Books I Read in 2024, Vol. VIII

 

DRY BONES: A Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Absaroka County, Wyoming, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum  -  until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny's family, the tribe, and the federal government. As Wyoming's acting deputy attorney and a cadre of FBI officers descend on the town, turning what should be a local matter into a political charade, Sheriff Walt Longmire is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny's death.

Continuing on my quest to read every Longmire mystery I can borrow from the Dakota County Library, I found another entertaining read. There's more dialog featuring Undersheriff Victoria Moretti, so there are more incidences of PG-13 and R-rated language, but if that doesn't bother you (and it comes nowhere NEAR Scorsese film level), I will recommend this tale with both my thumbs held at chest level. It's got action, meaningful character development, and humor.

First Line: She was close to thirty years old when she was killed.

Page 56 / Line 5: I watched McGroder and his staff examine and document all the parts of Jen's massive head, roughly the size of a sofa, on an assortment of clipboards and forms under the close observation of Trost.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: A lot of people might underestimate my undersheriff because she was wounded; a lot of people are morons.

Last Line: Save Jen.

Books I Read in 2024, Vol. VII

MESSY GRACE: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction
Caleb Kaltenbach

[The author] was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. [This book] shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus loved everyone without compromising truth. So can we. Even when it’s messy.

I borrowed this book from the library as part of an ongoing discussion among the elders at Valley Christian Church about LGBTQ+ issues. The book does a great job of meshing the author's personal history with a general discussion about loving people without excusing their sin...and that includes ourselves, because gay people aren't the only sinners in the world, duh! Kaltenbach writes with a graciousness that models how we should "deal with" our neighbors. I'm glad he included thoughts on not only our individual responsibility to love like Jesus but how it would look to live this out as a local church family (though I wish he would have offered some practical answers to a list of questions he said "messy churches" need to consider).

First Line: For a couple of minutes after I pulled into the church parking lot, I continued to sit in my Ford Escape, my hands gripping the steering wheel as if I were still driving.

Page 56 / Line 5: During this season in Southern California, an unfortunate attitude of "us versus them" prevailed.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: God's Word should never be a catalyst for us to mistreat those who are different from us.

Last Line: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Books I Read in 2024, Vol. VI

 

I AM PILGRIM: A Thriller
Terry Hayes

A breakneck race against time...and an implacable enemy. An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid. A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square. A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard. Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan. A flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity. One path links them all, and only one man can make the journey. Pilgrim.

This is another 4-for-a-dollar selection from the Dakota County Library. The above breathless description got me to take it home, and the mile-a-minute tapestry of a plot kept me reading. It was a little off-putting when a new character was introduced and all of a sudden there were several chapters of backstory...but it all was woven together with an expert eye for detail and an on-the-edge-of-your-seat urgency that made it forgivable. It's not surprising to learn that Terry Hayes is an award-winning writer and producer of several movies, including Payback and Road Warrior.

First Line: There are places I'll remember all my life  -  Red Square with a hot wind howling across it, my mother's bedroom on the wrong side of Eight Mile, the endless gardens of a fancy foster home, a man waiting to kill me in a group of ruins known as the Theater of Death.

Page 56 / Line 5: It was a good story, but it didn't mean anything to me, not now anyway.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: At that moment I realized what our mistake had been  -  we had been hunting him when we should have been trapping him.

Last Line: He is risen.