Notable author: Creston Mapes

  Most of these posts I do are about new authors I discover and whose books I enjoy. Creston Mapes is an author I read several years ago. I read and reviewed all 3 books in his Crittendon Files Series back in 2013-2014.

 I just re-read the series this week, and wow. I forgot how good the series is. No offense to the author or publisher, but the original covers were the kind that brings the quote "don't judge a book by its cover" to mind - especially #1. The other two were pretty decent.  But I really love the new covers. (Old covers below). Another thing cool about these books are the setting: Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio areas. I am a buckeye, so that was cool. :)

I decided to buy the new covers, and ordered #1. Amazon sent me a different cover - not the oldest, but not the one I want. So I may forget that idea.

There are a couple of things about the books that make them a bit different than other books: #1 The couple in the book are already married with a couple of kids. And #2: The series features and revolves around a guy. All too often even books written by male authors still center on a female. It is nice when I read a book that actually centers on a guy. (And nothing against women. The Christian fiction market is just so geared towards female readers.)

After I finished that series, I found myself wondering why I had never read anything else by him. I know he has a newer series that he started in 2019, so I checked it out. Signs of Life is a 6 book series, with the first book having the same name as the series. I read the first book, and I am impressed. This guy can write.

The book starts on the evening of a mass shooting. One of the main characters is a detective a few years from retirement. The other main character is a 40 year old man whose wife was killed in the shooting. The chapters alternate between the two men. The chapters featuring the detective starts the evening of the shooting with he interrogating the shooter and investigating everything to do with him. The chapters with the other guy start several months after the shooting with him trying to deal with losing his wife in such a terrible way.

The author did a great job of portraying the mind and emotions of a man who lost his wife in such a horrific way. 

I just finished the 5th book last night, and it is an amazing series. The author addresses current themes and issues. This series is set in Portland, Oregon, and has the riots and all that going on. Mapes also weaves a lot of the Bible and Christian themes through his books, and his characters struggle with issues like faith, asking why God allows tragedy and killings, etc.

He also has some other books out that I have not yet read, but am planning on reading: 

I Am In Here

"Little Do They Know, I Can See and Hear Everything!"

Eighteen-year-old Hale Frodele is presumed braindead from a tragic church bus accident in which he lost his younger brother, Nate.

Little does anyone know—Hale hears and understands everything with crystal clarity.

Hale remembers when his mom died at age 44 of pancreatic cancer and his dad turned his back on God.

Hale understands that the unbeliever his dad remarried whispers bitterly that Hale is ‘pitiful’ and ‘ruining’ her marriage.

Hale knows his father has borrowed a large sum of money from a deranged loan shark named Sebastian and the payback is due in 48 hours.

Hale believes in his best friend Gilbert, who still visits him weekly, prays for his healing, and is beginning to realize something is very wrong in the Frodele household.

Hale is in here . . . and he has a mind-blowing story to tell.

Celebrity Pastor: 

His Heart Was Right . . . Until It Wasn’t

Pastor Neil Gentry embarked on his ministry with genuine intentions, unwavering passion, and undeniable charisma. He had a gift for drawing people in and teaching profound truths that resonated deeply with the masses. As his influence grew, so did his fame.

Vine & Branches Church became one of the fastest growing in the world, with campuses in Atlanta, LA, Austin, NYC, and a TV ministry spanning the globe. Soon, Pastor Gentry and his wife Becky resembled royalty, enjoying fame and power—and basking in the adoration of their devoted followers.

Beneath the glitz and glamor, however, whispers of misconduct began to surface.

Accusations ranging from coverup and manipulation to corruption and sexual harassment cast a shadow over the once-glowing reputation of Vine & Branches. Was Pastor Gentry leading his flock above reproach, or was he using them to fuel his own ambitions? Could the rumors of emotional manipulation and abuse of power within the church’s inner circle possibly be true?

As the allure of popularity and power consume the Gentrys, they find themselves plummeting into the abyss of moral compromise. With the weight of their actions threatening to shatter everything they’ve built, one dire question remains: can anything or anyone break the spell before the unthinkable happens? Find out in the latest tension-filled thriller from acclaimed suspense novelist Creston Mapes.

