Waking Lazarus [Kindle Edition]

T. L. Hines (Author)

Book Description

Jude Allman is hiding from the world and from God, but when tragedy strikes, will he truly risk living for the first time in years?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this promising if sometimes grisly debut of inspirational suspense, Hines introduces Jude Allman, a man who has been declared clinically dead several times, but who always comes back to life. Allman becomes a paranoid recluse in Red Lodge, Mont., where he works under an assumed name as a school janitor; His son, Nathan, lives with his mother elsewhere in town. As a string of child abductions begin, Jude finds he possesses supernatural powers that allow him to see into the lives of others. When Nathan is kidnapped, Jude finds his purpose and his faith. Hines handles the numerous flashbacks and switches in point of view well, and has a deft touch in knowing just how much information to give and how much to withhold. There are a few trouble spots: Allman's battle with paranoia is wrapped up too easily, and Nathan's mother is unnaturally calm about her son's abduction. The descriptions of children hung in burlap bags, chained to beds or caged are not for the faint of heart. Hines does an excellent job of laying false trails to keep doubts alive as to the identity of the serial killer. Readers who consider most faith thrillers too tame should find this satisfactorily chilling. (July)
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From Booklist

After he fell under the ice and died, eight-year-old Jude Allman came to life again. Worse, from his point of view, he died and was resurrected twice more in his life. It turned him into a celebrity but also a freak, and he leads a reclusive life, barely holding on to a janitor's job. He is stalked by demons, but then a kind of clairvoyance stalks him, and he learns to divine evil before it has had its way, which leads to a sort of healing. Hines makes the most of his unusual tale, characterizing his hero realistically but with humor and holding on to his secrets to the end. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• File Size: 2051 KB
• Print Length: 295 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0764203444
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00352M90O
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #371,799 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepy read! July 5, 2006

By Cheryl Russell VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Jude Allman has died three times. With each death and resurrection, his notoriety increased. To flee a spotlight he never asked for nor wanted, he vanishes from sight. He takes on the new name Ron Gress and moves to Red Lodge Montana. He takes a job as a janitor in the local school system and strives to maintain his anonymity. Life in Red Lodge isn't easy; he has problems with paranoia and struggles in social situations most people breeze through, but it's better than his life as Jude.

Then a woman named Kristina shows up at his doorstep. She knows his real identity and his carefully constructed world begins to rattle down around him. Long-suppressed memories bubble to the surface and begin to torment him. He develops a new *gift*-when he touches a dying stranger, their life is played back within his mind, in full color. Visions and blackouts become more common, further complicating his world. Kristina insists they are signs, while Rachel, mother of his son Nathan, is convinced they are symptoms of a physical or mental condition.

Then an elusive child stalker strikes Red Lodge. When local law enforcement and the FBI are stymied, Jude's gifts may be the only chance the missing children have. But now, when Jude needs his gifts the most, they may very well fail him.

T.L. Hines does a great job at getting inside the heads of his characters. His child molester scenes, written from the molester's point of view, are some of the strongest in the book. Some scenes, while not gory or graphic, may seem over the top to some readers. He doesn't soften the pure evil of this particular character.

Jude is another well-rounded character. Here is a man longing for a normal life, but he struggles with the simplest things, like giving his son a hug. It's the smaller struggles in the life of this unusual man that bring him to life.

Waking Lazarus is one of the few books that have given me the creeps. It is also a book that kept me guessing until the end the identity of the kidnapper and it was a revelation that was surprising, but plausible. I recommend this book; it's one that goes on my keeper shelf.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-done debut novel... looking forward to more. July 29, 2006

By Thomas Duff HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

One of the last "recreational reads" I had on my shelf was the debut novel by T. L Hines titled Waking Lazarus. I heard about it during the writing process, and quickly put myself on the hold list at the library. It was well worth the wait...

Jude Allman has lived a number of lives... literally. He's died three times and come back to life after all efforts to resuscitate him were abandoned. You do that often enough, and you become quite a celebrity. But Allman didn't want that. In fact, he moved away, changed his name, and developed some rather strange psychotic behavior. He also fathered a child during a one-night stand, but he's never been able to be there for the kid. His self-imposed isolation starts to crumble when a woman shows up at his door, asking about his purpose after having died so many times. While he wants to just get rid of her, things start to change. He begins to experience an unusual ability to foresee death around him, and can visualize the process by touching the person. The mother of his child wants to chalk it up to seizures, but the fact remains that the foreshadowings are accurate. This coincides with a string of child kidnappings that are occurring in the local area, and Allman has to use his new-found powers in solving this mystery when it's his kid who's been taken. This is a position and power he doesn't want, but he now has little choice but to exercise its use...

For a debut novel, this is very well done. Any book that starts off with "The first time Jude Allman died, he was eight years old." is enough to catch your interest, and Hines doesn't give you much chance to put the book down after that. The interplay between his mental illness and his desire to be a real father to his child is an interesting conflict, and you can understand why he'd want to just make it all go away (both reality and his constructed existence). And while I thought I had the plot figured out a number of times, it turns out that things took off in a direction I didn't expect...

An entertaining read that engaged my mind a bit more than usual...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, but a little too familiar February 22, 2010

By Justin G. TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In Waking Lazarus, the debut novel from T.L. Hines, Jude Allman has died three times and lived to tell the tale. This modern-day Lazarus doesn't know why he keeps returning from the other side; he just knows he wants to escape the doctors, reporters and assorted whackos that keep hounding him for answers. He changes his name and moves to the middle of nowhere, but his past catches up to him when a serial killer strikes closer and closer to his new home.

The characters were interesting, the story had a great pace and Hines has a way with words that keeps you engaged to the (all too tidy) end. Unfortunately, what stood out the most about Waking Lazarus are the many similarities to Stephen King's The Dead Zone (Signet). The reluctant hero with an extrasensory power, the tragic accidents that affected his life, the strained relationship with a parent, the well-meaning attempts to show the hero that his ability is a gift from God for a higher purpose, the media frenzy and obsessive stalkers, and even the cold killer hiding in plain sight all come straight from King's novel. Even the nature of Jude's ability is identical to King's Johnny Smith. Some of the misdirection and psychological aspects of the killer reminded me a lot of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs as well. It's a shame, because Hines had a good premise and more than enough ability to make this a more original tale.

I didn't realize this was a Christian-themed book when I picked it up, but that soon became obvious. I think Hines handled the religious aspect of the story fairly well. Christian readers are going to get more out of the book than anyone else, but the theology wasn't so ham-handed that it wouldn't appeal to the average reader.

Waking Lazarus might not be the most original book, but it was well put-together and would make a fun "airplane read". I'd definitely recommend it to Christian readers who are looking for a sanitized alternative to Stephen King and Thomas Harris. I just wish Waking Lazarus didn't feel so much like exactly that.

More About the Author

WAKING LAZARUS, my first novel, released Summer of 2006. To my surprise and delight, it was selected as one of the "25 Best Genre Novels of 2006" by the editors of "Library Journal." My second, THE DEAD WHISPER ON, had its hardcover release in the Summer of 2007, fulfilling my lifelong desire to write a book featuring both living shadows and spontaneous human combustion. My third book, THE UNSEEN, released in hardcover Fall of 2008.

Interesting facts about me:

-- Past odd jobs have included trimming Christmas trees, working the graveyard shift at a convenience store, and cleaning a cadaver storage room as a janitor.

-- As a teen, I was an undefeated 3-0 in air guitar competitions, in which I performed songs by ZZ Top. No, really.

-- I enjoy pudding.