An Innocent Client (Joe Dillard Series) by Scott Pratt

Paperback: A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.

A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.

In this bestselling debut, criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he has tried to balance his career against his conscience. 

Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he cannot resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him.

An Innocent Client (2014) is the first instalment in the hit Joe Dillard series set in Tennessee. 

About the author: Scott Pratt is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author whose books have sold more than three million copies. He was born in South Haven, Michigan, and moved to Jonesborough, Tennessee when he was thirteen years old. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from East Tennessee State University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He lived in Johnson City, Tennessee until his tragic, untimely passing in November of 2018.

*A Note From his Family*

Honor and duty. In Dad's mind, these were among the most important foundational pillars in becoming a man, and he instilled these values deeply into me from a young age. As a family dealing with Mom’s cancer, we’ve been staring death in the eyes for a long time. Because of this, Dad often talked to me about my responsibility to our family after he was gone. He was adamant that it was my duty to continue driving his work, further cementing his legacy and what he’s left behind for our family. I will continue doing that. I also feel it’s my responsibility to finish out the projects he was working on. Here are those projects: two more books co-written with Mark Stout which he had already spent considerable time working on, two books co-written with Kelly Hodge which he had already worked on, and finally, Dad’s younger brother, Dan, and I will be finishing the solo novel, and possibly the three-book series, for Audible Originals that he was working on. We’ll also be completing a tenth instalment in the Dillard series, a book we anticipate will be the last in the Dillard saga. I’m writing to let you know this because I don’t want anyone to feel like there’s any sort of profiteering going on. It’s a matter of honor, of finishing what he started. I will never publish anything under Dad’s name that he wasn’t directly involved in conceptualizing and working on. So, once these are finished, there won’t be any more titles released under Scott Pratt. At that time, I’ll evaluate which way I feel is best to move forward, and we’ll go from there. At some point, there will be a biography written about Dad. He was an extraordinary man that led an extraordinary life. When the time is right, I’ll make sure whoever writes it does him justice.

- Dylan Pratt

Rating: 5/5 

Akita: The Tears And Message Of Mary by Fr Teiji Yasuda OSV

Paperback: Written by Father Teiji Yasuda, chaplain of the convent in Akita, this book was first published in Japanese with the Imprimatur of the Bishop of Niigata. On 14 March 1989, the Most Reverend John S Ito DD, retired Bishop of Niigata who knows English and who had personally read this English translation approved it in the following words:

"I recommend this book and testify that its contents are true."

The 101 Foundation is dedicated to making Our Lady's messages known. Many well substantiated miracles confirmed these recent apparitions and messages of Our Lady given to the world at Akita, Japan. Among them were 101 miracles of tears which flowed from the eyes of a wooden statue which became animated and spoke: "If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire from the sky will wipe out a great part of humanity..."

As angels intervened at Fátima and gave part of the message, so too at Akita. And the angel said that the number of miracles of tears was precisely 101 because that figure represents the mystery of Our Lady as the New Eve, "Mother of all the living" by the gift of Grace, as Eve is mother of all because she was the first woman. The zero, a circle, represents God with Eve on one side and Mary on the other. Eve had separated us from God by sin. Through Mary, Eve and all her children are restored to God. Thus 101 becomes a symbol of the Incarnation, of Mary's universal motherhood, of Her mediation of Grace.

At Fátima, Our Lady told us that Jesus has "entrusted the peace of the world" to Her. This we see in 101 with Eve on one side representing all men on earth now threatened with a terrible chastisement unless they turn to God, and Our Lady on the other, interceding and coming to tell us what we must do to avoid the chastisement and be joined to God.

Unlikely as it may seem at the moment that the world will respond (any more than it did after the great miracle of Fátima) the chastisement CAN BE averted. This time our Mother presents Her message in tears and She says that already the chastisement has been held back because of the sacrifices and prayers of special souls and Her own offering of the Passion of Her Son to the Father. This is the ultimate meaning of 101. 

