Reply #37: It proselytized [View All]

I only got through a little over one CD, but from that amount the book's main character was a forensic pathologist who seemed more interested in a romance with a Marshal than investigating cases. She and Marshal go to a burn out site. She notices an animal inside the burn out and, instead of taking care of her surroundings, she goes waltzing through the place, falls through a floor and ends up with a piece of rebarb a few inches from her spine. That's when the book began the God talk.

The Marshal is a Christian and sat beside her bed, praying for her. The pathologist isn't religious but tells the Marshal that she felt his prayers and they lessened the pain she felt. From there the door was flown open to the rest of her family to begin their own Christian pressuring. A sister, on the pathologist's first day back to work, spends the drive talking about a scripture from John. The pathologist ended the conversation by switching on the radio. I ended the book by turning off the CD player.

The author was Henderson. First name started with a D and was female, but I can't remember it right now. (Danielle? Dani? Deb?)

The front of the cover discussed this being another great thriller from the same author who brought you blah-blah-blah (can't remember the other title either). On the back by the UPC it was listed as mystery/romance/thriller. I'm used to Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell... this book was way below those standards in both writing and overall 'thrill' level.

My brother and his wife (the family who sent this to me) aren't big readers. I can imagine them going into their local Christian store and asking for a Christian-based mystery (knowing those are the books I like) for a non-believer. I have little doubt that by the end of this book, the forensic pathologist has placed her microscope on the shelf, married the Marshal and is attending Bible study with the rest of her family. (Exactly what my family would like me to do.)

Here's the irony: Had the books been sent to me with a card saying something along the lines of "I know the Christian storyline isn't really your thing, but we thought these were good mysteries that you would enjoy" I still would have been thrilled to receive them. I probably would have even listened to them just I would have some common semi-neutral ground for discussions the next time I attend a family function. I don't so much object to the books as I object to the underhandedness of it -- as if they thought I wouldn't even notice the religious undertone or something.