Nobody

Murdered Vegas Homeless Man a Millionaire in Disguise?

Reporter Hudson Ambrose hears an early morning call on his police scanner about an injured person at a bus stop on Las Vegas Boulevard and rushes to the scene. His world is blown off its axis when he discovers a murdered homeless man with a bankbook in his pocket showing a balance of almost one million dollars.

Should Hudson wait for the police, knowing the case will get lost in reams of red tape, or swipe the bankbook and take the investigation—and perhaps a chunk of the money—into his own hands?

With sirens bearing down on the scene, Hudson makes an impulse decision that whisks him on a frantic search for answers.

Uncovering bizarre links between a plane crash, a Las Vegas pit boss, a dirty cop, and a widowed Atlanta business mogul, Hudson is forced to find out: who was Chester Holte, what was he doing on the streets, and why are his homeless friends convinced he was an angel in disguise?

And the Rock Star Series. These are older and I never read them because the original covers never appealed to me, nor books about a rock star. However, the main character in those books was in the last book of The Crittendon Files, Sky Zone. I am now intrigued, so I will be reading those also.

Mapes is an author I definitely recommend. Faith filled suspenseful thrillers that I feel are geared more for men, but women will also enjoy.

About the author:

Creston Mapes grew up in northeast Ohio, where he has fond memories of living with his family of five in the upstairs portion of his dad's early American furniture store - The Weathervane Shop. Creston was not a good student, but the one natural talent he possessed was writing.

 

He set type by hand and cranked out his own neighborhood newspaper as a kid, then went on to graduate with a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University. Creston was a newspaper reporter and photographer in Ohio and Florida, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, for a job as a creative copywriter.

 

Creston served for a stint as a creative director, but quickly learned he was not cut out for management. He went out on his own as a freelance writer in 1991 and, over the next 30 years, did work for Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, The Weather Channel, Oracle, ABC-TV, TNT Sports, colleges and universities, ad agencies, and more. He's ghost-written more than ten non-fiction books.

 

Along the way, Creston has written many contemporary thrillers, achieved Amazon Bestseller status multiple times, and had one of his novels (Nobody) optioned as a major motion picture. 

 

Creston married his fourth-grade sweetheart, Patty, and they have four amazing adult children. Creston loves his part-time job as an usher at local venues where he gets to see all the latest-greatest concerts and sporting events. He enjoys reading, fishing, thrifting, bocci, painting, pickleball, time with his family, and dates with his wife.

Check out his website: CrestonMapes.com

New and notable author: Madison Love

I don't remember how I ran across this author, but it was very recently. The first book I read by her was back in April of this year. I am guessing she came up under a search of Christian suspense books on Amazon.

She has two series out so far: The Just4You Matchmaker Series and The Shining Knight Protector Series. The first series has 3 books - plus a prequel -  and the second series has 5 books out, with at least one more on the way.

I read the second series first, at least the books that were out. Two more came out since I started reading the series. It is really good. The books are romantic suspense, with the same team of agents being in all of the books. There is a lot of camaraderie and banter between the characters, and I found all of them to be very enjoyable reads.

Now if you take my advice and read these books, here is something you should know:
Read at least the prequel to the matchmaker series and also the first book, Matchmaking the Undercover Agent. And she is giving away the e-book of Matching the Protector for signing up for her newsletter.

Here is why: the prequel is about Ben. The first book in the matchmaker series is about Ethan Knight. Ethan is a a secret agent undercover as a rock star. He and Ben are best friends, and launch The Shining Knight Protector Series after Matchmaking the Undercover Agent. I didn't realize that and read the matchmaker series after I read the Shining Knight Series. 

I do like the suspense series best, but the matchmaker series is also very good. The author is an excellent writer, and is not shy about having Christian content in her books. 

I just read Daring, the 5th book, two days ago, and it was awesome. I so did not see who was the guilty parties in the book.

Madison is an author I definitely recommend, and I am already looking forward to the 6th book in the Shining Knights Protectors Series. Fearless is coming out September 6, 2024. 

