Pursuit and Persuasion

by Sally Wright

Thumbs Up.

This is the third in the Ben Reese mysteries. Another winner.

Apprentice archivist Ellen Winter has inherited an estate in Scotland. But not only is the fact that she is not a relative of the decedent bringing up questions; there is also some mystery associated with the death of her friend, Georgina.

Ms. Wright continues to develop the characters we've come to know and introduces a few more. I like how she works in connections with her previous books and characters from them. It makes me want to go back and read them again to see if everything is consistent.

In this book, the possibly developing emotional bond between Ben and Ellen continues in subtlety, but Ms. Wright introduces another potential woman to vie for our hero's attentions.

There is one episode of Reese's marvelous feats that I found a bit cheesy. I know heroes in murder mysteries are supposed to be somewhat above average in their abilities, but in this case the hyperbole is beyond believability for me.

Ms Wright continues to include a Christian world view in her writings. The conversations and thoughts are natural and in character for the people who speak and think them. Nor do they come across in any way as preachy or self-righteous. So unlike many who write within the genre of Christian fiction.

In spite of the over-the-top previously mentioned scene, I will continue to read the series. The characters are at the same time human and noble. Very representative of a Christian's walk in life. We all struggle with many things. But ideally, our values show through to those with whom we come in contact.