Christian Lit

I have to preface this post by stating that I have a Kindle.  To be honest.  I never thought I'd get a Kindle.  But I did.

I have always been a voracious reader, since that day of epiphany in second grade when I realized I could read my Nancy Drew mysteries by myself.  In the past I've always thought my book addiction had something to do with the smell of paper and ink.

My mother bought me my first Nancy Drew mystery novel.  We were walking down a small street in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and passed a little bookshop called The Book Nook.  There in the window was a Nancy Drew Mystery.  I remember hearing my mother exclaim, "Frøken Detektiv!" and dash into the store.  It only took her a few moments to double check before she explained to me that these were books she had read as a child in her native Norwegian.  She read the first book to me, and I read the next 50-something myself.  That's how it goes when you are a bibliophile. 

Yup, the smell of paper and ink is beguiling.

So, I never thought I'd succumb to the delights of the digital book world, but I did, and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, in spite of the total lack of paper feel and ink smell.

That's the long way around for introducing a little book I discovered by chance one day in the Amazon Kindle bookstore.  [I love virtual stores.  You can shop to your heart's content and never have to worry about sore feet!]  The book was listed as "Christian".  Having never delved into the Christian genres of books before, I had no idea what to expect.  I mean, I am a Christian, but I wasn't sure what a Christian mystery was.  I remember downloading it out of curiosity and the low cost.  "What the heck," I told myself, seeing the price.  "I'll give it a try."

Author Lorena McCourtney

I'm positive that was way before Christmas, so it shows you how far down the priority list it went. However, the other day I was looking for something to read, and went through the list of unread books on my Kindle. There among the many titles I had carelessly downloaded was listed, "Invisible". At the time I didn't remember it as the Christian mystery book, I just started reading.

Well, to my delight, I really enjoyed this little book. 

Ivy Malone is a delightful heroine, who calls herself an LOL (a little old lady).  She is very engaging and fearless.  The most "Christian" part of the book is that the heroine attends church regularly, believes in God, and spends a lot of time convincing people they need to pray and read the scriptures and go to church themselves. 

In other words, she was pretty much like me, well, except for the hanging around cemeteries and investigating a murder part!

The Ivy Malone character, despite her age, also seems to share some Nancy Drew-like qualities.  Perhaps that's why I responded as I did to the story of her feisty sleuthing abilities.

Poking around on-line, I discovered that there are more of these books, featuring the Ivy Malone character, and felt the need to talk about it here.  It was so refreshing to find a non-LDS marketed book whose author shares my values.    "Invisible" was written with humor and a little splash of romance. This isn't great literature, but it was a fun read and I would heartily recommend it.

Ms. McCourtney, thanks!  You have a new fan.