Monday, February 23, 2009

BoneMan's Daughter review by Jonathan Grubbs

I had the opportunity to read an Advance Reading Copy of BoneMan's Dauguters by Ted Dekker. I submitted the following review to Christian Retailing magazine. You can read the edited version the published on their Web site here: http://tinyurl.com/dybpgq


BoneMan's Daughters, the first general market targeted release from popular fiction author Ted Dekker, is just as intense and suspenseful as Dekker's Christian market releases, including the best-seller Three. The book takes the reader on an emotional and spiritual journey, as the author puts the characters through hell on earth, tearing them down, stripping them of any pride or judgment of others, humbling them in a way that helps them understand that they are just as capable of the same evil that lurks within the villain that torments them.

After being taken by the serial killer Boneman, who breaks the bones of his victims without breaking their skin, Bethany is able to identify with her captor. She is very much aware of the shallowness of her mother's love, and is scarred by the abandonment of her father, Ryan Evans. After facing his own traumatic life-altering situation, her father would take on the whole world, even a serial killer if he got the chance, to save his daughter, but more than that, win her trust and her heart back to himself. Ryan seeks to rescue her while wondering if he will find her too late, after she has already been broken and killed. This father's devotion to his child, mirrors that of the Heavenly Father for His children. Dekker has such a great talent and ability to keep your adrenaline flowing, and your heart wrapped around his characters.

The overall theme deals with the issues of the pain of abandonment and rejection, and the ever increasing problem of Faithlessness that faces society today. It is a picture of the importance of a father in the lives of not only their children, but their children's mother as well. Without the father, we are broken. Longtime Dekker readers will once again be captivated by this book, although some Christian readers may find some of the language in the mainstream-targeted book questionable.