Lethal White (Cormoran Strike Series) by Robert Galbraith

Paperback:  When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike's office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled.

While Billy is obviously mentally distressed, and cannot remember many concrete details, there is something sincere about him and his story.  But before Strike can question him further, Billy bolts from his office in a panic.

Trying to get to the bottom of Billy's story, Strike and Robin Ellacott - once his assistant, now a partner in the agency-set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

And during this labyrinthine investigation, Strike's own life is far from straightforward:  his newfound fame as a private eye means he can no longer operate behind the scenes as he once did. Plus, his relationship with his former assistant is more fraught than it ever has been - Robin is now invaluable to Strike in the business, but their personal relationship is much, much trickier than that.

The most epic Robert Galbraith novel yet, Lethal White (2018) is both a gripping mystery and a page-turning fourth and latest instalment in the ongoing story of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott set in London.

About the author:  Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J K Rowling.  After Harry Potter, the author chose crime fiction for her next books, a genre she has always loved as a reader.  She wanted to write a contemporary whodunit, with a credible back story.

Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike series is classic contemporary crime fiction from a master story-teller, rich in plot, characterisation and detail.  Galbraith’s debut into crime fiction garnered acclaim amongst critics and crime fans alike.  The first four novels The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) all topped the national and international bestseller lists.  The first three books in the Strike series have been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J K Rowling’s original intention for writing as Robert Galbraith was for the books to be judged on their own merit, and to establish Galbraith as a well-regarded name in crime in its own right.

Now Robert Galbraith’s true identity is widely known, J K Rowling continues to write the crime series under the Galbraith pseudonym to keep the distinction from her other writing and so people will know what to expect from a Cormoran Strike novel.

Rating:  5/5

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The Devil in the City of Angels: My Encounters With the Diabolical by Jesse Romero

Hardback:  “I went from an indifferent apathetic Sunday Mass attending Catholic Christian to an on fire Catholic Christian in a few short years.  What reignited my faith?  The many encounters I had with the occult and diabolical.”  So says renowned Catholic apologist and retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Jesse Romero. 

Now for the first time in print, Romero reveals the harrowing details of his experiences with the demonic while working for the LASD. 

Discover the true stories of spiritual warfare being waged in the streets and alleys of L.A., including:

Romero’s encounters with Richard Ramirez, the infamous “Night Stalker”

How the Rosary drove out a demon that had taken hold of a young man

What happened when inmates involved in the occult would try to say “Jesus is Lord”

How a young man who had committed suicide returned to beg his parents for prayers to release him from the pains of Purgatory

…and much more.

The Devil in the City of Angels (2019) is much more than a catalog of strange and terrifying events. It exposes Satan as the Father of Lies so we can see how he works, and how to defeat him.  Drawing on his own experiences as well as the most authoritative sources, Romero offers the reader numerous cautionary tales, but also that hope that is only found in Jesus Christ and his Church.

About the author:  Jesse Romero is a long-time Catholic evangelist and a retired veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.  He holds an undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts from Mount St Mary's College in Los Angeles and a graduate degree in Catholic Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.  He speaks frequently around the country and is the popular host of two radio shows.  To learn more about Jesse and his mission, visit his website.

Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory by Gerard J M van den Aardweg

Paperback:  Vanity it is:  to be only mindful of the present life, and not fix one's eyes on the future.  Thomas à Kempis, Imitatio Christi

After a week of hearing ghostly noises, a man is visited in his home by the spirit of his mother, dead for three decades.  She reproaches him for his dissolute life and begs him to have Masses said in her name.  Then she lays her hand on his sleeve, leaving an indelible burn mark, and departs.

A Lutheran minister, no believer in Purgatory, is the puzzled recipient of repeated visitations from "demons" who come to him seeking prayer, consolation, and refuge in his little German church.  But pity for the poor spirits overcomes the man's skepticism, and he marvels at what kind of departed souls could belong to Christ and yet suffer still.

Hungry Souls (2009) recounts these stories and many others trustworthy, Church-verified accounts of earthly visitations from the dead in Purgatory.  Accompanying these accounts are images from the "Museum of Purgatory" in Rome, which contains relics of encounters with the Holy Souls, including numerous evidences of hand prints burned into clothing and books;  burn marks that cannot be explained by natural means or duplicated by artificial ones.

More than just a collection of "Catholic ghost stories," Hungry Souls also discerns from these accounts important truths about the afterlife, about God's mercy, and ultimately, about the urgent necessity to pray and perform suffrages for our brothers and sisters in Purgatory and to reform our lives so as to shorten our own stay in that place of real and awful suffering.

About the author:  Gerard J M van den Aardweg, PhD is a Dutch psychotherapist in private practice.  In addition to his work in parapsychology - writing and speaking about near-death experiences and paranormal events, such as those detailed in Hungry Souls, Dr van den Aardweg has written extensively on pro-life and pro-family subjects.  His previous books include Education for Life, The Saint of the Ordinary (about the life of Josemaría Escrivá), and On the Origins and Treatment of Homosexuality.  He lives in the Netherlands with his wife, with whom he has seven children and seventeen grandchildren.

Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike Series) by Robert Galbraith

Paperback:  When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.  Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed.  There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible - and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men.

But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them.

