Pocketful of Pearls (Elect Trilogy #2) [Paperback]

Shelley Bates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2005

Written with beauty and grace, award-winning author Shelley Bates pens the compelling story about the unstoppable force of the emergent self.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

At a crossroads in his life, college professor Matthew Nicholas goes wandering. Penniless and malnourished, he comes to the back step of a remote ranch house, where a reserved young woman, Dinah Traynell, feeds him, then hires him as a handyman. Matthew soon finds himself drawn into Dinah's awful story: for years, she's been the mistress of a self-annointed, monstrously smug prophet. She can hardly imagine life outside the cult, but Matthew opens her eyes, and together they overcome their unhappy histories in this affecting story that rips away hypocrisy and replaces it with trust.

John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Absorbing and poignant. With a deft hand, Bates examines how our Lord’s grace can set the most broken spirits free." -- Deborah Bedford, author of When You Believe

"Christianity's cutting edge--new author Shelley Bates tackles tough subjects." -- RT BookClub Magazine, March 2004

"Shelley Bates is a brave and talented author who looks at the darkness as well as the light." -- Mary Jo Putney, author of A Kiss of Fate

"This is a book that resonates in the heart. I literally couldn’t put it down." -- Ciji Ware, author of A Light on the Veranda

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Warner Faith (August 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446694916
• ISBN-13: 978-0446694919
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shelley Bates holds an M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania, where she teaches as adjunct faculty. She was the winner of RWA's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Novel in 2005, a finalist for that award in 2006, and, writing as Shelley Adina, was a Christy Award finalist in 2009. Three of her books have shortlisted for the American Christian Fiction Writers' Carol Award for book of the year. Writing as Adina Senft, she is the author of the Amish Quilt trilogy from FaithWords. Of her fiction, publisher and industry blogger W. Terry Whalin has said, "Readers will be lost in the vivid world that Shelley paints with incredible detail and masterful storytelling." A transplanted Canadian, Shelley returns there annually to have her accent calibrated. Between books, she enjoys traveling with her husband, playing the piano and Celtic harp, and spoiling her flock of rescued chickens.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Priceless Pearl of a Novel, September 21, 2005

By 

Reader "Blue Crab Books" (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Pocketful of Pearls (Elect Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

Very few Christian authors would take on the subject of a "toxic church" and its affects. In her first novel, Grounds to Believe, Shelley Bates lays the groundwork for this, letting the reader interface as outsiders into this strange world of the Elect. In her second novel, A Pocketful of Pearls, the reader feels each sharp pain of the heroine, Dinah, as if they themselves were enmeshed in the tight web of the Elect. This is a gripping novel which is difficult to put down; have kleenex ready as you cheer on the heroine's brave attempts to right her world. And look forward to A Sounding Brass, the last novel in the trilogy. Absolutely tightly written prose, emotional and fulfilling, so don't miss any book in this series!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This story is priceless...and the title is SO perfect and symbolic, September 25, 2005

By 

Michelle Sutton (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Pocketful of Pearls (Elect Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

I don't like to tip off the reader by telling the entire story in advance, or there is no point in reading the book. But I will say this... Be prepared for a page turner when you pick up this novel. It isn't a warm-and-fuzzy feel-good read, but it is powerful and will make your heart swell to unbelievable proportions as you rejoice and cry with the heroine. (Can you tell I write fiction, LOL!) Also, the author's ability to lure the reader into the mind of someone raised in a cult is SO on target. I've worked with abused women for nearly 18 years and I can tell you for certain that she has the internal thoughts and struggles of the victim down to a science. What can I say? I REALLY loved this story. Unlike most novels dealing with the harsh subject of childhood abuse, Pocketful of Pearls offers the reader grit, but served with a whole lot of bravery and hope. The characters are realistic and not super-human, yet strong in their own ways. This is a must read for people who want to get sucked into a novel and experience emotion by traveling the journey with the hero and heroine. Great plotting, too. I can't say enough wonderful things about this story. Again, I won't destroy it by sharing too many details, but rather than being a depressing story, Pocketful of Pearls is a healing one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A believable, uplifting story of a Christian cult that you don't want to miss!, June 27, 2006

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MLTyndall (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Pocketful of Pearls (Elect Trilogy #2) (Paperback)

Shelley Bates has a fantastic way of getting deep into the sludge of apostate and deceptive Christianity (Cults) and addressing the hard-core issues in a non-offensive way that can also be extremely uplifting. Without going into the details of the story, from the very first page, I found myself connected in a deep way to the heroine, Dinah, as she battles a life-long indoctrination in a toxic church and begins to see sparks of light and truth dawn on the darkness. Her relationship with the hero, Matthew is believable and handled with care under the circumstances of the abuse Dinah has had to endure. The ending is satisfying and encouraging. This is definitely a page-turner that will give you a great understanding of the true love and grace of God.