Recent novels from Christian publishers

South of Somewhere

T.I. Lowe
Tyndale, 352 pages

A recovering alcoholic rebuilds her life in South of Somewhere by T.I. Lowe. After Junie Wilder’s husband and grandmother die in quick succession, she tries to drown her sorrows in alcohol. She’s arrested for DUI, losing custody of her young daughter. Following court-­ordered rehab, Junie moves to her late grandmother’s beach house on Sullivan’s Island, S.C., where she plots to win her daughter back from her estranged brother’s custody. Junie’s character development isn’t a straight line. She wrestles temptation when sobriety seems too hard and suffers overwhelming guilt for failing her child. The book’s subject about overcoming addiction could be a depressing slog, but Junie is a worthy protagonist who doesn’t whine or blame others for her circumstances. Her best ally—despite their constant bickering—is her grumpy parole officer, a no-nonsense, tough-love kind of guy. She also finds kinship with a motley group from her AA meetings, and a bit of chaste romance with her peculiar but caring neighbor. Junie’s indomitable spirit had me rooting for her to get a second chance at motherhood and, perhaps, love.

Spies, Lies, and Alibis

Natalie Walters
Thomas Nelson, 336 pages

The classic idiom “You can’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply to Natalie Walters’ Spies, Lies, and Alibis. A sketch of a tall, dark-haired guy in sunglasses next to a pretty girl with messy hair and flirty eyes paints a clear picture of what’s inside. Ben Bradley and Cybil Langford were childhood sweethearts. Years later Cybil works as an executive assistant to real estate mogul Earl Edmond. She’s secretly collecting intel on her boss’s possible illegal activities. Ben is an FBI agent posing as a high-powered financial adviser, trying to take down crime boss Lorenzo Ramirez. When Edmond and Ramirez strike a deal, Ben and Cybil’s worlds collide and things get complicated, fast. Ben and Cybil—despite nursing mutual latent crushes—distrust each other, not knowing the other’s motives. On the surface it looks like they’re both complicit in shady dealings, so they play a cat-and-mouse game through much of the book. It’s a predictable rom-com disguised as a thriller. Cybil’s clumsy antics and Ben’s grandmother’s escapades verge on ridiculous, but fans of romantic suspense will zip through this cute story with satisfaction.

These Empty Places

Sarah Loudin Thomas
Bethany House, 368 pages

Sarah Loudin Thomas loosely based These Empty Places on Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz’s life. In 1913, the Georgia socialite built her dream home (now the Greystone Inn), a 16,000-square-foot mansion at Lake Toxaway, N.C. After her first husband’s death, she remarried a lumber baron 14 years her junior. In this fictional tale, Lucy is portrayed as Claire Roth, the philanthropic woman who prefers Lake Toxaway to Savannah. She befriends Lena Hawkins, a young woman who goes from riches to rags after her husband loses their fortune in the 1929 stock market crash. Lena’s husband’s lack of discernment and get-rich-quick schemes place Lena in financial peril. Claire serves as a wise role model to Lena and pays for her education, mirroring the real-life benefactor who often invested in promising but less fortunate citizens in her community. Another historical fact affects the plot. In 1916, the Toxaway dam burst, releasing billions of gallons of water, draining the lake. Lake Toxaway sat empty until 1960, when it was restored by investors. In this story, Lena’s husband, ever pursuing fast wealth, searches for lost treasure rumored to have been thrown into the lake.

Where We Belong

Kim Vogel Sawyer
Waterbrook, 368 pages

The Orphan Train Movement is a sad chapter in American history when thousands of orphaned or destitute children were relocated from large East Coast cities to the Midwest, to be adopted by families mainly wanting farm labor or domestic help. In Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer, Callum Holbrook’s two daughters are not orphaned. After his wife’s death, he had placed them in a children’s home until he could find a stable job and a decent place for them to live. But by the time he returned for them, they had been sent west. Meanwhile, Hester Haak, a widow in Kansas, has always wanted children. She hopes to adopt a little girl when the train arrives. When she meets two sisters and another young boy who can’t bear to be separated, she takes in all three. The children are a handful, but Hester patiently showers them with love, unaware that Callum is making his way to Kansas to reclaim his girls. Set during the Depression, redemption is the theme in this poignant story. Circumstances are painful for many, but God is making all things new.

Daughter of the Rebellion

Jamie Ogle
Tyndale, 368 pages

Jamie Ogle’s Daughter of the Rebellion is a compelling mix of history, action, and character growth. In A.D. 403, Romans plunder a Visigothic camp, and Adelgard is among the captives. Enslaved at a gladiator school, she becomes a renowned gladiatrix, favored for her fierce talent. She feeds off the crowd’s adoration, not caring that their loyalty will end when a better fighter rises—or she’s killed. She masks emotional scars with a tough exterior, but she doesn’t count on the caring ministrations of a Christian doctor named Felix. Felix despises violence and the way gladiators are used as expendable entertainment. But due to dire circumstances, he’s forced to work as the training facility medicus. The book contains plenty of bloody—sometimes fatal—fights in the arena, but Adelgard and Felix’s verbal sparring adds surprising levity to the story. His gentle patience shatters her hard shell. And they both realize they’ve ignored God by doing things their own way. Eventually they join forces to lead a rebellion to free the Visigoths. The real-life Christian monk Telemachus, who according to historical sources became a martyr instrumental in ending the barbaric games, plays a pivotal role in the revolt in the novel.