A Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2) [Paperback]

Mary E. DeMuth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

'Beautifully and sensitively written, her characters realistic and well-developed. Mary DeMuth has a true gift for showing how God's light can penetrate even the darkest of situations.' -- Chuck Colson She touched Daisy's shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy. Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder. Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy's murderer---a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy's death continue to mount, Emory's safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can't shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy's disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for? The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Every man should read Mary E. DeMuth. Too many women shoulder burdens they should never have to carry. We have much to learn from her.' -- Amy Clipston, bestselling author of A Gift of Grace

About the Author

Mary DeMuth is the author of several southern novels, including A Slow Burn, Life in Defiance, and the Christy award finalists, Watching the Tree Limbs and Daisy Chain. She's also written four parenting books and a memoir, Thin Places. She's passionate about the written word, teaching, and mentoring writers. Mary lives in Texas with her husband, Patrick, and their three children.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1 edition (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310278376
• ISBN-13: 978-0310278375
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a freelance writer and novelist living in Texas with my husband of nineteen years and my three wonderful children.

I have been writing since 1992, first as a newsletter editor, then as a freelance writer, followed by a fiction and nonfiction author. My articles have appeared in Marriage Partnership, In Touch, HomeLife, Discipleship Journal, Pray!, Bon Appetit, Kindred Spirit, The Writer, and Writer's Digest. For two years I penned a lifestyle column for Star Community Newspapers in Dallas (circulation 100,000). My books include Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), Watching the Tree Limbs, Wishing on Dandelions (NavPress, both novels releasing in 2006), Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2006), Daisy Chain, A Slow Burn (Zondervan 2009), Life in Defiance (Zondervan 2010), Thin Places: A Memoir (Zondervan 2010), 150 Quick Questions to Get Your Kids Talking (Harvest House 2011), You Can Raise Confident and Courageous Kids (Harvest House, 2001) and The Muir House (Zondervan 2011).

I'm more than my books. I love to cook, try my hand (body!) at triathlons, have a nose ring, and am passionate about singing.

I love to help people overcome a difficult past and blog about it five times a week at http://www.marydemuth.com. My facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/authormarydemuth and you can follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/marydemuth

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voice in the wilderness, November 5, 2009

By 

Jan Coates "Author/Speaker/Consultant" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2) (Paperback)

Our journey here on earth is not a fairytale filled with perfect people and happy-ever-after, syrupy endings. Few authors dare to touch on the subjects of child abuse, drugs, alcohol, mental disorders, and family dysfunction. The time is now for the church to realize that one in three women sitting on the pews experienced some form of abuse. Dysfunction is everywhere and in most households "normal" is only found on the dishwasher selection cycle.

Bravo to Mary DeMuth, one of the finest fiction authors within the Christian marketplace, for stepping out in faith to awake the church to truth: The measure of a person's life is not how well they cover up their flaws. Rather, the measure of a person's life is measured by how far they have come by the grace of God.

DeMuth's fresh, vulnerable, from-the-heart writing is a much-needed voice from the wilderness of truth. She reminds readers that Jesus did not come to make the perfect more perfect. He came to set the captives free. DeMuth's captivating lyrical style, interwoven with real-life characters, exposes the dirty little secrets tucked away in the hearts of the broken and wounded while placing the Light of Jesus on grace, forgiveness and redemption.

I highly recommend both Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn. They will change the way broken people are viewed and provide hope and healing to all.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Demuth Delivers!, November 4, 2009

By 

Cherie Hill - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2) (Paperback)

After I had finished reading Mary E. Demuth's first book in the Defiance Texas Trilogy, "Daisy Chain," I wasn't sure the author could meet the new standard that she herself had set for Christian fiction. I was overwhelmingly surprised as "A Slow Burn" captured my heart and kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

A missing girl turns Defiance, Texas and those who love her inside out. When death finds her, all of the unanswered questions create a whirlwind of distress that no one could have ever imagined. Jed Pepper faces an enemy; he may have thought it was his father, but he learns there are greater forces at work than those that are seen. Emory believes her life is over after the loss of her daughter, but from beyond the grave God's purposes prevail; her life is only beginning. Ouisie thinks life couldn't get worse, yet when it does, God uses her anger and pain to ultimately bless her betrayer. In an effort to display God's glory, Demuth takes you to hell's doorstep. You briefly look in and get a glimpse of the pain, emptiness, and desperation that comes from being separated from God. Just when it is almost too much to bear, Demuth gently draws you back into the loving arms of God. "A Slow Burn" brings you face to face with a sovereign God who is not moved by circumstances, but by faith. Through the captive story telling of Mary E. Demuth you find yourself face to face with the God who is faithful; He truly works all things together for good.

Demuth's writing is brilliant and her message vital; God takes it all...the pain, the shame, the brokenness, and He works with even a little faith. Good luck putting this one down! You'll find yourself finishing this book and begging for more. Let's all hope Mary is diligently at work on the third book! :)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Slow Burn holds keys to life's greatest struggles, September 28, 2009

By 

M. Huffington (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Slow Burn (Defiance Texas Trilogy, Book 2) (Paperback)

Author Mary DeMuth captures the essence of living with guilt and addictions against the pleasures of God's grace and love. In her second book in the series Mary allows the reader to experience the pain of a mother losing her only child and her struggle to let go of the guilt she feels at how poorly she fared as a mother when her child was living. In the story the reader is taken on a journey through the grasps of death and the breaths of life. This book will cause you to stop what you're doing and take time every day to enjoy what you are already have. It will give you a fresh perspective on happiness and a desire to do the best with every moment of every day. I highly recommend this series to those looking to be entertained by a good mystery and challenged by life's worst tragedies.