Customer Reviews

Private Justice (Newpointe 911, Book One)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The mystery of this novel was intriging, but the draw of the book for me was the way the author wove the faith of the characters with the crises in their lives. Blackstock pulls no punches as she shows us Christians and non-Christians living out their lives, "warts and all." It's not just a mystery that has been "christianized" with "god-words," it is an look at believable characters who struggle with their faith, yet perservere. Bad things do happen to Christians, yet the promise of Romans 8:28 is evident throughout the book. If, like me, you are used to Patricia Cornwell novels, you will find that Blackstock is not as developed, but her characters still have a depth that makes them believable. I approached the novel with a bit of skepticism because I'm used to the likes of Cornwell; however, I came away with my spirit lifted in a way that I've never gotten from secular mysteries.

Terri Blackstock has done a masterful job of combining heart-pounding fiction with Christian values. You will absolutely not be able to put this book down and yet you will have no sense of guilt or shame at having read it, because you know the writer is committed to following Christian values.

What is also refreshing is that Private Justice doesn't follow a formulaic, Polyanish, everything-is-okay storyline. There are real people, with human flaws, who fail their families and their God. Christians make mistakes. Men are not Knights in shining armor and woman are not breath-takingly beautiful homemakers with perfect waistlines and no bad thoughts.

There is a marriage on the rocks that is put together only by God who allows tragic circumstances to force two independent belivers to come to grips with His will for thier lives. This book mirrors the real Christian life. You as a reader will at times wonder if Terri Blackstock has inside information from your life.

What I also enjoy is that Private Justice is so tightly written that she doesn't have to overwhelm the reader with unneccessary minutia about the field of police and fire and rescue.

This was my very first Terri Blackstock novel, but I can assure you that I will read many more. She has a wonderful storytelling talent. May God richly bless her work.

I was intrigued by the title and the synopsis and, what the heck, it was free so I grabbed this book. I found the characters to have no personality whatsoever and couldn't buy into the marriage problems of Mark and is unreasonable wife. But, the reason I quit the book before finishing was frustration with the way the crimes and investigations were handled by the writer.

If you are portending to write about crime and law enforcement, please try to learn SOMETHING about either. I am a police officer and I was so incredibly distracted by the inaccuracies regarding how the investigation was being handled. As a murder mystery goes, it almost seems as if the murders were an afterthought so that the publishers had something to write in the book description. The murders were kind of forgotten about for a period while we took a break to discuss God, faith, marriages, break-ups...

The characters were flat and there was no drama.

My sister has been telling me about this series for months and I didn't think I was going to enjoy reading it. I finally decided to read it and now I am practically pacing the floor waiting for her to bring me the next book so I can find out what happens next! This is a really great book and if you aren't sure if you want to read it or not, I hope that this recommendation gets you to read it!

I am only in the 8th grade and I couldn't put this book down! I could not go to sleep at night just thinking about what was going to happen next. It is so great how Terri links everyday situations... I take that back. These weren't everyday situations. The situation of this book was linked to trusting and relying fully on God. It was so gooood! I recommend this book to EVERY reader out there... boy, girl, young, or old. It is an excellent mystery that can't be put down!

I don't often write fan letters, Ms. Blackstock, but I felt compelled to send this one today.

Regrettably, I was not familiar with your work (even though I read some 40-50 books a year, and have over a thousand volumes in our home library) until my daughter urged me to consider reading your books. I respect her judgment, and began "Private Justice," from your "Newpointe 911" series a few weeks ago.

Today I finished the final installment, "Line of Duty," of your five-volume series. It was the 46th book I've read this year (yes, I do keep a log!)... and your "911" series accounted for five of the last thirteen. This, hopefully, conveys the extent of my interest in and appreciation for your writings.

Please accept my congratulations for having developed an extraordinarily unique style... combining tales of interest and excitement, with characters who become real persons; and blending in your compelling spiritual messages in a manner which brings the John Grishams, the Mary Higgins Clarks, et al; together with the Max Lucados, the Philip Yanceys, and the Lahayes.

So, again... Congratulations!... On your creative writing talents, your development of suspenseful plots and characters readers come to know intimately... and especially for bringing your inspiring messages to many readers who may not otherwise seek out books dealing solely with your sincere dedication to The Nazarene.

I wish for you continuing success... and for many more Terri Blackstone series to come!

--Ron Howe (Toby Martin II) / Erskine, Minnesota

I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense of this book. I found it refreshing to read a book of this caliber of quality that was free of profanity. It is a great book. I understand why she'll give you your back if you don't enjoy it.

