown can’t pick up a scalpel again. Yes, he acted in self-defense, but the events of that awful night haunt him. He was trained to save lives, not take them. When he goes to the young man’s widowed mother to apologize, she’s not at all what he expected. For one thing, she’s not as alone as he thought—not with the fearsome ladies of the Pies, Books, and Jesus Book Club in her corner. For another, she’s beautiful, and being in her presence is more jolting than any eight-second bronco ride from his former rodeo days. Before he knows it, she’s captured his heart as easily as they capture the fireflies gracing Sessa’s Texas ranch.

How can they overcome their past to embrace a future together?


If you would like to read the first chapter of Firefly Summer, go HERE.


Margie's Comments: Oh my! Kathleen Y'Barbo has done it again! I could hardly put the book down once I started reading. Not only is Firefly Summer a romance, it's also a story about the importance of community in our lives, especially women. But men—as depicted in Trey—also need a network of other men who stand beside them, no matter what, who encourage and pray with and for them. Life isn't easy, and it's worse when we try to go it alone! God didn't make us loners, but so many times we ignore His plan. Firefly Summer kept me laughing, crying, cheering, and identifying the women in my life who are the real counterparts to the ones Kathleen writes about. And who doesn't love a cowboy? Sigh. (Wink!!) For a heartwarming yet challenging read, I highly recommend Firefly Summer.