Review for State of Lies

About the Book

Book: State of Lies

Author: Siri Mitchell

Genre: Suspense

Release Date: August 13, 2019

Months after her husband, Sean, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, physicist Georgie Brennan discovers he lied to her about where he had been going that day. A cryptic notebook, a missing computer, and strange noises under her house soon have her questioning everything she thought she knew.

With her job hanging by a thread, her son struggling to cope with his father’s death, and her four-star general father up for confirmation as the next Secretary of Defense, Georgie quickly finds herself tangled in a political intrigue that has no clear agenda and dozens of likely villains. Only one thing is clear: someone wants her dead too.

The more she digs for the truth, the fewer people she can trust.

Not her friends.

Not her parents.

Maybe not even herself.

 

Click here to grab your copy.

Let me start off by saying this book is rated PG, and I feel like the book would have been fine without the bedroom scene at the beginning.  Being a military spouse, I liked the idea of reading a book by another military spouse.  However, I was disappointed there was not a strong Christian message in this book given that it is from a Christian publisher.

I can not begin to imagine the terror, horror or other emotions that would race through my mind if I found law enforcement officials at my door saying my husband had died.  I felt like Siri Mitchell did an excellent job of handling that part of the story.  At the same time, I felt like the jump from Georgie finding out her husband had died to the next scene skipped a lot of material that could have been worth reading.

Murder, mystery, intrigue, and political drama play a major role in this book.  Things are really bad when a person does not even know if he or she can trust his or her own parents.

The idea of not knowing who Georgie could trust helped keep the book interesting.  I also liked the general pace of the book.  All in all, I feel like the book is fairly good, especially for people who like or love reading books dealing with political espionage.

So check this book out for yourself.

I received a copy of this book for my fair and honest review.

About the Author

Siri Mitchell is the author of 14 novels. She has also written 2 novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri is a big fan of the semi-colon but thinks the Oxford comma is irritatingly redundant. Visit her online at sirimitchell.com; Facebook: SiriMitchell; Twitter: @SiriMitchell.

 

More from Siri

A Sense of Place

I’m so excited about the release of State of Lies! Among the many reasons for my excitement is the fact that I set the story in my own home town: Arlington, VA. Here are some things you might not know about Arlington:

 

1. Arlington was originally included within the borders of Washington, DC.
2. Arlington isn’t actually a city – it’s a county. We’re the smallest self-governing county in the nation.
3. Arlington regularly takes the top spot as the most educated place in the country.
4. Arlington LOVES books. I count at least a dozen different little libraries in my neighborhood alone.
5. Our region often has a hurricane warning or two every hurricane season. Can you guess where I’ve seen the longest lines when people start to make last-minute preparations? It’s not the grocery store; it’s not the hardware store. It’s the library! (Why wouldn’t you stock up on books too?)
6. We host Arlington National Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial, and the Pentagon.
7. We are home to the very first Five Guys hamburger joint location.
8. We are also home to the headquarters of over a dozen national agencies as well as organizations like Rosetta Stone and Nestlé.
9. People who attended our high schools include Sandra Bullock, Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, Katie Couric, and Patch Adams.
10. The thing I love most about Arlington? Its people. Countless government contractors members of the federal workforce live here. I number them among my friends and neighbors. I’ve never met a group more dedicated, more informed, or more determined to put their expertise to good use. And guess what? My heroine, Georgie Brennan, is one of them!

 

The Pentagon and Washington, DC

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, August 20

Among the Reads, August 20

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 20

Blogging With Carol, August 21

CarpeDiem, August 21

Josephine Anne Writes, August 21

Fiction Aficionado, August 22

All-of-a-kind Mom, August 22

Genesis 5020, August 22

Andrea Christenson, August 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 23

Pause for Tales, August 23

Through the Fire Blogs, August 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 24

Inspired by fiction, August 25

Because I said so and other adventures in parenting. , August 25

Adventures of a Traveler’s Wife, August 25

For Him and My Family, August 26

Rebekah Jones, August 26

Betti Mace, August 26

As He Leads is Joy, August 27

Wishful Endings, August 27

Reflections From My Bookshelves, August 27

Moments, August 28

Mary Hake, August 28

Remembrancy, August 28

Just the Write Escape, August 29

Simple Harvest Reads, August 29

Hallie Reads, August 30

Bigreadersite , August 30

Living Life Free in Christ, August 30

Connect in Fiction, August 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 31

Texas Book-aholic, August 31

janicesbookreviews, September 1

A Reader’s Brain, September 1

Inklings and notions , September 1

Life of Literature, September 2

Real World Bible Study, September 2

Review of Hugo

ABOUT THE BOOK

In September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo came in the dead of night, slamming Category 4 power into Charleston, South Carolina at the worst possible time—high tide. Painter Place is scoured by the writing Atlantic storm surge, forcing Caroline Painter Gregory to say goodbye to a life she loves and face a future that may hold the worst that might happen. On the devastated South Carolina coastline of 1989 and then in Arles, France during the centennial of Van Gogh’s life there, Hugo continues the saga of Painter Place.

You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Having read Painter Place, the first book in this series, I was looking forward to reading this second book.  While someone could possibly read this book without reading the first, I would definitely recommend reading them in order.

I have to say one reason why I definitely wanted to read this book was that I was living in Eastern North Carolina at the time Hurricane Hugo roared into the Carolinas.  Because of the track the storm took, we missed being impacted by the storm personally.  On the other hand, my parents had friends living in the direct path of the storm.  Also, living in Eastern North Carolina and then Texas, we have experienced quite a few hurricanes personally.  So I was interested to see how Pamela Poole would handle the details of a hurricane.

The amazing way Pamela Poole ties together art, separate characters,  separate locations, and Christianity captured my attention when I first started reading. The artistic aspects of this book filled my mind with pictures of what I was reading.  I appreciated how this story picked up the story ended in Painter Place.  However, I also have to say, I can not wait to read the next book in this series.  So if you love fiction that includes art, storms, family, and Christianity, check out this book for yourself.

Author bio:

Pamela Poole’s love for the South inspires all her books and paintings. She has written three novels and two short stories that take place on the fictional island in the Painter Place Saga, and she will launch the fourth book. Landmark, in 2019. Pamela lives life loving Jesus and her family as a wife, mother, and Gigi, and she is blessed with true friends. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and various author and artist organizations. She and her husband Mark live in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20,21

Social Media links:

You can find Pamela Poole on Social Media at the following links:
Pamela Poole, Artist and Author, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaPooleArt

Pamela Poole, Artist and Author, Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PamelaPooleArt

Pamela P. Poole, Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pamelapooleart

Author blog on Southern Sky Publishing:
https://www.southernskypublishing.com/blog

Twitter page for Southern Sky Publishing:
https://twitter.com/southernskypubs

Book Review of #truth by Josh McDowell

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.  For many years I have been a subscriber of the YouVersion App and with four children – three of whom are still teenagers, I spend a lot of time looking for resources for them to get them into God’s Word.  Josh McDowell does an excellent job of filling that need.  This would be perfect for a homeschooling family with teenagers.  The teens can complete this on their own or families could complete it together.

This book includes 365 devotions for teenagers that connect life with faith.  The Scripture passages are relatively short and easy to read.  He then includes a short passage with some explanations or insight into the passage being read.  Each day also includes a section which begins with “Truth is….” where Josh McDowell offers additional facts and information. At the end of each day is a section entitled “My Prayer”, which gives the reader a chance to have an already made prayer.  I definitely recommend this book.

 

 

 

Review of “Raising Leaders Not Followers by Kerry Beck

“Raising Leaders Not Followers” by Kerry Beck is a thought-provoking book about stepping out of the traditional thoughts on education and raising children. She encourages parents to raise leaders rather than followers by focusing on God, developing character and stepping out into an education model that focuses on God, a parent’s goals for his/her child and the gifts and talents a particular child has.

The book was easy to read and captured my interest. I would definitely recommend this book to any homeschooling parents who want some new ideas for homeschooling. I loved her use of Scriptures from the Bible, quotes and other visual methods of displaying information. There is a study guide available along with a remarkable list of resources to refer to if a reader desires. I definitely needed the reminder to focus on God and character rather than checking off boxes to match what public school students are doing.

Kerry Beck brings a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and insights on how to raise students who can think for themselves and be visionaries rather than just regurgitating answers that have been fed to them by classroom teachers.
Once again I definitely recommend this book highly.

You can purchase the book here or click on the picture below.

 

If you buy the book today, you will receive $180 in free resources.

Also, you can register for a free workshop on starting homeschooling right.