Career of Evil (2015) is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott.  A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, it is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

Career of Evil was one of the six novels nominated for the title of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the winner of the Audie Award for Mystery in 2016.

About the author:  Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym of J K Rowling.  After Harry Potter, the author chose crime fiction for her next books, a genre she has always loved as a reader.  She wanted to write a contemporary whodunit, with a credible back story.

Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike series is classic contemporary crime fiction from a master story-teller, rich in plot, characterisation and detail.  Galbraith’s debut into crime fiction garnered acclaim amongst critics and crime fans alike.  The first four novels The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015) and Lethal White (2018) all topped the national and international bestseller lists.  The first three books in the Strike series have been adapted for television, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J K Rowling’s original intention for writing as Robert Galbraith was for the books to be judged on their own merit, and to establish Galbraith as a well-regarded name in crime in its own right.

Now Robert Galbraith’s true identity is widely known, J K Rowling continues to write the crime series under the Galbraith pseudonym to keep the distinction from her other writing and so people will know what to expect from a Cormoran Strike novel.

Rating:  5/5

Weekend Wisdom

Stories Are Powerful

Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache Series) by Louise Penny

Paperback:  As the early morning mist clears on Thanksgiving Sunday, the homes of Three Pines come to life - all except one.

To locals, the village is a safe haven.  So they are bewildered when a well-loved member of the community is found lying dead in the maple woods.  Surely it was an accident - a hunter's arrow gone astray.

Who could want Jane Neal dead?

In a long and distinguished career with the Sûreté du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has learned to look for snakes in Eden.  Gamache knows something dark is lurking behind the white picket fences, and if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will begin to give up its secrets.

Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

Still Life (2005) is the first instalment in the worldwide phenomenon Chief Inspector Gamache series and the winner of the CWA John Creasey Dagger, New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.

About the author:  Louise Penny is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels.  She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (six times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel.  In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.

Rating:  5/5

Healing The Purpose Of Your Life by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn

Paperback:  The authors offer ways to help readers discover their special purpose in life - through love, life circumstances, other people and faults - that essence which underlies all decisions and activities.

Each of us comes into this world carrying with us a special purpose, what Agnes Sanford called our "sealed orders."  When we follow our sealed orders, we become fully alive, resolve midlife crises and avoid burnout.  This book is to help us discover our sealed orders and heal the obstacles to living them out.

Healing The Purpose Of Your Life (1999) comes with full-colour illustrations by Francisco Miranda.

About the authors:  Linn Ministries includes the retreats and conferences given by Dennis, Sheila and Matt Linn in the United States and around the world, and our books and tapes.  Sheila Fabricant Linn, Dennis and Matt Linn work together as a team, integrating physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness.  They have taught courses on processes for healing around the world.  They are the authors of 23 books, including 2 books for children and those who care for them.  These books have sold over a million copies in English and have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Definition: Dendrophile

Definition: Spoondrift

God Is Love Saint Teresa Margaret: Her Life (Christian Literature) by Margaret Rowe

Paperback:  St Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart was born into a large devout family in Arezzo, Italy in 1747. 

From the earliest days of her childhood, Anna Maria was filled with a deep love of God, questioning the adults around her as to "Who is God"?

Already she was dissatisfied with answers given her.  Only the contemplative life of a Carmelite nun could begin to quench her thirst to know and give herself completely to God.  Her entire life was driven by the desire to "return love for love."  She entered the Carmelite convent in Florence at the age of seventeen, advanced rapidly in holiness, and died an extraordinary death at twenty-two.  Her spiritual director reflecting on her death remarked, "She could not have lived very much longer, so great was the strength of the love of God in her."

The cornerstone of St Teresa Margaret's spirituality was to remain hidden, to appear just like everyone else in spite of her heroic virtue.  To our loss, she has remained very much hidden even after her death.

Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen commented, "This is an odd fact, for we do not hesitate to rank her among the primary figures who represent the glory of Carmel among Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of the Child Jesus."

Though St Teresa Margaret led a life of exquisite holiness and purity, it was also a life that is wholly imitable.  In her were combined Martha and Mary as she served her community as infirmarian while reaching the heights of contemplation. 

No one will come away from the pages of this book, God Is Love Saint Teresa Margaret (2003, 2016), without his or her own spirit being renewed and reinvigorated.

About the publishing house:  ICS Publications, based in Washington, DC, is the publishing house of the Institute of Carmelite Studies (ICS) and a ministry of the Discalced Carmelite Friars of the Washington Province (USA).  The Institute of Carmelite Studies promotes research and publication in the field of Carmelite spirituality, especially about Carmelite saints and related topics.  The institute’s members are friars of the Washington Province.

We are best known for our translations of Carmelite classics:  the works of Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Lawrence of the Resurrection, Thérèse of Lisieux, Elizabeth of the Trinity, and Edith Stein. Our editions of these works - all with ample notes and explanatory materials, and translated whenever possible from the critical texts - are widely hailed for their accuracy, readability, and affordability.

We also publish popular and scholarly works on other Carmelite figures and themes, including the history of the Discalced Carmelite Order;  Carmelite martyrs of various centuries such as the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne and Père Jacques Bunel;  and the place of lectio, solitude, and discernment in the spiritual life.

Another series launching soon will be The Salamanca Series, which will feature contemporary academic titles on Carmelite themes and persons of interest to scholars and the general public as well.