Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

Reporter Moira Harrisons is lost. In the dark. In a thunderstorm. When a confusing detour places her on a rural, wooded road, she's startled by the sudden appearance of a lone figure caught in the beam of her headlights. Though Moira jams on her brakes, the car careens across the wet pavement--and the solid thump against the side of the vehicle tells her she hit the person before she crashes into a tree on the far side of the road.
A dazed Moira is relieved when a man opens her door, tells her he saw everything, and promises to call 911. Then everything fades to black. When she comes to an hour later, she is alone. No man. No 911. No injured person lying on the side of the road. But she can't forget the look of terror she saw on the person's face in the instant before her headlights swung away.

The person she hit had been in trouble. She's sure of it. But she can't get anyone to believe her story--except a handsome former police detective, now a private eye, who agrees to take on the case.

From the very first page, readers will be hooked into this fast-paced story full of shocking secrets from fan-favorite Irene Hannon. Vanished is the exciting first book in the Private Justice series: Three justice seekers who got burned playing by the rules now have a second chance to make things right.

Give a shout out if you are planning to read our Book of the Month.

I recently read and loved this one. It's my favorite of Mrs. Hannon's books so far, but I haven't yet read many.

I just recently read it too, and I really liked it. She has a contemporary light romance series that I love also called Hope Harbor. I only have one book left to read in it.

I read this just recently and looking forward to joining the discussion. I always enjoy Irene's suspense.

My husband's picking this one up for me from the library as I type!😁

Glad you're joining us Kate! Good husband:)

I just finished this one, and I liked it a lot! Now I'm reading the 2nd one in the series.

I just picked it up from the library today. Looks good.

Here are the discussion questions for Vanished. Feel free to answer any or all or post your own question.

1. Moira’s story about her strange experience on the rainy road is dismissed by everyone --- yet she feels compelled to investigate because the image of the woman’s terrified eyes is burned in her memory. In Moira’s place, what would you have done after that night? Why?

2. Moira is smart, savvy, and talented...yet she was duped by her fiancé. What are some reasons she might have failed to notice clues about his real character? Have you ever been betrayed? How did you feel about that --- and what did you learn?

3. Ellen Blaine has given up on a marriage that appears to have been satisfying at one time --- yet she remains in the relationship because it’s convenient and gives her the material things she wants. Do you know of anyone who’s in a marriage that’s less than ideal? Why do some marriages lose their luster? What are some ways spouses can keep a marriage vibrant and healthy?

4. Blaine rationalizes the actions he takes with older patients, using many of the arguments employed by those who favor euthanasia. What do you think about those arguments? How might you counter them? What does the Bible teach on this subject?

5. Moira learns a lesson from Nikki about judging other people by appearances. Have you ever done that? If so, have you ever been wrong? Why do you think our opinions are often so influenced by appearances? Is that always a bad thing?

6. What are your impressions of Cal’s partners? Are you looking forward to their stories?

7. At one point, Moira suggests to Cal that he follow Socrates’ advice about prayer: “Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.” Do you agree with that, or do you think people should pray for specific things? Why?

8. Who is the most interesting main character for you? Why?

9. What secondary character did you find most interesting? Why?

10. Did the final scene with Blaine --- and the action he took --- surprise you? Why or why not?

7. I think general prayers are good, but God also cares about the specifics of our lives. I have asked many times for a very specific thing, should it be in God's will. Sometimes it wasn't, other times it was. Jesus gave us a wonderful example of praying for specifics when He asked three times for the cup of crucifixion to be removed from Him if possible. There was no other way for us to be redeemed and God's will to be done, so Jesus accepted the "no, My Son" answer and sacrificed His life to fulfill His Father's will and redeem us. If He may ask for specifics, then I think we may too.

There are other examples in the Bible too.
Prayer for the sun to go backward...
Prayer for a jar of oil to not run out...
Prayer for specific healings...
etc.

