Intervention

I first discovered Terri Blackstock through her Newporte 911 series. Although I am usually disappointed in so-called Christian fiction, Blackstock's book have always been a satisfying, even thought-provoking read. Her characters are very human -- each with their own flaws, disappointments, fears, and desires -- and the storylines are engaging. Her books are about faith, but are rarely preachy. Intervention comes right out of this mold. Intervention is told mostly from the point of view of the mother, Barbara, during a desparate search for her missing daughter. As her son, Lance, guides her through the open journals on Myspace and Facebook, she learns how her daughter felt in the months leading up to the crisis and must face up to how her own actions contributed to what happened. Her reaction to each discovery was compelling to me as a mother -- I could relate to the emotions, the rationalizing, and the absolute disregard for personal consequences to do whatever it took to find my child. The ending contains a bit of a surprise twist and underscores the fact that Christians are often victimized by others who claim to be Christian as well.

Terri Blackstock is a solid author with amazing talent. I know that I will not be able to put her books down once I start and this was no exception. Intervention follows the lives of the Covington family as they deal with eldest child, Emily's addiction to drugs. Barbara, recently widowed, is at the end of her rope and sends for an interventionist to help scare Emily straight. When Emily agrees to go to rehab, their lives quickly pivot to an "intervention" they never saw coming. Barbara and her son, Lance, are called to Georgia when Emily goes missing after her flight with the interventionist. She is sought as a person of interest in a murder. Barbara is convinced her daughter is innocent and embarks on a rescue attempt- with or without the police's help. I found the story very moving, particularly as the sibling of a drug addict. Blackstock delves very deeply into the mother's pain and gives hints as to how the good son feels as well. At the end of the book, you discover that Blackstock is writing from a personal perspective, even though the story is fictional. I think the most powerful emotion she touched on was the anger at other Christians who offered pat advice without love, patience, and prayer. The mystery was good but was secondary to the overall prodigal daughter theme. I enjoyed the suspense, as always, with a good Blackstock mystery novel. There is a discussion guide at the end which is wonderful for book club discussion starters or Bible study. It is light reading and hard to put down. Highly recommended!

Widower Barbara Covington is worried about her addicted teenage daughter Emily and decides to intervene after her lockdown efforts fail and her offspring stole money using illegal credit cards she took out in her dead father's name. She takes her eighteen year old child to meet with a rehab center interventionist Trish Massey. However, the counselor is found dead and Emily missing. The police for obvious reasons assume Emily killed him. Upset and despondent, Barbara searches for her missing oldest child with her other teen Lance advising her. She vows to find Emily and the real killer before the police lock her daughter away for a homicide Barbara knows in her troubled soul her teen did not commit. This is a super inspirational thriller that is at its best when looking into addictive destructive behavior and at the mom-older teen daughter relationship. Barbara and Trish are fully developed characters; both at the end of their respective ropes, which each might use to hang themselves or the other. Fourteen year old Lance is too wise as if he is the interventionist guiding his mom (how old was Yoda?). The whodunit is well written, but more of a supporting device to force Barbara to personally "intervene". Fans will appreciate this profound tale while pondering whether addiction is a personal, family or even community illness as Emily's actions impact others. Harriet Klausner

I got an advanced reader copy of this book, and it was FANTASTIC! I started it one lazy afternoon at the beach, and didn't, COULDN'T, put it down until later that night when it was finished. The characters were well-developed, the plot was very creative and the book was very unpredictable. 5 stars for sure!