Above All Earthly Powers: Songs in the Night Book 3

Songs in the Night #3

by Jack Cavanaugh

Following World War II, little has changed in Berlin. The swastika has been replaced by the hammer and sickle, but a life of daily oppression and fear continues. Inspired by the vision of Pastor Josef Schumacher, rescuers and survivors of one of the Nazi's heinous extermination facilities now risk their lives to complete what Josef began decades before. Betrayed by American military forces, hunted by Stasi secret police, and blackmailed by one of their own, Mady Schumacher and Colonel Matthew Parker form a contentious coalition whose sole purpose-freedom for those society disregards-seems like a fool's errand. The absorbing saga of the Songs in the Night series comes full circle in this final episode! Lamp Post is proud to present its Fiction:Inspired! series-timeless, inspirational books for all lovers of fiction who want to feel good about the books they read. Enjoy historical and contemporary stories of Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi, Mystery, and more!

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Christian, Romance

444 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Jack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.

A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.

His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.

Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.

Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.

AWARDS

• Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association
• Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction
• Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media
• Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine
• Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society
• Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild

Reviews

[Jesseca Wheaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know those books that when you finish them you just sit there and think "wow"? And then you hug the book to your chest and just never put it down? Of course, when a books it that good there were several times while you were reading it where you screamed in frustration.
That's how this book was for me. It is the final book in the "Songs in the Night" series, and absolutely my favorite of the three! I honestly had no idea how the author would wrap it all up! So many different twists and turns and oh my goodness! I was so mad when Tomcat died. I hated the author. Then I felt like hugging him when I realized Tomcat was still alive in that last chapter
I was so happy to see how everything worked out between Konrad and Lissete. I was like *finally*!!! That was a long time in coming. ;)
Now I cannot wait to get my hands on another book by Jack Cavanough! I absolutely love his writing. :)

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Above All Earthly Powers concludes Jack Cavanaugh’s Songs in the Night trilogy, shifting the setting from Nazi-controlled Berlin to the equally oppressive reality of Communist East Germany. With the war over, the symbols have changed—the Swastika replaced by the Hammer and Sickle—but the atmosphere of fear, surveillance, and control remains. In this installment, the focus is on a dangerous mission: helping six disabled young people escape across the Berlin Wall to freedom in the West.

Cavanaugh continues to deliver solid, well-paced writing, and the historical backdrop is vividly drawn. The tension of the escape plot is compelling, but at times the narrative leans into melodrama. Several moments feel as though the stakes are inflated for emotional effect rather than organic storytelling. The book’s recurring motif of reunions and separations gives it a cyclical rhythm, but that structure also makes some developments feel predictable.

One noteworthy—and potentially uncomfortable—element is the use of the term “retards” as a pejorative. It is worth noting that the slur is used only by the story’s antagonist to underscore his cruelty, but modern readers may still find the language jarring.

As the final book in the series, Above All Earthly Powers does provide closure, tying up long-running character arcs, though it is arguably the weakest of the trilogy in emotional impact. While it can be read as a standalone historical novel, readers will gain much more from it if they have experienced the series from the beginning.

Overall, this is a tense, faith-driven historical adventure with a strong sense of time and place, even if it doesn’t quite match the resonance of its predecessors. Recommended primarily for those who have followed the series to this point or for readers with a particular interest in Cold War-era Christian historical fiction.

[Rebekah Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people don't like this one out of the three, but I thought it was just as good. The only thing I didn't like was the time span that had occurred. I felt *soooo horrible* for Konrad. Like that ruined the whole book for me because I felt so bad for him I couldn't enjoy anything else. Tomcat is so awesome. He was definitely my favorite character and I laughed so hard at him. When I thought he died, I threw the book down and decided it wasn't worth finishing. Luckily I picked it up and learned he was still alive. That was a nasty plot trick Jack Cavanaugh!! 😄 Please don't torture me like that again. Anyways, has to be one of my favorite book series out there now.

[Sherry Ledet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this series. Jack Cavanaugh really knows his history. The books begin on the night the Berlin Wall was torn down and people were able to freely walk across the border. Then it starts to tell the story of a young pastor and his youth group in 1938 Germany, ending in Book 3 with the Berlin Wall again. The story is very well constructed, the characters are very real, and the events are believable.

[Neva Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction set between 1961 and 1987 based on the sudden closing of the border between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Kennedy administration and reopened by demands from the Reagan administration. It is an excellent book about a rag tag group of individuals who work extremely hard to escape Communism. Hope you look it up and read it.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Least favorite of the trilogy but still a good one!! Kind of dragged in the middle.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY GOOD. Loved it.

[Jeanne Modisett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last in the series and too unrealistic for me. The first in the series was the best.

[the_bookish_took · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo... It's no longer a four star (I think I know why I only gave it four.)

I definitely remembered the first two way better, but certain scenes stuck in my mind from this one.

Ok. Review. This one hurts me, like badly. His Watchful Eye hurt me with a few deaths and separations, but Above All Earthly Powers is just painful. Particularly Konrad. He and Lisette hurt so much for a lot of the book. I forgot that. More like blocked it out of my memory because it was too painful. For seven years. Seven years!! He was hurting, alone. Lisette was hurting, alone. Ugh!
Why!! I get why but still. I would have liked for them to have reconciled sooner. Sharon Lewis did very well. And speaking of separations—such a long time for Tomcat to be dead! I know that she forgives him eventually—come on, Lisette forgives Konrad and Mady forgives Park—she is going to forgive him, and if her reaction to him at first is any indication...well they will be just fine.

This book may be my least favorite out of the three just because of those painful spoilery things, but I still loved it. I like meeting the new characters, getting a taste of East Germany, reuniting with old characters and all the throwbacks and things. I love Fletcher, by the way.

Anyway, I really rediscovered why I love this series so much. Still one of my favorites. Highly, highly recommend.

[Pegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good way to wrap up the series. There were situations that stretched credibility in a few places, but it's still a solid 4 stars. This final book did a fast forward from WWII to the early 1960s and we learned what became of the Hadamar children, Lisette, and Mady. When the Berlin Wall went up, their lives altered drastically once again. Three people return from the dead in this book, one I expected but the other two I did not. It added some twists and turns along the way. I love a series ending that wraps up both the plot lines and the character arcs. This one certainly does that! A series very worth reading, one I highly recommend.

[Allison Suddarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good, but not as good as the first 2 books in the series.

[Julie Christianson · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good series of books.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love this book!!