About the author:
Madison Love is an Amazon Best-selling, clean, and Christian romance writer who loves to intertwine humor and suspense while adding a dash of sweetness. She has spent most of her life traveling abroad, discovering new places, and meeting wonderful people. It took her twenty years in the military before she settled in a rural town outside of Buffalo, New York, where she now lives on a forty-acre farm with her husband, son, and two dogs. Having been afforded the time and opportunity to bring her ideas and stories to life, she seeks to give her readers the ‘happy ever after’ they seek, but with a hint of intrigue.

Check out her website: MadisonLoveRomance.com

Clean and Christian military fiction

 

My favorite genre' is Christians suspense, and I love military fiction, which I would consider a sub genre' of suspense.

A while back, I got what sounded like a really good book that had a special ops soldier as the main character. Unfortunately. it was riddled with language that should not be in a Christian book. I emailed the publisher, a well known long running Christian publisher,  but didn't get a good response. I later commented on a post about the book about the language, and said "I don't know what "" was thinking." That resulted in the author messaging me all offended. He even asked "do you mean to tell me you have never cursed?" It was lovely message. All he did was defend himself and make it out that I was the bad guy for taking issue with the language.

Other authors have defended the language. One female author said she can understand it in that kind of a book. Wrong. There is no excuse for bad language,. especially by a Christian author in a Christian book subjecting Christian readers to it.

So I am making a list of military fiction authors that I have read whose books are clean and free of objectional language. I am aware there are other authors that have written military books for the Christian market, but I am listing the ones I have read. If I remember them all. 

I searched for military Christian fiction on Amazon, and it brought up books and authors I have read, but had forgotten. 

Some of these are  authors who write books that are not military, but have written a couple books or a series that is military.

Not all of these have active military in them. Some of these books are about military and special ops people who are former military that now run security and bodyguard type organizations.

Not every author writes Christian fiction, but the ones who do not write clean fiction with no curse words.

1) John Gault Robinson. I had never heard of this author until back in late December. I did a blog post listing as many male Christian fiction authors that I could come up with. John ran across the blog post, and emailed me. He had a 4 book series out and asked if I would want autographed copies of all four. I of course said yes. I was about blown away by how good these books are.

They feature Joe O'Shanick, a Navy SEAL, and Dr  Christine Tabrizi, an ER doc. The series is epically good, very suspenseful, and I found myself wondering why I had never heard of him. And his books had few reviews. I have tried to spread the word and hopefully get him some more readers.

John himself is an ER doc, and there are two more books coming out in the series. They are definitely clean and curse-word free.

2) Ronie Kendig started her writing career with a Christian suspense novel, then went on to finding her niche' in military fiction. She also started writing speculative fiction.

I have read all of her military books, and reviewed most of them until she quit doing book reviews of paperbacks. Her books are clean and curse word free. with one exception some years ago. There was one word, but I don't remember the book or the word.

One of her most popular series was The Breed Apart Series, which she did back around 2017. It was a trilogy about military working dogs.

A newer Christian publisher, Sunrise Publishing, has started something new. They take a published author, such as Ronie, and have brand new authors write books under that authors guiding that go with that author's books. Example: There is a new series of books titled A Breed Apart Legacy. Ronie wrote the first book in the series, but the other 4 are written by different new authors under Ronie's guidance. The 4th book, Fury just released by Steffani Webb - though my copy has not arrived yet. There is one more coming, Surge,  in November by Voni Harris.

3) Don Brown. This author was a JAG officer in the Navy, and his first series was about a JAG officer, Zack Brewer. I think all of his books revolved around the Navy. All of his books are clean and curse word free.

4) Chuck Holton. Holton did one Christian fiction military series that came out between 2006-2009, Task Force Valor.  It has been that long since I read and reviewed them, but they are really good, and clean and curse free.

5) Mel Odom. This author has written a lot of books that I have not written, but he has two military fiction series that I have read an enjoyed:

NCIS, a 4 book series about the Navy investigation service. And Called to Serve, a 2 book series. They are all really good and of course appropriate content and language.