I'll come back to the other questions but also want to answer question number 7 for now:

I agree and disagree with that statement:

Agree - in the Lord's prayer, where he taught his disciples to pray, he prayers in general for our daily needs - so in that sense, I do agree that general prayers is good. In that sense you submit to God's will in asking Him to fulfill your needs and trust Him to know what needs that is, even though it might be different to yours.

Disagree - God is interested in our lives, down to the specifics. So I feel if we have a specific need or desire, we should ask him. I also try to compare it to a parent-child relationship. And God also says in His word that ask and receive and also use the parent-child example. Children ask anything and everything from their parent. Sometimes it is yes, sometimes no and sometimes later dependent on what it is and what the risk is to the child. In that sense our request to God should be the same - we should feel open to ask him anything and everything, But we should be willing to accept a No or Later if it is not in God's will for now. I think the risk of this if we do not check our hearts is that we can not be open to God's no and later and our prayers becomes more like a dictation to God to what He has to do in our lives instead of asking Him what he wants to do in this or that situation.

There is times in our lives that we do feel overwhelmed so sometimes a general prayer is enough and all we need in that time.

Yes, yes, yes! Sarita, I love the way you worded all that. Right on, girl!

Thanks Andrea 😊

I agree that God knows what we need, but we also need to be specific. I think it's a growth thing. When children are small they can get away with just saying they're hungry. The parent knows best. But the child must eventually grow in understanding. We prayed generically for God to heal a woman dying of liver disease and nothing happened. We started to pray about every deficiency as each specific test result came out. She was healed completely. But that is what God instructed us to do in this case. I don't believe God can be restricted to a particular form of prayer. Seeking His will, and discerning His voice, is important.

John and Sarita - both well said!

I just finished the book today. What a ride! It was very suspenseful. I was surprised at the end by the action Blaine took. I really was not expecting that... but when I discovered what had happened I was relieved for Moira, that she was safe, but sad that Blaine didn't have a chance to receive some counseling and help. What his father did to him when he was only 16 years old is awful. I can see why he was so messed up. The interesting thing is he did have a good heart in wanting to help others and all those children. But it was misguided. Then things just got out of control.

In regards to judging others by appearances, like Moira did with Nikki at first, it is a common problem among people. One of my best friends is someone I first thought by appearances I could never be friends with. I am much better now and getting to know people and not going by first appearances. There are so many amazing people that we should give everyone a chance.

I don't know what I would have done if this happened to me. I would have been so terrified and so confused. Initially, I think I would have just listened to the police and let it go. I don't think I would be brave enough to investigate on my own or approach a private investigator. But I would take it to prayer and let God lead me on what to do.

2. Moira is smart, savvy, and talented...yet she was duped by her fiancé. What are some reasons she might have failed to notice clues about his real character? Have you ever been betrayed? How did you feel about that --- and what did you learn?
~I think most of us want to believe the best of people, and some are very subtle to do harm. So, it's not difficult for me to see how Moira could be duped by her ex-fiance. About a decade ago, I was betrayed in a very public way by someone I had trusted. While I did not handle the situation as gracefully as I should have, I still think that it was the right thing to show love and kindness to the person in question, and I would not have changed that part of our interaction, even knowing how things would turn out in the end.

5. Moira learns a lesson from Nikki about judging other people by appearances. Have you ever done that? If so, have you ever been wrong? Why do you think our opinions are often so influenced by appearances? Is that always a bad thing?
~I think we need to be very careful to follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit when we interact with people, especially at first. For instance, yes, the way Moira made a snap judgement of Nikki proved to be incorrect, but if we have those little nudgings about someone saying that something isn't quite right about them, we should absolutely listen to them. A friend of mine once shared an experience she had as a young woman where she was approached by a man asking for help. She felt the nudgings of the Spirit saying to get away from him, and fast. Later, when he was captured, she recognised that the man who had approached her was Ted Bundy.

6. What are your impressions of Cal’s partners? Are you looking forward to their stories?
~I am definitely looking forward to getting to know Cal's partners in their own stories! Dev totally cracked me up several times, especially with his good-natured teasing of Nikki. And Connor . . . he came across as a wee bit mysterious, and I definitely want to find out what's up with that!