If you are the kind of reader that needs to have their Christian faith constantly affirmed, this book may be for you, otherwise, stay far, far away. The mystery is padded with hours and hours of sappy, spiritual lesson-making that replaces logic with lunacy and sleuthing with sermonizing.

********** SPOILER ALERT ************

The author steers us towards one murder suspect, creating an extraordinarily contrived chain of circumstances that point to his guilt, and then pulls the rug out. For example, the killer gets shot in the arm or hand at the finale, but escapes. They round up the first suspect, and lo-and-behold, on the same night, he has cut his hand on a glass, looking like he must be the murderer. Not so, it was just a coincidence to make the story work. What are the chances? If you are the writer, you can make anything happen, but this is a cheat and a cop-out.

In the end, God allows three people to be murdered and a town terrorized so that a couples' marriage can be saved. Praise God and pass the baloney. This doesn't pass the smell test.

I didn't read the synopsis first as the title interested me enough, plus it was free, so I can't complain.

At first I didn't realize it was a Christian novel, but once I started I committed to finishing even if it was torture part of the way.

Halfway through I was wondering how the title even fit into this novel as I couldn't make any connection until almost the very end.

Too much marriage drama, and not enough real character and plot development in my opinion.

Not understanding why all the high ratings...it was o.k.

I really wanted to like this book and the beginning started out great. A shocking murder is committed in the town of Newpointe, then another. Meanwhile, fireman Mark Branning has moved out and is separated from his wife Allie. There is a serial killer targeting the wives of firemen and Allie and Mark must fight through their struggles for the sake of their marriage. I wanted to like this book because it is a Christian novel with a good purpose. Ninety percent of the books I've read have been secular but I'm starting to read more Christian novels. But to me, this book fails for three reasons: the marriage conflict between Mark and Allie isn't believable, the serial killer plot collapses under its own weight, and the spiritual message is confusing and disappointing.

Mark and Allie's marriage is suffering because she thinks he had an affair and he hasn't convinced her otherwise. Seeing your husband hugging another woman is not proof of adultery, but it is grounds for suspicion. Yet, Allie assumes Mark is cheating on her because she witnessed him hugging another woman. It seems to me the truth would be discovered in the resulting fight. Instead, Mark and Allie separate and Allie sees no hope for her marriage because of that hug and what she assumes was an affair.

Blackstock does a poor job of framing the conflict between Mark and Allie. Throughout the book, references are made to Allie believing Mark had an affair with Issie. Allie refers to Mark's act as "adultery" and recalls him "lying" his way out of it after Allie caught him hugging Issie. Their marriage is struggling, but Blackstock should have given more reasons why Allie assumed adultery other than a hug because throughout the book, Mark says he didn't have an affair and Allie chalks it up to one of his lies.

Later in the novel, Blackstock gives more reason for their conflict but by then its too late.

The serial killer story is poorly done, and it also seems everybody knows everybody in this book. When they book a suspect at the end, it seems ridiculous. The police work feels like it was written by an amateur. One line in the novel, "As much as the evidence pointed to XXX, Stan didn't want to believe it." In my opinion, the evidence didn't point to that person and Stan, the detective, seems foolish for believing it. There isn't any rhythm or flow to the police work or the serial killer in the story. There is no sense of setting in the book. There are too many characters that no each other yet little context in how they know each other.

Finally, this book talks about God and prayer and being "saved" throughout the book, and that's great. With a serial killer on the loose, a lot of bad things are happening and the characters react to this in a bad way.

At one point, a conversation goes like this: "How can the murder be part of God's plan?" "Maybe it isn't" "That would mean God isn't in control." "He is in control, but he allows some things to happen."

Then at another point, Mark says to Allie, "I'm going to be fine, it's time to trust the Lord. He's taken care of us so far."

Then Allie says: "But I don't know what his plan is. I don't know how he wants this to end. I don't know what he wants to teach us."

At other points in the book, characters say that God has a plan and maybe the serial killer is part of God's plan and that through God's plan, all things can be used for good. This line of logic is infuriating. Bad things happen to everyone, including God's people. God doesn't "allow" a serial killer to shoot and burn your wife. That's a horrible message to send to a non-Christian who may have lost someone in a car wreck. Telling them it was part of God's plan is the quickest way to turn someone from God.

God is obviously there for people when something bad happens to help them through it and to find the good in it and God can even keep bad things from happening to Christians. But like above, where Allie was afraid because she thought God might have chosen to have her killed to teach a lesson, God doesn't willfully kill people. It comes down to the simple fact that all people, including serial killers and Christians, have choices to make and have free will.

I'm surprised I wrote so much on an 8 year old book but I wanted it to be a good book.