"The Corruptible" by Mark Mynheir & a GIVEAWAY

Ray Quinn, PI, wants a client different from the usual enraged, cheating husband type - until he gets one.  After being hired to find Logan Ramsey, former cop and current alcoholic and thief, complications arise from a sudden murder, a dishonest employer and his romance-minded secretary.  Staying on top of the twists and turns in the case challenges Quinn's physical strength as he recovers from a serious shooting and self-medicates with a bit too much Jim Beam.  What is Quinn's employer hiding, and what did Ramsey have up his sleeve?  Of the many people who wanted Ramsey dead, can Quinn find the real murderer - before they find him?

Mynheir has written a classic detective novel.  His experience in police and undercover work shines through, making the inner workings of the story realistic and believable.  Ray Quinn sounds like a PI from an old black-and-white movie with modern technological trappings, and despite his flaws, one can't help but cheer him on.

My favorite part of this book is the perspective.  The stereotypical view of an ex-cop is of a hardcore, no-holds-barred, tough guy image; and while Quinn is extremely cynical and somewhat down, he retains hope that he can make a difference in the world.  Mynheir writes without extensive bar-hopping (some Jim Beam being the exception), swearing, or casual sex, making this the cleanest, yet completely realistic and believable, detective story I've ever read.  Quinn's focus on the job - not what some consider to be the 'perks' -  make him an old-world style hero.

The second book in the Ray Quinn series, Mynheir weaves the relevant information from the first book into the story seamlessly; however, this one was so good that I'm definitely going to find a copy of the first to read - and I'll be on the lookout for the next one.

Want to read an excerpt of The Corruptible?  Check it out here.

I received a free copy of this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Want to win a copy of The Corruptible?  Do any or all of the following by August 17th.  Leave a separate comment for each that you do.

1.  Like "A Nest in the Rocks" on Google Friend Connect.

2.  Rank this review below and leave a comment telling me you did so.

3.   Leave a comment telling me about your favorite mystery book.

4.  Leave a comment on any other post on A Nest in the Rocks.

The winner will be chosen on August 18th by Random Number Generator.  Winners will be notified  by email and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Please be sure to leave your e-mail or another way to be contacted.

Menu Plan Monday - August 8, 2011

We're finishing our Italian studies this week and will begin studying the UK.  Only two weeks left before school begins!  I have to make one evening trip out of town and we'll be spending our days together, the kids and I, doing crafts and making watery messes outside, so our meals will be easy in prep time and low on the heat - it's still topping out over 100 degrees here.

Breakfasts:
- Pancakes and fruit
- Waffles and fruit X2
- Cereal and fruit X2
- Yogurt parfaits with skillet granola and blueberries

Lunches will be our usual assortment of sandwiches, sliced veggies, and cheese or leftovers.

Dinners:
- a sandwich and grapes.  It's just me today.
- Calzones with ricotta and ham (recipe coming Wednesday), marinara sauce, carrot sticks, peach pudding
- Crockpot Minestrone soup (we didn't get to make it last week), homemade foccocia, cream puffs
- Mini Mexican pizzas, watermelon, pudding pops
-  Crockpot BBQ chicken sandwiches, sliced tomatoes, salad, watermelon
- Hamburgers, baked black beans, sliced veggies, pudding pops
- Grab it and Growl - whatever you can find in the fridge night!

Check out my latest giveaway while you're here.

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie!

"Courageous" by Randy Alcorn

I had mixed feelings about reading the new Courageous novel.  I knew the movie would be good - how could the makers of Fireproof and Facing the Giants make anything else? - but I wasn't so sure about a book made from a movie.

Alcorn's Courageous far surpassed my expectations.

Adam is a long-time cop whose cynicism has pushed away his son and affects his relationships with his wife and daughter.  Nathan is new in town and struggling to be involved with his three children and keep his faith active despite job pressures.  Javy struggles to support his family and leans heavily on his strong faith, but does his family share his views?  David has turned his back on his daughter and her mother completely.  As each strive to hold their head above water and survive despite intense stress, their perspective changes when tragedy strikes one man's family.  Can his new views of eternity and his role as a father improve his relationships - and those around him?

Alcorn's easy writing style makes it seem as if this novel happened before the movie.  It has none of the trademark novelization issues -  it's easy to read, flows well, has a great vocabulary, and features a tight plot.  Each character sprang to life within the pages of this book and made me want to cheer them on in his efforts to become closer to God and family.  The conclusions reached by Adam and his friends prompted me to rethink the way that I interact with my own children and to wish for these types of friends myself.

