Isle of Books: CFBA Tour: The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

CFBA Tour: The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Captive Heart Bethany House (January 1, 2012) by Dale Cramer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dale Cramer spent his formative years traveling the world as an Army brat, then settled in Georgia at the age of fifteen when his father retired.

After high school he became an electrician, a job that took him to places as diverse as power plants, stadia, airports, high-rise office buildings and a hard-rock mining operation.

Twenty-five years of experiences in the trades provided him with the wealth of characters, stories and insights that populate his novels.

When he married his childhood friend, Pam, in 1975 he had no way of knowing they would not have children until fifteen years later.

In his early forties, when Dale left his job to become a stay-at-home dad, he suddenly found himself with time on his hands, so he pursued a lifelong dream and taught himself to write.

Using an online writer’s forum as a training ground, he wrote his first short stories in 1996. As his writing skills improved he turned to novels, publishing his first book, Sutter’s Cross, in 2003.

Since then, Dale has published four more novels and garnered a measure of critical acclaim with two Christy Awards, a listing among Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2004 and numerous other Best lists. Dale and his wife Pam live in Georgia with their two sons.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Bandit troubles intensify as Caleb Bender's family tries to settle into their new life in 1920s Paradise Valley. When El Pantera kidnaps Rachel and leaves her brother, Aaron, for dead, Jake Weaver and the Mexican native Domingo pursue the bandit leader to his mountain stronghold in a hopeless rescue attempt. Jake and Domingo manage to escape with Rachel, with the bandits hot on their trail. In a desperate attempt to avoid recapture, Domingo puts himself squarely in harm's way, giving Jake and Rachel time to get away. This is not the quiet life Caleb Bender envisioned when he led his family out of Ohio. What is a father to make of his daughter's obvious affection for a man outside the fold? And how will a pacifist Amishman like Caleb respond to the events that threaten his family and their way of life?

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

MY THOUGHTS:
A Captive Heart picks up the story right where the previous one left off - sort of anyway. There is a slight overlap in this book, but I think that is helpful for those who haven't read them back to back.

This novel definitely is an emotional ride! The family is so excited to finally have some other families from back home come to live in Paradise Valley, but the trouble with the bandits has become increasingly worse. When Rachel is abducted to be sold, her brother Aaron is injured and left for dead, will they stay in Mexico or go back to Ohio?

Domingo is my favorite from this series, probably because he voices what I was thinking while reading. An example of this would be his not understanding their view of non-violence and thinking they were a bit crazy (the Amish men refused to defend themselves and their families when the bandits threatened to kill them, or worse, have their way with the Amish women)! I understand believing in non-violence, but when you are threatened with mortal danger or someone you love is in danger of being compromised, that I don't understand at all! I know this is what most Amish people believe, and that belief is very well written - it's just something that annoys me a bit with them.

That being said, I still LOVED this book! It is a wonderful continuation of this series. I think this is a series you should read - especially if you love Amish fiction.

*** I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done. ***

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Captive Heart, go HERE

Product Details: