Deadlock [Paperback]

As a huge fan of the Lacys, I was really looking forward to this book. From the description from the back of this book, it sounded like it would be edge of your seat, can't put it down type of story that I've come to expect from Al and Joanna Lacy.

But, this wasn't. Being the huge fan of their books as I am, this review is hard to write, but it needs to be written. Oh, it had a few good bits of action in it, but what the book was supposed to be about was just a little part of the book and there was just too much other stuff in it that really didn't add to the story. I feel the book really wandered for about half of it and had a lot of unnecessary filler before the key plot came into play. Even when the main plot was happening, even then, it wasn't great. If the first part of the book was cut out and the second part expanded, I think it could meet the standard that other Lacy books have set.

There were other things too. Having read the Journeys of the Stranger and the Angel of Mercy books, I feel that I really have a sense of who John and Breanna are. In this book, John and Breanna just don't seem to be John and Breanna. They just don't seem to be the characters that I loved so much that made the other two series so wonderful.

Another thing, the characters just seem to be a little too perfect for me. Maybe they've been that way in the past, but I hadn't noticed it. In the other two series, the stories have been so engaging and so hard to put down that I could have overlooked this problem. I've never met a family in real life that is perfect like the Brockmans and shame on me, but when the trouble came their way, I was kind of glad to finally see them struggle. I don't know, but they just didn't really seem human to me. The characters were pretty much flat, one dimensional characters.

Lastly, the Lacys' books have always had a good gospel message in them, some of them using one key scripture that a character relied on and I felt that it really added to the book. You could always expect that one or more characters were going to get saved in the book. Well, one or more characters do find God and they do give the gospel so well that I believe someone that isn't a Christian could find the Lord.

But, as a Christian, I find that this book was just a little too preachy, even for me. I actually found myself shaking my head when a character would quote a Bible verse, thinking, people don't quote scripture like that. It kind of got to be annoying, and I do admit, that in the past when a character has led another to the Lord, I've kind of skimmed over it because I wanted to know what else was happening in the story. Maybe it's been this way in the other books and I haven't noticed this because the Lacys' other books were so good that these few flaws that are in this particular book didn't show up.

If you want a really good book by the Lacys, don't bother this one. If you're a diehard fan, I would wait until it's in the library instead of buying it. But, I do highly recommend the books in the Journey of the Stranger and Angel of Mercy series. I have read some of these books several times and never grow tired of them. They add lots of action, a good story, amazing characters, and everything that I love about an Al and Joanna Lacy book.

I have read several of Al and Joanna Lacy's books in the past and enjoyed them thoroughly. Unfortunately, this was not the case for this book.

Based on books from other series by these authors, this book was a huge disappointment.

In 1888 the Zarbo brothers are the meanest outlaws in the west. They are wanted for murders and bank robberies as they do not care who dies when they do a job.

In Colorado, U.S. Marshal John "The Stranger" Brockman arrests Lee Zarbo, but his siblings Todd and Chice remain free with plans to liberate him. Lee faces the gallows so the Zarbo brood decides to steal a page from the Old Testament by kidnapping John's thirteen-year old daughter Ginny. If he wants her back alive, he must let Lee go; even the Lord cannot give John solace as he loves his three children and his wife with all his heart.

The latest Stranger inspirational western police procedural (see OUTLAW MARSHAL and the mid nineties Western Christian fiction saga The Journeys of the Stranger) is a fabulous historical thriller once the key players are introduced to the audience, but especially after the abduction of Ginny. John and his wife Breanna have doubts that Jesus will protect their daughter; their fifteen year old son John has given up on the Lord while his nine year old adopted sister Meggie expects nothing less than a miracle. Feeling like he is being tested, John struggles with what to do as his fans will rejoice with his journey to the Savior.

Harriet Klausner

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  3.2 out of 5 stars