Akita: The Tears and Message is translated from the Japanese by John M Haffert and published by 101 Foundation Inc, Asbury, New Jersey 08802-0151, USA. 

A Killing In Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal, and a Cold-blooded Murder (True Crime) by Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris

Paperback: He who commits adultery lacks sense; He who does it destroys himself. - Proverbs 6:32

AN OLD WAY OF LIFE

Thirty-year-old Barbara Weaver was content to live as the Amish have for centuries - without modern conveniences - but her husband, Eli, wanted a life beyond horses and buggies. Soon he gave in to the temptation of technology, and found ways to go online and meet women. On 2 June 2009, when Barbara was found dead, shot in the chest at close range, all eyes were on Eli...and his mistress, a Conservative Mennonite named Barb Raber.

A NEW KIND OF BETRAYAL AND DEATH

Barb drove Eli to appointments in her car. She gave him everything he asked for: a laptop, rides to his favourite fishing and hunting spots and sex. Above all, she gave him the cell phone he would use to plan a murder. The Weaver case marked only the third time an Amish man was suspected of killing his wife in more than two hundred years in America. 

But the investigation raised almost as many questions as it answered: Was Barb Raber the one who fired the fatal shot? Or was Barbara Weaver dead before someone entered the house? What did Eli's friends, family, and church really know about him? And will life among the "Plain People" ever be the same?

A Killing in Amish Country (2016) is a stunning account of what happens when the dark side of human nature collides with the gentle and religious world of the Amish. Their research, not only on the legal and police procedural aspects of the crimes, but the details of Amish life most of us never see, is spot on and makes for an intense, educational and addictive read. The book includes eight pages of dramatic photographs.

About the authors: Gregg Olsen has been a journalist and investigative author for more than twenty years. He is the recipient of numerous writing, editing, and photojournalism awards, including citations of excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi), the International Association of Business Communicators, Washington Press Association, Society of Technical Communication, and the Public Relations Society of America. He is the author of Abandoned Prayers, If I Can't Have You, A Twisted Faith, and Cruel Deception, among others. A resident of Washington state, Olsen has been a guest on dozens of national and local television shows, including educational programs for the History Channel, Learning Channel, and the Discovery Channel. Olsen also appeared several times on CBS's 48 Hours, MSNBC's Special Edition, Entertainment Tonight, Sally Jesse Raphael, Inside Edition, and Extra. He has been featured in USA Today, Salon Magazine, Seattle Times, and the New York Post. 

Rebecca Morris is the New York Times bestselling author of Bodies of Evidence, Overkill and If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance and the Murder of Her Children (all with Gregg Olsen). She is the author of the bestseller Ted and Ann: The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbour Ted Bundy, and Bad Apples: Inside the Teacher/Student Sex Scandal Epidemic. As an award-winning reporter Rebecca Morris worked in journalism in New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. She lives in Seattle.

The Dignity of The Human Person

The Blessed Gerondissa Makrina +1995

Paperback: We need to greatly avoid idle talk because idle talk is like a wildfire, as the holy Fathers say. Just as we have seen entire forests burned down in Penteli and in Kiphisia, and their hills left bare, so does idle talk remove everything good from inside our souls. It distances all that is good from our hearts, and we remain like rusted tin. - Counsel from Blessed Geronda Makrina 

With the printing of this small booklet, it is out desire to bring the Christ-loving and monastic-loving Christians in contact with the person of the Most Reverend and Most longed-for Mother and Grandmother of our sisterhood, the Ever-memorable Gerondissa Makrina (1921-1995), who was the Abbess of the Holy Monastery Panagia Odigitria in Portaria, Volos for thirty-two consecutive years. 

This booklet consists of short excerpts of the life and teachings of the blessed Gerondissa Makrina from the book, Logia Kardias, which was first published in Greek by the Holy Monastery Panagia Odigitria in Portaria, Volos.

