The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

Review by Donna C. (darkcoffeeclouds)

This is a great book to read at this time of the year.  It is sad but doesn’t leave you sad because the story comes wrapped up with hope. It is like the story of Christ and how he died, but he died for a purpose and presented us with his gift.  This book is about a little boy named Collin who also had a gift. He was a very sick little boy with cancer and heart failure and he had a little sister who loved him very much. He lived with his mom, Addison,  who worked very hard to make sure he and his sister were taken care of.

Nathan Hurst met this little family in a crowded airport when a snow storm shut down all flights and the roads leading to the airport.  The airport was full of stranded, tired, and very frustrated people. Nathan’s employer provided him with a hotel room at the airport but many people were out of luck and had to sleep in the chairs or on the floor.  When Nathan saw the woman with the sick little boy and his little sister who was very tired he offered her his hotel room.  He was also very sick with bronchitis and she didn’t feel right taking his room. It turned out that he ended up with the only room left, which was a suite with two rooms so they decided he would stay in one and the little family stayed in the other.  Later, when they were getting to know each other something amazing happened. The little boy put his hand on Nathan’s head and healed him. He didn’t just heal his bronchitis but also his Tourett’s syndrome.  Nathan didn’t say anything at first because of how ridiculous it sounded.  No one would believe him, but he knew that little boy was special.

Collin’s mother didn’t want anyone to know about his gift because every time he healed someone, he got sicker.  She knew everyone would be begging for his help and it would kill him. What she didn’t expect was people trying to use his gift for monetary gain. It was bound to happen and it eventually did.  Someone saw Collin work his magic and the chaos began.

This story hits on a few other topics as well, like greed and forgiveness, especially forgiving yourself and letting go of the pain.  Nathan had been holding onto something very painful that happened when he was a child.  He never talked to anyone about it and it was like a festering wound that was preventing him from really living his life.  Collin helped him realize that it was time to let it go and to finally start living.  I know from experience that can be very hard to do, even when you desperately want to.  This book doesn’t take long to read but it is worth the time.

A Connoisseur’s Case by Michael Innes

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This 1962 mystery is known as The Crabtree Case in the US. It is a late novel with series hero Sir John Appleby in his retirement. It begins with the Applebys taking a summer country walk and to Sir John’s chagrin, Judith wants to barge in on Scroop House, to look over the valuable antique furniture of a stately mansion.

Crossing an old canal and ending up at a pub run by on an obnoxious poser, they fall into conversation with Seth Crabtree, a stage rustic who seems to have walked out of Hardy’s The Woodlanders. As the former cabinet maker for mansion, he tells them of the glory days of Scoop House and its owner Mrs Coulson, a grand collector of objets d’art and antiques. Shortly after, the Applebys find Crabtree floating in the canal, shot dead. Though not as dramatic as the earlier novels, this still features tight, witty writing.

“Judith looked south—which was towards what Appleby had called the secondary motor road. All she saw was a momentary glint of light.

“‘I think,’ she said, `that I saw the sun reflected from the wind screen of a passing car. Right?’

“‘Right as far as you go. What you saw was a silver-grey Rolls-Royce Phantom V.’

“‘My dear John, it’s terribly vulgar to name cars—particularly astoundingly expensive ones. It’s only done by cheap novelists. You must just say: `a very large car.”

“Appleby received this with hilarity.”

Take that Ian Fleming, you brand name-dropper you. If you find this kind of thing as hilarious as Sir John and I do, you should read Michael Innes.