6) Dave Pratt. I had run across the first book in his Home Team Series. It sounded good, but the book is $17.99, and I knew nothing about the author. After the blog post I mentioned, someone from the publishing company contacted me and offered to send the book to me. I loved it, and bought the second one. I think there is at least one more in the works. They are well written, and definitely belong in this blog post.

7) Rebecca Hartt. This is also a newer author to me. She wrote several books before this series for the secular market about Navy Seals under her real name. I grabbed one on KU to check out....and they have a lot of bad language, including the f-word. And sex scenes. I stopped looking through the book when I came to one.

But the series she wrote under this name, Acts of Valor, is definitely Christian. The series is about Navy Seals, and the books are very suspenseful with great characters. I don't remember how I discovered her books, but the description of the first book pulled me in.

Return to Eden, Acts of Valor #1

A dead man stands on her doorstep.

When the Navy wrote off her MIA husband as dead, Eden came to terms with being a widow. But now, her Navy SEAL husband is staring her in the face. Eden knows she should be over-the-moon, but she isn’t.

Diagnosed with PTSD and amnesia, Navy SEAL Jonah Mills has no recollection of their fractured marriage, no memory of Eden nor her fourteen-year-old daughter. Still, he feels a connection to both.

Unfit for active duty and assigned to therapy, Jonah knows he has work to do and relies on God, who sustained him during captivity, to heal his mind, body, and hopefully his family.

But as the memories lurking in his wife's haunted eyes and behind his daughter's uncertain smile begin to return to him, Jonah makes another discovery. There is treachery in the highest ranks of his Team, treachery that not only threatens him but places his new-found family in its crosshairs.

The series has 6 full length stories, and book #7, which just came out this month, has 3 stories in it. I had read the first two books two years ago, and did not know others had come out, so I re-read those two, then the rest of the books. They are really, really good, well written, and great characters that are in most of the series.

8) Rebecca Deel.  I wouldn't call this author's books Christian, but they are completely clean and curse-free. There are a few that have shirtless guys on the covers, which I was leery of, but after I read the reviews, I knew they were as clean as the others. Most of the main characters in her books are former military and special ops men and women who now provide security and rescue people. One series, her shortest one,  is about brothers who are all law enforcement.

She currently has 3 series:

Fortress Security, 19 books

Otter Creek, 15 books

Maple Valley, 5 books

  I enjoyed all of her books, and they are squeaky clean, though no Christian content, except for a couple of them.

9) Hallee Bridgeman. This author has several books out, but I think only one military series: Love And Honor. It is an amazing trilogy. The publisher did something unusual for a major publisher: The books all came out a month a part. There is a prequel to the series, and there is supposed to be a second one, but she has not written anything since her 15 year old son was struck and killed by a vehicle last year.

10) Dee Henderson. This author is best known for her O'Malley series, but she also wrote a series about military heroes, Uncommon Heroes. It has been years since I read the books - close to 20 years - but I gave them good reviews and remember enjoying them.

11) Hannah Hood Lucero. This series is about the Flynn brothers - Kael, Rian, Liam, and Declan. There is a 5th brother, Connor, who is already married and didn't get his own book. 😉

At least three of the brothers are military/former military. There is no active military action that I remember of, just references to some, but since most of the brothers are military, I included these books. The author is a new to one to me, and it is an excellent series.

12) Dony Jay. This author, a police officer in Washington, PA, has 2 books out in the Warrior Spy Series that are really good. I think he is working on a third book.

13) Love Inspired Suspense. This is a Christian line of books by Harlequin Publishing. It would take too long and way too much effort to come up with and list every book in their suspense and non suspense line that are about the military, but I will mention some that came to mind.

Love Inspired Suspense has done several K-9 series, usually 6-9 books, each by a different author. I am reading the current series right now, Mountain Country K-9, which still has a few books coming out.

They did a Military K-9 Unit Series back in 2018. There are 9 books in all, and it is a series worth reading.

There is also a 10 book series by Debby Giusti titled Military Investigations. I have not read every book in that series, but I can attest that the Love Inspired books are always clean and have no bad language.

