Monday, November 10, 2014

Done by Christmas by Randall Jarmon

Almost everyone had heard of Victor Taggert. He was imprisoned for secretly orchestrating at least 200 bloody, individual murders over many years.

Almost nobody has heard of Marcus West. He labors in obscurity at his wife's tiny firm, working in a windowless office she calls a cave. He would like to retire, but cannot. He would like his strong-willed daughter to find a husband, but dares not tell her so.

Nonetheless, once Taggert makes a spectacular escape from prison, it us up to Marcus West to stop a new wave of bloody murders. Law enforcement cannot help -- even though West is a mild-mannered, scholarly man in his sixties with nothing at all like a commando background.

Taggert eagerly anticipates easy kills. However, Marcus West has already done something Victor Taggert would never, ever expect: West has wrapped both arms tight around his strong Christian faith.
 


My review:
  I had this book sitting in a stack of to read and review for a few months, and finally had time to read it. The author is new to me, and he had emailed me to ask me to review it. I never know what to expect in a case like that, but the book was well worth reading.

  The book is suspense/mystery, which is my favorite to read, and it was a very enjoyable read. The plot was well done,and the suspense kept me turning the pages as fast as I could read. It is a good sign if I don't want to put a book down, and thus was the case with this one.

 There was a lot of tech talk in the book, and a couple of times I skimmed that, but for the most part it was kept interesting enough to not lose a reader not into tech terminology.

  I really liked the characters. A close family running a business and working for the government. At first, I found the one man, Logan's, talents and fighting abilities a bit over the top, but then some back story was given that could be very plausible in real life.

   It is a good author who can write a book like this and avoid bad language, and this author did that. There were a few implied instances of sex, but it wasn't at all graphic or out of place. There was a Christian message throughout the book, and also the message that God will protect and help His people when they pray.

  I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There are parts that could possibly have used a little tweaking, but nothing so much that made the book not worth reading. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good Christian suspense.

About the author (in his words):



My name’s Randall Jarmon. I’m a West Texan living about where the Heart of Cowboy Country intersects the Bible Belt — right on the edge of the vast Palo Duro Canyon. It’s a good land, with wonderful people and dramatic scenery. I like walking through parts of it with my dog, a golden retriever named Virgil. He’s a native Texan. I got here by living in other places first.
I spent a few years in the Army: jump school, ranger school, jungle school, Vietnam, and eventually Fort Bragg. It’s one way to learn tactics and ordnance. I also fought on a karate team for awhile, which helps me write a good fight scene. These days, however, my description of somebody’s roundhouse kick far surpasses my own roundhouse kick.
I likely spent too many years in school before realizing I really wanted to be a novelist. I became an engineer, an MBA, and then a PhD teaching college. I especially liked the statistics I got to use in the last job, but grading student research papers can be tedious.
Over many years I’ve met, talked with, worked beside, or simply watched all sorts of fascinating people. All that interaction now helps me invent interesting characters. My villains are always worse than I am; my heroes are always better.
I like to think my books will get you through a three-plane travel day. For me, those days go better if I’ve got a good suspense novel with in hand. You might feel about the same. If so, I’ve tried to make sure my novels won’t disappoint you. Ideally, you won’t even notice an hour spent waiting on airport tarmac.
Thanks to the author for the review copy.
Check out his website at RandallJarmon.com.

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