The Tenth Plague by Adam Blumer, and a giveaway

Water turns to blood. Flies and gnats attack the innocent. Marc and Gillian Thayer’s vacation resort becomes a grisly murder scene, with a killer using the ten plagues of Egypt as his playbook for revenge.

When their friend turns up dead, Marc and Gillian put their vacation on hold, enlist the help of a retired homicide detective, and take a closer look at the bizarre plagues as they escalate in intensity. Meanwhile, a stranger is after the Thayers’ newly adopted baby. Will they uncover the truth behind the bitter agenda before the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn son?


My review:

    A few years ago, I was shopping with my best friend around the time of my birthday. We were in a Christian bookstore and he told me to pick out a few books and he'd buy them for my birthday. One of those books was Fatal Illusions by Adam Blumer. It was one of the best suspense novels I had ever read, hands down. I have gotten to know the author fairly well through his blog, facebook, etc, and he had asked me to review his new book, and I was happy to do so.

    The Tenth Plague has the same main characters as in Fatal Illusions, which I liked,  but it is not necessary to read them in order.

    Some authors improve with each book, and that is the case here. Fatal Illusions was a really good read, but this book is even better. You can tell when an author has put a lot of thought and research into a book, and it shows in this book. There is a terrific plot that is complicated, yet not so much as to be over the reader's head. There is an evil man who is unleashing the ten plagues from the Old Testament on a Christian retreat center. I had an idea what the book was about before I started reading it, and wondered how Adam was going to do that. Its one thing to come up with a plot like this, but another to portray it in a reasonable way that though fictional, is also possible. He did a fine job of doing so.

   The evening I sat down to the read the book, I fully intended to find a stopping place and go to bed. That didn't happen. I was up til 1 am that night finishing the book. This was a truly remarkable book. I love suspense, and it kept me on the edge of my seat and was a thrilling ride. And that thrilling ride was free from bad language and even graphic violence. Adam proves it is possible to write clean suspense that is just as gripping as the best out there on the market, and keep it Christ centered and bad language free. His blog is titled Meaningful Suspense, and that is a great description of his writing. Its great to come across authors like this who are writing to glorify God. And though this is a suspense novel, there is a strong Christian message in the book.

   This is only Adam's second book, but it is one to be proud of. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good suspense novel. It has it all: A great plot, a wonderful cast of characters, and a strong, but not preachy, Christian message.

About the author: 


Adam Blumer is the author of Fatal Illusions and The Tenth Plague. A print journalism major in college, he works as a freelance writer and editor after serving in editorial roles for more than twenty years. He lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with his wife, Kim, and his daughters, Laura and Julia.

Check out Adam's blog, Meaningful Suspense.

Thanks to Adam for the review copy of The Tenth Plague.

The Tenth Plague is available from Kirkdale Press.

Giveaway:

    Courtesy of Kirkdale Press, I have one copy of The Tenth Plague to give away. This is an ebook giveaway, not a physical copy of the book. If you do not have an e-reader, you can read it on your computer.

   To enter: Since the publisher is providing the giveaway, go to their site, and look through the available books - there are 2 pages of them, and comment with which book, other than The Tenth Plague, you would be interested in reading most.

   Extra entry: Any of the following, do a separate comment saying which ne you did:
   Follow Adam on Twitter
   "Like" Adam on Facebook
   Go to his blog and read one of his posts about clean language in fiction (you may have to click on archives for the last couple of months)

    Using Random.org, I will pick one winner  2 weeks from today, February 9.