I started it, but abandoned it because it is written a lot like a romance and that style of writing is not my cup of tea :).

1. Moira’s story about her strange experience on the rainy road is dismissed by everyone --- yet she feels compelled to investigate because the image of the woman’s terrified eyes is burned in her memory. In Moira’s place, what would you have done after that night? Why?

I don't know - hopefully I will never be in that experience. Probably would have tried to forget about it if everyone says it was probably a deer or something

2. Moira is smart, savvy, and talented...yet she was duped by her fiancé. What are some reasons she might have failed to notice clues about his real character? Have you ever been betrayed? How did you feel about that --- and what did you learn?

I think she had trusted him and sometimes when you are close to someome you do not see the red flags. Yes I have been betrayed - I trust easy but when betrayed won't easily trust that person again - the person who betrayed me was fulfilling the longing for a friend, so then you don't always want to see red flags because a certain need is met.

3. Ellen Blaine has given up on a marriage that appears to have been satisfying at one time --- yet she remains in the relationship because it’s convenient and gives her the material things she wants. Do you know of anyone who’s in a marriage that’s less than ideal? Why do some marriages lose their luster? What are some ways spouses can keep a marriage vibrant and healthy?

I don't know anyone but knows it happens. Relationships is hard work and you have to constantly date each other and do new things together to have fun and grow stronger together - sometimes we are tired and in survival mode (especially with small kids) that you can allow your relationship to grow stale

4. Blaine rationalizes the actions he takes with older patients, using many of the arguments employed by those who favor euthanasia. What do you think about those arguments? How might you counter them? What does the Bible teach on this subject?

This is sometimes difficult because when we have pets who suffer from like cancer, we will sometime put them down so that they don't suffer, so sometimes it feels like people should also have a choice...but the Bible says God decides life and death and if we start going that route where will the line be drawn?

5. Moira learns a lesson from Nikki about judging other people by appearances. Have you ever done that? If so, have you ever been wrong? Why do you think our opinions are often so influenced by appearances? Is that always a bad thing?

Oh yes, unfortunately I have and I have been wrong. Not just on appearances but this person is learning to be a pastor so should have Christian values etc type of judging as well. I think a lot is to do with social influences and how people are portrayed - so the world basically influences our thought pattern and how people should look and act etc

I think it depends from where the judging comes from. Like Kate said - is it from the Holy Spirit or just because the person fits or doesn't fit our social picture.

6. What are your impressions of Cal’s partners? Are you looking forward to their stories?

I loved them and already read the series - couldn't wait!


8. Who is the most interesting main character for you? Why?

Between Connor and Moira? Probably Connor - his past was more heart breaking and interesting

9. What secondary character did you find most interesting? Why? Dev - mainly due to his banter with everyone.

10. Did the final scene with Blaine --- and the action he took --- surprise you? Why or why not?

Yes it did - I thought he will be captured/shot, not that he would take his own life, but the clues and his POV actually showed that he had this perfect picture so at the end it wasn't so surprising as it fit the characteristics the author placed throughout the book.

I didn't read this book until November, but I did read it, so I will say something about it. In general, I thought it was a very thought-provoking story, especially regarding the issue of euthanasia, and I like Sarita's response to that question above, but I would add that in my opinion euthanasia is either murder or suicide depending on the situation because when it comes down to it, people are made in God's image and animals aren't, and our times are in His hands.

Anyway, this is the question that I really wanted to answer.
7. At one point, Moira suggests to Cal that he follow Socrates’ advice about prayer: “Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.” Do you agree with that, or do you think people should pray for specific things? Why?

I believe that prayers can be either general or specific and that both perspectives are good. Honestly, even in the example of prayer given by Jesus, He says to ask for general things, "your kingdom come, your will be done," and for specific things, "our daily bread." And in another Scripture that I like He says:
"If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:11-13 NKJV
When I asked my parents for things growing up, I was specific, but that didn't mean that I always got what I wanted. God is primarily our Father, and He acts like one. He wants to know our hearts and hear our desires, but in the end, He is wiser than we are and knows us better than we know ourselves.