Men of Valor by Liz Johnson is a 6 book series about Navy SEALS

14) Steve Wilson. Wilson has a 4 book series out, The Michael Neil Adventure Series. The main character is a marine. I have only read the first book, Red Sky At Morning, but it was a great read. It was clean and curse word free, so I assume the whole series is.

15) James Hannibal. I very rarely read a secular book - that may be why objectional words in a Christian book bother me so much  - so I don't remember what prompted me to pick up this author's secular books. I ran across the first two books in  his Nick Baron Series 6 years ago. They are not Christian fiction, but they are squeaky clean with no bad language.

The series is about an Air Force Pilot. The author himself flew stealth fighter jets. There is a third book, but I could not find it anywhere for a normal price. I emailed the author complimenting him on his books, and asked if he had copies of the third book for sale. He offered one free, and also sent all three books in a kid's series he wrote.

These books are really good, and I included them because they are clean and have no bad language.

Hannibal went on to write some Christian novels for Revell Publishing, part of the Baker Publishing Group. I reviewed all of them, and enjoyed all of them.

16) Jeff Strueker and Alton Gansky. These two  guys teamed up 13 years ago or so to write a military fiction series. Strueker is a decorated US Army Ranger. Oddly, I cannot find a series name, but there are 4 books in the series: Hide and Seek, Blaze of Glory, Certain Jeopardy, and Fallen Angel.

17) Dan Walsh. Walsh has a few books about military guys.

The Reunion is about a retired military vet

Rescuing Finley is the first book in a series about rescue dogs. The main character is a marine

The Homefront series. The first book is the first book Walsh wrote, a great Christmas story about a little boy going to live with his grumpy grandpa. The boy's mother passed away, and his father was off fighting in the war. The dad isn't in the first book much, but there is a second book that he is in more.

18) Irene Hannon. She has no specific military series that I know of, but she has a series that I am going to mention. Her Men of Valor Series is about the three McGregor brothers. One is a former Navy SEAL, the second is an FBI agent, and youngest is an Army Ranger.

19) Lisa Phllips. Phllips has a lot of books out, but I think just one series featuring military guys: The Chevalier Protection Specialists. Great series.

20) Lynette Eason. Eason writes great Christian suspense, and is one of my all time favorite authors. She did a great series about the military a few years back, Danger Never Sleeps. There are 4 books, and I consider it to be one of her best series.

21) Joel Rosenberg. I have read all of his books, other than his newest. I know some of them have military people in, but am not sure which ones. When you look him up on Amazon, his Last Jihad Series is classified as political and military fiction, and there may be more.

22) Edie James. This is an author whose books kept popping up on Goodreads as "other readers read...." I didn't think they were Christian fiction for some reason, but finally checked her books out and discovered that they are. And I love her books. She has three series, and two of them feature former military.

Hope Landing. There are 8 books, and all feature former military with the exception of the 8th book.

Redemption Creek. This is her newest series, and has 4 books out so far, with two more on the way. All of the guys so far in this series are former military/special ops.

Mackenzie Cove. This series is about 6 siblings. The first book is about the oldest, who leaves the military to come home and be chief of police in his home town. His siblings are a psychologist, harbor patrol officer, firefighter, Coast Guard rescue pilot, and attorney. Only the oldest one was military.

23) Bree Livingston. I have read several of this author's books, and they are clean with no Christian content. She has at least one series that has former military guys: The Army Ranger Romance Series.

This series comes after The Guardian Group Series, and the guys in the second series work for the Guardian Group. I just can't remember if the guys in the first series were military.

24) Kari Trumbo. This author has one series that I know of about former military: The Wayside Ranch Series. Most, if not all, of the guys are former military. There are 6 books out, plus a novella that goes with the series. The 7th and final book is due out in September.

25) Susan Sleeman. This is another favorite author who writes some great Christian suspense. She wrote one series that has characters who are former military who all had to leave the military because of some physical reason. Cold Harbor has eight books, which includes a prequel. It is one of my favorite series of hers.

There is also another series of hers, Nighthawk Security about 6 brothers. At least two of them - possibly three - are former military, and the others law enforcement.

