Released: The Great Escapee Series Book 1

by Bonnie Lacy

Ex-con. Nobody cares … except a tiny girl named Bea. Clarence Timmelsen was locked up in prison for sixty years. Now he’s free in a nursing home. Still imprisoned by his angry heart. He’s been set up. Bea’s mommy, Katty—brutally abused by a former boyfriend. She follows her family’s tradition for living and parenting. Until the boyfriend comes back for their daughter. Did you like The Shack by Wm. Paul Young? Then you might like Released , the first book in The Great Escapee Series , a supernatural suspense series with a touch of magical realism. Buy Released to discover this engaging series today! NYT Bestselling Author Tosca " A curmudgeonly ex-con senior citizen, a little girl named Bea, and her addict mother. An unlikely trio crosses paths on the road to redemption from their pasts in small town Nebraska--with a little help from above. With true-to-life grit and characters you love to love (and some you love to hate), RELEASED is a fresh slice of hope in a world of injured souls ." "It's a battleground, in fact, for the ceaseless clash of good and evil. And as that battle plays out, Lacy unwinds a powerful story of the humanity that resudes in even the most hardened or sickened of souls." ~ Review

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2015

About the author

Bonnie Lacy is an independent author, speaker, and creative entrepreneur of Christian Contemporary Fantasy, nonfiction, and short stories all created with the theme of Worthless to Priceless. Her words are birthed from a heart to see people recover from addictions, abuse, and abortion and to embrace all Jesus Christ died on the cross for people to have.

What if you could see the angel standing behind you in the invisible realm, holding a sword right now? Yeah. That’s what she likes to write about. She loves the weird things: sink holes, caves, exploring cemeteries, old store basements where you might be glad you are wearing boots.

Her husband is her certified car consultant, and they live in small town America where most of her novels take place. She is a member of Realm Makers, Alliance of Independent Authors, Nebraska Writers Guild, and Kingdom Writers Association.

Somedays, she primes the writing pump by doodling—find samples on Instagram: @bonlacy. Visit her at: www.bonnielacy.com, sign up for her newsletter, and get a free book! Twitter: @BonnieLLacy.”

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the paperback version. This was a fun and engaging book to read. I enjoyed the characters and the story was extremely well written. The plot begins as the elderly hero of the book, Clarence, is released from a prison facility in Illinois and transferred to a nursing home in his hometown of Osceola, Nebraska. The story-line progresses as he interacts with fellow residents, workers and people in the community, including a young single mother and her daughter. The mother has issues with addiction and was a victim of domestic violence and the story really gets going when her former boyfriend returns to claim his child. The story has religious and spiritual elements that begin to reflect the belief system of the author and the characters find strength and purpose in accordance with those principals. There are several subplots that I do not think were clearly interwoven into the story and most of the characters were either good or evil and the evil ones were not presented in a way that we "understand" their evil. Some of the situations seemed a bit contrived. Still, this is an excellent book and one worthy of the reader's intention. I recommend it.

[Tom Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful restoration story

I never do 5 stars, but this storyline is as good as it gets. Here, the author and stumbled into each other - but I forgot how, and one thing led to another - and I downloaded RELEASED into my Kindle. Do you enjoy a good story, well this will serve you well - but, it's better than just good, it's good and strong.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

I gave it five stars because I really appreciated a 'clean' story. There was not the usual unnecessary explicit sexual descriptions. I think the characters were well thought out. I'll be looking forward to more stories with Clarence.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

After 60 years in prison, an elderly man is sent to live out his days in a nursing home in his home town in another state. He's angry about it and freely uses sordid language, as do other disgruntled characters in the story. From a single mom (who's life has been one of poor choices) with a young daughter (who is sometimes afraid of her mother) to angels and demons and characters in the nursing home, along with a hawk with a mind of its own, this incredible story eventually becomes one of redemption.

[Chuck Redman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a weakness for fiction set in small towns. I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone. Look at the popularity of Peyton Place.
Well, the small Nebraska town in which author Bonnie Lacy set her novel Released is a bit of a Peyton Place itself. It’s a battleground, in fact, for the ceaseless clash of good and evil. And as that battle plays out, Lacy unwinds a powerful story of the humanity that resides in even the most hardened or sickened of souls. She gives us deep insight into the mind and feelings of an abused child—one of society’s saddest secrets—as well as the mind and heart of the abuser, all with a sensibility that is rare.
Clarence is an elderly convict full of bitterness. Bea is an abused child living in terror. Katty is her abusive, addicted mother. Their lives intersect, and a decades-old mystery is re-awakened. Told with wit and realism, the mystery grows into a nail-biting life or death struggle. The combined strength of unselfish love and religious faith is the only alliance that can champion the good side of that struggle.
Released is the first book in Bonnie Lacy’s Great Escapee Series. I am anxious to pursue whatever truths are yet to unfold.

[Barbara D Herriman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very meaningful mystery!

Different kind of story with lots of meaning and inspiration. I liked the ending. Story is well worth reading. I am interested in reading the other books in this series!

[C]

Life

This was a very strange read. You start to follow and soon you're lost again. Definitely not my cup of tea, but maybe yours?

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool! And slightly terrifying. But cool!

[Flewts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf I found this depressing and decided not to continue reading. It probably had promise, but I didn't like the two main characters (as of the start of the book) and once I put the book down, I didn't want to pick it up again.

[Kirsten Bett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as it was an interesting and well-written read of how someone becomes who they are and that what you see is not necessarily what you get. In other words, it makes you dine deeper into the history of people you might have assumptions about because they have been to, let's say, prison or because they behave in a certain way.

That is a way too boring description of where Bonnie Lacy takes you in 'Release' because the story is riveting and adventurous. I read it almost in one go because I wanted to find out what would happen next. Highly recommend!