It is our good hope that with the help of our Panagia and the Honourable Forerunner, our Monastery will be able to publish the English translation in 2016 with the title, Words of the Heart.

We pray that the acquaintance of pious Christians with the blessed Gerondissa Makrina may be for spiritual edification and support in the personal struggle of each of us on our journey toward the acquisition of the likeness of God.

Gerondissa Efpraxia

St John the Forerunner

Greek Orthodox Monastery

Goldendale, WA

Soulless: Inspector Mislan And The Faceless Girl by Rozlan Mohd Noor

Paperback:      From beasts we scorn as soulless

                             In forest, field and den,

                            The cry goes up to witness

                            The Soulessness of men.

                            - William Inge

In a sleazy back alley of Kuala Lumpur, the body of a young woman is found. She was killed in a sadistic manner and her features erased beyond recognition.

Inspector Mislan Latif and Detective Sergeant Johan Kamaruddin of Special Investigations (D9) take the case. What puzzles them is that no one had lodged a missing-persons report, so the young woman is not only faceless but completely unknown.

An autopsy by Dr Safia reveals a mysterious object lodged in the victim’s stomach. Had she been killed as a result of a theft gone wrong? If so, why the need to erase any trace she ever existed?

Becoming increasingly troubled by the case, Mislan and Johan make a trip across the border and uncover a sinister network that serves some very well-connected individuals—people who will now stop at nothing to keep their inhuman activities a secret.

Soulless (2017) is the fourth instalment in the excellent Inspector Mislan series set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first three books in the series are 21 Immortals (2010), Duke (2011) and UTube (2012). The fifth and latest instalment - Philanthropists - was recently published on 2 October 2020 by Fixi Novo.

About the author: Rozlan Mohd Noor served as a police officer in the Royal Malaysia Police for 11 years as a crime Investigator and court prosecutor before joining the private sector. In 2010, his first Inspector Mislan novel was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Best First Book Award. Subsequently, he published two other Inspector Mislan and several other crime/thriller novels. He currently resides in Thailand, leisurely enjoying his passion in writing novels. 

Rating: 5/5

Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis

Paperback: Pope Francis’s third encyclical is inspired by the life and example of St Francis of Assisi, his love for the poorest and his openness to all. The text was completed during the global Coronavirus pandemic and speaks to the possibility that through it we may rediscover a sense of common humanity. The Pontiff begins with an analysis of those trends which militate against fraternity and friendship in the world and responds through an in-depth exegesis of the parable of the Good Samaritan, calling us to follow his example of care for others no matter where they are from. Pope Francis sends out a clarion call to discover new ways of engaging in politics, society and religion that are grounded in a culture of encounter and friendship rather than fear and self-interest.

Pope Francis’s third encyclical is inspired by the life and example of St Francis of Assisi, his love for the poorest and his openness to all, and was completed during the global Coronavirus pandemic.

About the author: Pope Francis is, as the Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. (Wikipedia)

The Noble Martyr: A Spiritual Biography of St Philip Howard by Dudley Plunkett

Paperback: I hope that this work will speak to those who might be interested not only in the historical person that was Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, but also in how the lives of saints like Philip have relevance for our society and culture today. - Dudley Plunkett 

The witness and example of their martyrs inspired the courage and endurance of Catholic recusants in England for generations. 

The prayers and example of the martyrs also speak particularly to our own world; as most Englishmen in Elizabethan times accommodated themselves to the prevailing religious climate, so in our own day people accommodate themselves to the secular climate for much the same reasons, though not yet at risk of the same cost. 

Many of these saintly men and women have long been forgotten, but in this book, Dudley Plunkett presents one outstanding layman, noble, saint and martyr, uncovering from the texts that St Philip studied, translated and wrote - mainly during his ten-year long imprisonment in the Tower of London - a deeper story than just a simple outline of his life. 

The Noble Martyr (2019) attests the saint’s vibrant spirituality and persevering life of virtue, while appealing for a fuller appreciation of the Elizabethan martyrs and of the relevance of their lives and sufferings to spiritual renewal in our own time.

