Pastor John Cain is suffering from clergy burnout and his marriage might not survive. Suddenly, his personal agonies become the least of his problems when the couple's faith and courage are put to the ultimate test.
I’m a follower of Jesus, a writer, novelist, pastor ret. Went to school for awhile. Graduated a couple of times. Mentored some young people. Did other stuff, too. I’ve been in vocational ministry for 59 years, an older version now of the kid God called out of generations of farming families into Christian ministry. I have flunked retirement three times. I meet with business and professional guys in my living room on Wednesday mornings to talk about their spiritual journey. My readers are my final “flock of sheep” (with maybe a few old goats thrown in). I’m a widower with 2 married children, 7 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. These days, I write books and a weekly blog called PERSPECTIVE, about life as I see it. From my youth until today, I’ve sought honest answers to three great questions: 1) who is God in my life right now? 2) who am I in this powerful new season of my life? 3) what shall I do with the years that remain? Not your questions yet? Perhaps they should be. If you wish to write, know I enjoy hearing from my readers, and do my best to answer every one. Email: ward@wardtanneberg.com WARD TANNEBERG
This novel is a good first effort from this writer. The plot is typical of many suspense thrillers, as a group of Palestinian extremists unleash a strike aimed at bringing America to its knees. All the ingredients of a suspense thriller are there, including hostages, kidnapping, chemical warfare, murder, and a SWAT team take-out, complete with full media coverage. The way in which Tanneberg works out the plot is intriguing and entertaining. Tanneberg’s strength, however, lies in his ability to write very descriptively, painting scenes in such vivid colours that I found myself virtually hearing, touching, smelling, and seeing the action unfold. The hero – Rev. John Cain - is not larger than life, but is portrayed with weaknesses as well as strengths.
Yet Tanneberg’s writing style is much like his hero – there are weaknesses as well as strengths. Unfortunately his superb attention to detail often comes at the expense of plot development, because it slows the novel down considerably. If the average thriller novel can be compared to a fighter plane taking off at high speed from an aircraft carrier, this novel can be compared with a bomber, slowly lumbering down a lengthy runway. Although the book consists of nearly 600 pages, in fact it contains only about 400 pages worth of story-line. I felt that I was wading through unnecessary details to keep up with the story-line, rather than being carried along by it.
I also found the Christian content somewhat thin – certainly the novel centred around a church and characters who were Christians - but don’t expect to find this novel life-changing or terribly thought-provoking. But if you enjoy thrillers and are looking for a good read that will keep you busy for a decent stretch of time without being too “deep”, this book makes a good choice.
Unbelievably good!! Although there were three plots going on, It was easy to follow and so very suspenseful! And a beautiful wrap up for the ending of this book… So now I am starting book 2😁
I have said it before and I will say it again: This Author is as good, or better, than James Patterson. I have been reading his books for over ten years and he never ceases to deliver. The man takes suspense/thriller to a whole new level! He never disappoints!