2006 Novel #3: Rogue Wave

This is one of those novels that get mentioned in "How to write a freakin' good mystery" books. Kiernan O' Saughnessy wrote a series with her forensic pathologist turned PI protag. I'd have to give it an okay rating. The protag was good, strong, feisty female lead. Using San Francisco as a setting always seems to be a winner. She threw in a lot of forensic detail. Unfortunately, I didn't see that detail as necessary. She spent a lot of time proving that a drowning victim was bashed in the head before going overboard. But we'd already assumed the guy was murdered through other routes. Namely, that the woman on the boat was still alive and hiding. So the mystery wasn't terribly hard to figure out. There were no surprise bad guys. The only real mystery was the information contained on a memo that no one could find. You had no clues as to what might be on it in advance, so it wasn't much of an "aha!" moment when you found out.

Now, onto a huge pet peeve of mine. I'm a Christian. I know, when I read a secular novel, there might be language and sex scenes. If the book is offensive in the first few chapters, I can toss it. Kiernan fooled me. She was well behaved--just a smattering of language--for most of the book. Then, on the last page, she takes the Lord's name in vain in the worst possible way. You know the one--my Savior's name with an "F" bomb dropped in the middle. What editor didn't flag this? She set the tone for a light, non-offensive mystery, then nails this on at the end. I don't think I'm being over-sensitive. An author sets a contract with the reader at the beginning of the book. At the beginning of the book we have non-Christian characters who drop a swear word on occasion, but nothing too bad. You can't just break that agreement at the end of the book.

Okay, off my horse now. The book was written in '91, so I'm not going to kill any sales here. I think Gina is right, I should stick to the CBA.

Thorns

It's funny how I can read one of Jesus' parables, completely understand it, and then completely ignore His teaching. My favorite is the Parable of the Sower. Jesus tells the story of a farmer who tosses out his seeds. Some fall on hard ground, where the birds gobble them up. Some fall on rocky, shallow soil, where they grow, but because they have no roots, the die quickly. Some fall in fertile soil, where they multiply thirty or a hundred fold. No, I didn't skip one, I just saved for last the part of the parable that references me, and probably most of the people I know. Some of the seed fell in among thorns, where they were choked out. Of course, the thorns represent the worries and business of life. Shall I list my thorns? Oh, let's!

Ron's Thorns:
1. Earning my MBA
2. Writing my novel
3. Running the Wednesday children's program at church
4. Teaching a God & Country class
5. Writing this blog
6. Worrying about my weight
7. Woodworking projects
8. House upkeep
9. Lawn maintenance (snow right now)
10. Job worries
11. Reading novels
12. Kid's activities (we start them young in the thornbush, don't we?)
13. Critiquing my partner's work

That looks like a good list. Funny thing is, many of those are what we'd consider good and wholesome activities. After all, what's wrong with writing my novel? Or running the kid's church program? Nothing, really, but look at the list. That's 13 I worry about on pretty much a daily basis. Devotion and prayer get squeezed in between 7 & 8, or 2 & 3, wherever I can find the time. In the end, all 13 suffer. But, most of all, my spiritual life suffers. No wonder Jesus made a big point of not worrying. That's all I do!

Okay, I'm done venting. Time to go shovel the thorns...uh, snow.