The more affliction for Christ in this world, the more glory with Christ in the next. - St Philip Howard, 22 June 1587

About the author: Dudley Plunkett has taught at Southampton University and the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham. He is the author of several books on spiritual and religious topics, including Heaven Wants To Be Heard (1997). Dudley Plunkett attributes his conversion to Catholicism to a trip to Medjugorje. He has written about Medjugorje for many publications in England and the United States, and is a director of the Medjugorje Network in England. He lives in Southampton, England.

Nazarena, An American Anchoress by Thomas Matus

Paperback: The hermit's vocation is a rare jewel in the church. Nazarena's story is a shining example of just how costly it can be to remain faithful to the unique call heard in the deepmost heart of each one of us. - Michael Downey, author of Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire (1997)

In this book, Thomas Matus tells the true story of one woman's struggle to live her extraordinary vocation to a life of total silence, solitude and hiddenness. 

A gifted musician and ordinary Sunday Catholic, Nazarena, née Julia Crotta, had a vision of Jesus calling her to the desert while in college in Connecticut. After much searching and numerous attempts to have her unique vocation recognized by the church, she eventually found her "desert" in a small room at the monastery of the Camaldolese Benedictine nuns in Rome. She lived there as an anchoress for forty-five years until her death in 1990. 

Radical yet traditional, exceptional yet simple, Sister Nazarena had a long and spiritually fruitful ascetic life. Nazarena, An American Anchoress (1998) uses excerpts from her own letters of spiritual counselling and material taken from interviews with those who knew her to tell the remarkable story of her life of silence and prayer.

About the author: Father Thomas Matus is a Camaldolese Benedictine monk who for the last thirty years has lived at the monastery of Camaldoli in Italy and at a Christian ashram in south India. He is the author of several books including Yoga and the Jesus Prayer Tradition: An Experiment in Faith (1984) and is coauthor of Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality (1991). 

Miracles Do Happen by Briege McKenna OSC with Deacon Henry Libersat

Paperback: Some people believe in the theory of miracles. Sister Briege McKenna believes in the reality of miracles because she sees them happen. 

Since 1970, when she was healed of crippling arthritis, Sister Briege has experienced more of the extraordinary ways of the Spirit than most Christians ever imagine. Today her healing ministry takes her all over the world - from huge rallies in Latin America to retreats in Korea. 

Miracles Do Happen (1987) tells the story of Sister Briege's encounter with the healing power of God. It shares her insights about faith for healing, the power of the Eucharist in healing, the vital importance of prayer, and the ministry of the priesthood. Most of all, it points the way to closer fellowship with Christ, greater knowledge of his love, and deeper faith in his power to do the impossible.

About the authors: Sister Briege McKenna OSC was born in Ireland and entered the Sisters of St. Clare at the age of fifteen. Following her final vows and after suffering for more than three years with rheumatoid arthritis, she was transferred to her community in Tampa, Florida with the hope that the Florida sunshine would relieve her suffering. At the age of twenty-four, she was miraculously and instantaneously healed during the celebration of the Eucharist and some time later received, in prayer, the gift of healing for which she has become so widely known. In 1974, again during prayer, she was given a deep spiritual insight into the mystery of the call to priesthood. Since then, bishops and priests in many parts of the world have invited her to speak and minister at their retreats and conferences.

Sr Briege ministered to priests in collaboration with Fr Kevin Scallon CM for over forty-two years until his death in June 2018. She now continues with this ministry. Her books Miracles Do Happen and The Power of the Sacraments (1996) have been translated into many languages throughout the world.

******

Deacon Henry Libersat was ordained for the Orlando Diocese in 1986 by the late Bishop Thomas J Grady. He ministers at St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Altamonte Springs, Fla. His ministries include preaching, ministry to persons in assisted living, Men’s Bible Study, and evangelization. He serves as volunteer chaplain to the Winter Springs (FL) Police Department. He also served for three years as volunteer chaplain to the McCoy US Army Reserve, 377th Military Intelligence Battalion, Orlando.

