Title: Two O’clock Slump
Author: Chautona Havig
Series: Hartfield Mysteries, book 3
Major Themes: Mysteries, Romance
Synopsis: As Alexa returns to her hometown to visit her estranged family, she runs into major trouble at her hotel. Is there any way she can find reconciliation and peace in her life?
I didn’t like Two O’clock Slump all that much. Probably because it hit closer home than I normally like seeing myself portrayed. Actually, it’s an excellent book—very well formed characters, engrossing plot, and a great “faith” factor.
Alexa can’t seem to stay out of trouble—and even as a law enforcement officer, Joe can’t keep her out of trouble either. When she returns to her hometown to visit her family and do a book signing, she’s awakened in the middle of the night by an alarm clock going off in a room that should have been empty. What’s more, they find a dead man in the room, and he just so happens to be someone she knew in the past. How can they prove she isn’t the one that did it, and furthermore find the real culprit?
Meanwhile, her relationship with her family is strained almost to a breaking point. Can she love them—despite their complete disapproval of everything that she stands for? Can they ever come to a place of accepting each other for who they are in Christ, despite their differences?
In closing, I loved this quote from Aunt Faye:
“Given the right provocation, any of us, if we don’t cling to Jesus at every moment, can and may well allow sin to crouch at our door and devour us, as God warned Cain.”
The reason why I don’t really like Two O’clock Slump is because I found that I have some of the same tendencies as Alexa’s parents. Probably not to the extreme that they did, but being very critical of others can be a terrible fault and one that is (obviously) wrong a lot of the time. Of course, having discernment is very good and right in the right context, but I believe we are also called to love each other despite our differences at times. This book gave me a lot to chew over, which was good!
Note: I do not agree with one part of this book, where Alexa’s brother prepares to marry a divorced woman. I believe that doing so is adultery, as Matthew 5:32 states. Because of that aspect, I cannot fully recommend this book (although it is a minor element to the story).
WARNING: Women’s issues are mentioned once, very briefly. “H—k” is used a couple times. See also last paragraph in review.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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