The Man from Shadow Ridge

FROM THE PUBLISHER He Thought He'd Left the Past Behind. Yet One Terrible Tragedy Brings It All Back ... The year is 1863. In the East, the Civil War rages on. The mountains of California seem remote and untouched by the struggle of the young nation. Tom Dawson has found a refuge from the political and social conflicts running a small ranch with his brother beneath Shadow Ridge. This man with a restless past, his "rugged, sun-browned face creviced from the weather like a landscape," discovers some measure of peace and happiness at Shadow Ridge with his brother's little family. Then comes the news that the stagecoach has been robbed and six people murdered by a gang of rebel sympathizers stealing Union gold for the South. Without warning, the turmoil of Dawson's past returns. As he moves toward a final confrontation, the Dawson home is shattered by a second tragedy. Where will he find the courage and faith to continue?

I don't generally like Christian fiction much. Too often authors use their "Christian" audience to justify banality or just plain inferior work. A lot of Christian books can't compete on sheer entertainment value. Happily, Bodie & Brock Thoenes work is some of the best fiction I've ever read. It's unnecessary to qualify that by stating it's some of the best "Christian fiction". It's good fiction plain and simple.