Deacon Henry is a veteran of more than 50 years in Catholic journalism. In 1999 he retired as editor and general manager of The Florida Catholic, a newspaper which he and his staff developed into six editions for six of Florida’s seven dioceses. In addition to this blog, he writes a monthly “Chaplain’s Chat” for police personnel. 

He is the author of several books including Catholic and Confident (2012). He served as coauthor for Sister Briege McKenna’s international best seller, Miracles Do Happen (50 languages). He is the author of a four-volume series on the Catholic Catechism under the general title, A Catholic Confession of Faith. 

Deacon Henry was born of Cajun parents on 4 July 1934 in Groves Texas. He grew up in Cajun Louisiana where he met his wife, Peg. They were married 4 June 1952. They have seven married children, 21 grandchildren, and 36 great-grandchildren.

The Power Of Stories by Elif Shafak

My Life With Murderers: Behind Bars With The World's Most Violent Men by David Wilson

Paperback: Professor David Wilson - the UK's leading criminologist - has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK's youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath.

Some of these men became David's friends; others would still love to kill him.

My Life with Murderers (2019) tells the story of David's journey from idealistic prison governor to expert criminologist and professor. With experience unlike any other, David's story is a fascinating and compelling study of human nature.

My Life with Murderers was shortlisted for the Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2019.

About the author: David Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Criminology and the founding director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment in 1997, David was a prison governor and at twenty-nine became the youngest governing governor in England.

Professor Wilson appears in the print and broadcast media as a commentator and presenter. His critically-acclaimed documentary, Interview with a Murderer, won the Broadcast Award and the Royal Television Society Award in 2017. David frequently gives public, school and university lectures which he announces on Twitter and Instagram.

Follow him on Twitter @ProfDavidWilson.

Book Canopy

The Priest Barracks: Dachau, 1938-1945 by Guillaume Zeller

Paperback: Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them. - Hebrews 13:3

At the Nazi concentration camp Dachau, three barracks out of thirty were occupied by clergy from 1938 to 1945. The overwhelming majority of the 2,720 men imprisoned in these barracks were Catholics--2,579 priests, monks, and seminarians from all over Europe. More than a third of the prisoners in the priest block died there.

The story of these men, which has been submerged in the overall history of the concentration camps, is told in this riveting historical account. Both tragedies and magnificent gestures are chronicled here--from the terrifying forced march in 1942 to the heroic voluntary confinement of those dying of typhoid to the moving clandestine ordination of a young German deacon by a French bishop. Besides recounting moving episodes, the book sheds new light on Hitler's system of concentration camps and the intrinsic anti-Christian animus of Nazism.

How does the experience of the priests at Dachau compare to those of their comrades who were laymen?

What were their privileges and what were their particular sufferings?

Did the persecution undertaken by the Nazis against the clergy have ideological or political underpinnings?

Did the faith and religious commitment of the priests reinforce them or render them helpless against the methodical dehumanization undertaken in the camps?

Were their moral convictions, forged by the Gospel and the Tradition of the Church, able to resist the perversion of values imposed by the SS?

Did the sufferings endured by the priests at Dachau bear fruit within the ecclesiastical institution and also outside, at the peripheries of the Church?

Recounting this strange story, this fragment of the tragedy of the concentration camps, allows us to outline answers to these various questions. 

The Priest Barracks (2017) was published on the recommendation of Jean-Louis Thiériot and is translated from the French (La baraque des prêtres: Dachau, 1938-1945 (2015)) by Michael J Miller. 

About the author: Guillaume Zeller is a French journalist. He is the former editor in chief of I-Télé, a national news television channel in France. His other two historical books are Un prêtre à la guerre about a French paratrooper chaplain and Oran, 5 juillet 1962 about the Algerian War.