The Rivers Run Dry, Sibella Giorello

I need books like this for when the weather stinks. Here is a novel that takes you places--first, into the mind of Raleigh, a southerner in the Northwest, into the heart of Seattle, into the FBI, and of course, into a suspenseful and unpredictable mystery. I enjoyed the plot, the characters and the descriptions, but I think my favorite part of this book was all the unique metaphors. I've studied this type of writing, and it's harder than it looks. The descriptions are all her own - no clichés. Giorello's writing style is a distinct element that pulls you into the book to see what's going to happen and how she will say it.

Even though this is labeled Christian fiction, I was still pleasantly surprised that it contained many overt Christian elements. Raleigh's Christian faith keeps her from drinking, gambling, exploding in anger. She doesn't even flirt with her handsome coworker, who is kind of a jerk anyway. She goes to church, and brushes off her aunt's New Age mentality. The narration discusses the origins of the geography in Washington state from Creationist standpoint. This book was a relief and a lot of fun to read. I say relief because it seems like a lot of modern Christian fiction is just "clean" fiction. Rather, it's like secular fiction with the most graphic elements (hopefully) edited out. I felt that Giorello must have a genuine belief because her boldness stands out in this genre. That said, it is a gritty story. There is vomit, drug addiction, a creepy bad guy, and some suffering that doesn't really resolve itself. But there is also a strong message of hope--the Christian kind, of course--all the while acknowledging that resolution doesn't mean all of life's situations ending perfectly.