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Marilyn Meredith Reviews
Page One
Added January 18, 2004
The Choice
Author: Marilyn Meredith
Publisher: PageFree Publishing
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Fiction: Suspense/Inspirational
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 1-930252-25-0
Author Email/Website: www.fictionforyou.com
Reviewer: Melissa Parcel
After the death of her husband, Jessica McGuire took a job as a police deputy in the small town of Lawrenceville, California, in order to support herself and her son Jonathan. Her job is mostly mundane, dealing with burglaries, drunks, and escaped farm animals. However, in early March, things begin to change. She finds an old grave of an infant dug up and the skeleton removed. A goat and a cow are killed and their blood is taken. The cross from the local church is stolen.
Jessica teams up with Pastor David Tanner to investigate these strange occurrences. He is convinced that Satan worshipping is taking place in their town. Jessica isn't sure, but she's willing to have an open mind and keep investigating. Jonathan has started acting strangely, shutting himself off from her and listening to heavy metal music. Is he somehow involved? When she comes across some hooded people conducting a ceremony in the woods, she knows she needs to get to the bottom of things before the mischief escalates into something worse. Or is it already too late?
The Choice is a frightening look at the worship of Satan and its dire consequences. Ms. Meredith obviously did a great deal of research into the subject and presents it in a straightforward manner. Readers get an inside look into Satan's lies and how God's truth can help overcome them. Jessica is a fascinating character, and readers will be endeared to her right away. Her struggles with supporting her son as a single mom, and trying to balance her work with her family life are incredibly realistic.
I had a couple of problems with The Choice. One is that it needs a bit more editing. I found a few spelling and punctuation errors that were distracting. The other is that the dialogue is not very true-to-life. The teenagers don't talk like regular teens, and other dialogue is stilted and overly formal.
These shortcomings don't detract too much from the overall message of The Choice. The ending scenes left me breathless and turning pages quickly to see the outcome. I was intrigued by the choices the characters had to make and the consequences that came from those decisions.
This is the second book I have read by Marilyn Meredith and will definitely read more in the future. She explores things that some authors shy away from because they are too controversial. Christians and non-Christians equally will have a great deal to learn and ponder from The Choice. I recommend it for anyone wanting to experience a hard-hitting good versus evil story.
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Added September 4, 2003
Deeds of Darkness
Author: Marilyn Meredith
Publisher: Mountain View Publishing, a division of Treble Heart Books
Available At: www.trebleheartbooks.com
Publishing Date: June 2003
Genre: Fiction: Horror/Christian
Format: Trade paperback, E-book download, floppy diskette
Price: $11.95 paperback, $5.00 download, $6.00 diskette
ISBN: 1-931742-52-9
Author Email/Website: www.fictionforyou.com
Reviewer: Melissa Parcel
Evil is alive in Yocut Springs. The only person strong enough and willing to face it head on is teenager Madeline Mahoney. Until lately, Madeline's life has been consumed with the typical trappings of teen life-clothes, hair, and guys. While spending the night at her friend Lynette Reddick's house, the girls observe Lynette's mother and a group of cloaked individuals performing a ceremony on the lawn. Madeline discovers that Mrs. Reddick is the leader of a witch coven, now at its strongest with thirteen members. Although Madeline is a Christian, she doesn't see the harm in dabbling with a spell to try to make Brian, the boy of her dreams, fall in love with her.
Tragic things begin to happen in the area: fires are mysteriously started and horrible accidents and deaths occur. Madeline starts to pull away from her friendship with Lynette and grows closer to Brian, who is a fellow Christian. They try to bring the evil into the open with their pastor, who doesn't believe that demons exist in the world today. It is up to the teens to make the town see that this witch coven has given the devil and demons a foothold in their community. Will they be able to stop the madness before it's too late?
In a novel appropriate for teens and adults alike, Marilyn Meredith has touched on issues relevant to everyone. Madeline's character exhibits strength under extremely trying circumstances. I was chilled to the bone at many of the scenes and was glad that I am not confronting the evil face-to-face as she and Brian do on many occasions. The pace is fast but Ms. Meredith does not skimp on details that help us get to know the characters and their motivations. Deeds of Darkness is disturbing on two levels--it's a creepy fiction story, but it also is realistically heart-pounding and describes events that could truly happen.
Ms. Meredith's themes are important for Christians to read and discuss. It would make an excellent study book for youth group or other small group members. Just how does Satan work in the present day? Readers will come away from this experience with a deeper faith and understanding of how the devil can take advantage of weakness in our lives and how God is working for each one of us. I highly recommend Deeds of Darkness, it is a book that will stay with you for a long, long time.
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