The only thing that would make this book any better is a companion guide, as the Kendricks created for Fireproof.  A non-fiction book containing Adam's resesarch, conclusions, and the scriptures he used would make a fantastic springboard for those wanting to delve deeper into this subject - just like The Love Dare did for Fireproof fans.

If you like action and suspense ... if you like to laugh ... if you like drama ... if you have a family ... if you are a parent ... if you have friends ... if you don't but wish you did .... this is the book for you.  Don't miss it.

I received a free copy of Courageous from Tyndale House in return for an honest review.

Need more Courageous? Check out the trailer here:

watch on tyndale.com

Cindy Woodsmall Tour Information

Cindy Woodsmall writes great books - and she's about to kick off a new book tour.  Cindy can sign your books at the following times and places:

• August 9th - LifeWay in Memphis, TN
• Arkansas (Conway, Little Rock, Harrison, Rogers, Jonesboro)
• Oklahoma (Tulsa,Oklahoma City)
• Topeka, Kansas
• Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, Branson, Springfield)

The exact information is available here.

Also, Cindy's eBook The Hope of Refuge is available for only $1.99 now through August 15.  Go here for more information.

I've never met a fiction author or gone to a book signing.  Have you?  What are they like??

Grandma's Peach Pudding

We often visited my great-grandparents on the family farm on Saturday mornings when I was a kid, and if Grandma had her way, she'd 'twist our arms' into staying for lunch.  It was much more of a hardship on her part than ours as she was a fantastic cook.

Grandma always had something to offer for dessert, but I remember being very confused when she said we were having peach pudding.  I could only picture the vanilla or chocolate variety that came from a boxed mix, so when she served this fruit-and-cake concoction, I was hooked!

Grandma served her pudding with ice cream or farm-fresh milk poured over top, with maybe a sprinkle of extra sugar.  Either way, this is a delicious and different use for summer peaches!

We had to make some last night ...

the kids were so excited that they even ate the peelings from the peaches!

To make the real thing, here's what you need:

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1/3 c. milk
1 t. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. shortening

Cover the bottom of a baking dish 1"-2" deep with sliced peaches (in the above small dish, I used four large peaches).  Sprinkle with sugar and drizzle a bit of water over the top.  Then mix all above ingredients to make a batter and pour over the top of the peaches.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Serve with ice-cold milk or a scoop of ice cream.  :-)

Yum!

Grandma eventually showed me how to make it, and I remember watching her hands as she showed me how it was done.  Last night my Big Helper and I made this together.  I hope that someday she can show her own little ones!

GratiTuesday - Rejoicing in Creation

Last week our kids went on their annual trip to my parents' house for the week.  This is the fourth year they've gone, and they look forward to it all year.  This year my husband took a week's vacation at the same time and we went on our own mini-vacation.  We traveled a few hours' north and took a ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  


The Virginia Creeper Trail is a former railroad track turned biking/hiking trail.  It's almost 34 miles long and winds through national forests and mountains.


During my morning quiet time just before heading out on my bike, I read something that really stood out to me:


Be glad; rejoice forever in My creation.  ~ Isaiah 65:18


My husband and I decided to make our 19 mile bike ride a scavenger hunt, looking for and photographing beauty in God's creation the whole way.  Here's just a bit of what we found:

What in His creation are you rejoicing about today?

For more GratiTuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers!

Menu Plan Monday - August 1, 2011

We're recovering from last week's vacation and taking a few day trips this week.  School will start soon, so we're all about getting the most out of our remaining summer days.  We're going to start studying Italy this week - more about that soon!

Breakfasts:

- Cereal and milk

- Frittata, toast, peaches

- Yogurt and skillet granola X2 

- Vanilla streusel muffins, fresh fruit X2

- Homemade granola bars

Lunches:  Lunches will be our usual assortment of sandwiches, yogurt or cheese, and fresh fruits/veggies or leftovers.

Suppers:

- Chicken corn soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh peaches

- Dinner out on our way home from Staunton River State Park

- Grilled pizza with basic Bolognese sauce - recipe coming Wednesday! - and sliced veggies

- Barbecued chicken, foccia, grilled marinated veggies, peach pudding - pudding recipe coming on Friday

- Lasagne, salad, Italian bread, fruit, puff pastry in honor of our Italian study

- Crockpot minestrone, tomato bruschetta, leftover peach pudding

- Grab it and Growl

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie!