#19--Tilly by Frank E. Peretti

I have yet to find a Frank Peretti book that I didn't like.  My fiance handed me this one several months ago to read, but I finally grabbed it for vacation--and it was the first thing I read after leaving the house!  This is a quick and easy read, while also being something of a tear-jerk-er at times.

The book opens with Dan and Kathy attending the funeral for a man they didn't know well as the only mourners other than the pastor.  After the graveside service, they are walking through the cemetery and they come upon a woman mourning at a headstone that simply reads "Tilly" with one date on it.  Despite Dan's warnings, Kathy approaches the woman and tries to comfort her and at the same time, find out who Tilly was.  The woman flees in fear.  For about a week afterward, Kathy is unable to function and spends most of her time in the bedroom, trying to figure out what happened, as well as how to talk to Dan about it, and other things on her mind.  At the end of the week, Kathy is sleeping and when she wakes up there are hundreds of children in her yard....children she doesn't recognize....making noise that she doesn't appreciate because she is trying to sleep.  She shoos most of them away, with the exception of one small girl.  This small girl asks to eat lunch with Kathy in her house.  Once Kathy hears her name, Tilly, she acquiesces.  As Kathy and Tilly spend time getting to know one another, Dan is on a mission of his own--to find out who the woman was and who Tilly is.

Both Kathy and Dan are able to get the answers to their questions and are also able to lay aside the guilt that had plagued them for a number of years for something they did.  In an effort to not completely spoil the ending, I won't say anymore, other than...this book is an example of forgiveness....forgiveness that we must give one another, the forgiveness that comes from God, and accepting that forgiveness once it is meted out.

Happy Reading!!

#16--The Scrapbook Riddle by S.D. Brown

Jessica thinks her summer has been ruined!  Jess and her mom have traveled to the home of her Grandma (Gram) and Great-grandma (Grandma Charlotte) on the opposite side of the state--and there is no TV available, let alone cable, and she isn't allowed to call her best friend because of the long-distance charges!  How will she ever survive the summer without anyone to hang out with?

When they arrive, Gram is in the hospital and Grandma Charlotte is acting very confused and there is a strange man, Mr. Thomas, and his nephew, Josh, living on the third floor of the house.  The man is creepy and acting somewhat suspicious to Jessica's way of thinking, and his rude nephew isn't much better. 

Grandma Charlotte has a scrapbook that she looks at because it reminds her of her father, who died soon after the Crash of 1929.  He sent her a letter for her birthday that year with a riddle that she refers to as the riddle of the Liberty Lady and died before he could explain the clues in the poem.  Jess takes it upon herself to solve the riddle, in hopes that it will lead to the great treasure that has been rumored to be in the family for decades, but no one has ever found.  In the meantime, Jess befriends Josh and discovers that he isn't really Mr. Thomas's nephew--Mr. Thomas is blackmailing Josh into helping him swindle Jess's grandmothers.

Will Jess and Josh be able to find the treasure and prove that Mr. Thomas is up to no good?

This was another freebie on my kindle--and a very quick read.  It was good and I didn't guess everything by the end, but it was a somewhat stock mystery. 

Happy Reading!