She also has a Love Inspired Suspense title Saved by the SEAL.

26) Jessica Ashely. A new Christian suspense author. She has three books out so far in her Coastal Hope Series, with two more on the way. The series is about a team of security/protection guys who are all military veterans. Great series.

27) Lynn Shannon. This author has a 6 book series titled Triumph Over Adversity. All of the guys in this series are former military. She also has a great series about Texas Rangers, though there are no military guys.

28) Sara Blackard. This author has around 5 series, including a very good time travel series. She did a 7 book series Stryker Security Force that consists mainly - or all - of former military. They aren't long books, all of them coming in around or slightly over 200 pages, but I enjoyed the series.

29) Susan May Warren. I have a lot of favorite authors, but Warren is close to the top. She is an amazing author, and writes epic rescue scenes.

She has written a lot of books, and I am sure there are some that have military people in that I will miss, but here are the ones I came up with:

Global Search and Rescue, a three book series. All three male characters are former military.

Sky King Ranch, a three book series about triplet brothers. All three are former military.

My Foolish Heart. #4 in the Deep Haven Series is about an injured military vet.

30) Laura Scott. She wrote a great series Called to Protect. There are 7 books, and they are all about Navy SEALS.

She also wrote a series for Love Inspired Suspense titled Justice Seekers. The first three books in this series are about former military guys. The other three are about law enforcement.

Dreams On the Horizon, Horizon Series #2 by Penny Zeller

 

Book description:

Can love overcome all obstacles?

Mae Shepherdson’s dream of a school for the deaf has finally come to fruition. All is going well until she receives devastating news: the railroad wants to build a spur through the property where the Horizon School for the Deaf is located. What will become of the children who attend the school and the employees who so tirelessly commit their time and resources? Mae questions why God would allow the closing of a school that has been the lifeline for so many young pupils. And what of her dream that no child should endure being ostracized as she once was?

Landon Bennick is accustomed to obeying his father’s orders. He’s observed and even assisted with the building of many railroad spurs, and the newest in Horizon should be no exception. However, things grow complicated when he begins to fall in love with Mae, a soft-spoken teacher at the Horizon School for the Deaf—the same school blocking the railroad’s progress. Will Landon heed his father’s strict demands or is there another way to build the spur and save the school

When a nefarious character with vengeful intent threatens Mae, will Landon intervene before it’s too late and save the woman who has claimed his heart?

My review:
  Zeller has written a couple of contemporary novels, but she does her best writing when she writes historical novels. (Not that the contemporary ones aren't good. They are).

 And this one may be one of her best yet. She came up with some great characters. Mae, her family, Landon, the kids who attended the school for the deaf.....especially little Hosea. The scene where Landon helped him bat the ball in the game of softball....man. And I love what happened to Polly and Hosea at the end of the book.

Landon was a Christian at the beginning of the book, but a new one. His father was distant, not approving, and not demonstrative or one to compliment. As a result, Landon struggled with the idea of God as a father. I appreciated and enjoyed the truths the author brought out on that through a fiction novel.

The book also had some bad guys, and a little bit of suspense because of them. But I won't say what happened. :)

I have always found sign language intriguing, so I really enjoyed reading about that and the kids at the school.

At the heart of the story, is Landon's dad's determination to run the train tracks right beside the school, making it impossible for them to stay there. I loved how that got resolved, but that is something you need to read the book to find out.

My one complaint about the book - very minor complaint-  I didn't realize til I was pretty far into the book that Mae's parents were the main characters in the first book in this series. I should have realized it, but it wasn't very obvious at first. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - the plot, the characters, the setting, all of it. I am glad I gave this author a try a couple of years ago. She never disappoints.

Special thanks to the author for an advance copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

About the author:
Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. While she has had a love for writing since childhood, she began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics.

Today, Penny is the author of nearly two dozen books for the adult market. She is also a homeschool mom and a group fitness instructor.

When Penny is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and camping, hiking, canoeing, reading, running, gardening, and playing volleyball.

Penny is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

For all the details about Penny's books, please visit her website at www.pennyzeller.com

Book #1

Book #3, coming November 2024