Grace series

Title: Grace series
Author: Christine Dillon
Series: Grace series
Major Themes: Christian Living, Bible Study, Death, Adoption, Family, Church
Synopsis: Throughout this series of gripping stories, people learn to know Jesus better and learn how to share their faith, while working through various problems in their lives.

A few weeks ago, I found Grace in Strange Disguise on my Kindle and read it. That made me want to read more of the Grace series, so when I found all the others I binge-read them all. I enjoyed them. They’re very different than most contemporary Christian fiction. To read my review of book one, go here.

Book 2, Grace in the Shadows, begins where book 1 left off. Esther has survived cancer, but her family is still torn apart. How can she bridge the gap and heal the wounds in her relationship with her parents? Meanwhile, Rachel, a cosmetics consultant, has buried her past. When things from her past insist on pushing their way into her life now, and she completely cracks up, what can she do? Is there any way to work through those past hurts? Can she ever be happy again?

Grace in Deep Waters, book 3, switches away from Esther. William Macdonald is at the pinnacle of his success as a pastor of a mega-church. With a popular radio show reaching millions, as well as his church, he can’t afford to let anyone see a flaw in him. However, he has a secret. His wife has left him, and he doesn’t know why, or how to get her back. Meanwhile, Blanche Macdonald is struggling to work out what to do with her life. She wants Jesus to be first, more important, even, than her husband, her image, or her daughter. 

Book 4, Grace in the Desert, focuses on Rachel Macdonald. Many years ago, her father rejected her and she found herself doing things she couldn’t forgive herself for. Now that she has accepted Jesus’s forgiveness, and her overbearing father claims to have changed his life, too, she has a decision to make. Will she remain bound in her anger and hurt, or forgive and move on? Meanwhile, she is learning to know Pete Klopper, who also has tragedy in his past. He doesn’t know how to forgive himself, either—can they help each other?

Grace Beneath the Frost, the fifth book in the series, has a completely different cast of characters, though still related to the others. Paul Webster, one of the top cancer specialists in Sydney, Australia, allowed himself to be thrown into a spin by a patient’s death, and now he didn’t know what to do with her confident faith in God. What will happen to him if he allows himself to check out Jesus’s claims to be God? And what can he do about the mess his home life has ended up in?

Book 6, Grace Across the Miles, takes us back to Gina Reid, a close friend of Esther Macdonald. All her friends seem to be getting married and having babies, and she is alone. To compound her struggles, she has recently learned that she was adopted, and now she wants to find her mother and figure out where she came from. That sends her on a journey to another town in Australia, and then to New Zealand—but what will she do with the answers she finds? How can she share God’s love with the people He puts in her path? 

These books are quite different from most Christian fiction. Their main purpose is to present the Gospel and to teach Christians how to share their faith effectively. Christine Dillon is a firm believer in the power of stories to reach people’s hearts, and in all of these books, she has her characters modeling this. I found it interesting that she did not recommend the book of John for people just beginning to read the Bible, but a gospel with more stories. There is some romance in a few of the books, but the main focus in all of them is leading people to faith in God. With that wrapped up in a very engaging story, the Grace series is one that I highly recommend.

WARNING: People die in several of the books, and in book 3 a man is tempted to commit suicide. A rape is mentioned in book 6.

Links to buy these books:

This review was written for the entire set of books. You can buy the individual books here:

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Appalachian Song Grace in Strange Disguise Joey’s Story Christian Heroes: Then and Now Series