My review of Tribulation House by Chris Well...

From the Publisher

IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD—WHICH COULD BE A PROBLEM...

Mark Hogan has it all. The job. The family. A position on the board at church. All he's missing is a boat. Not just any boat—a 2008 Bayliner 192.

When Reverend Daniel Glory announces that the Rapture is taking place on October 17 at 5:51am, Hogan realizes his boat—buying days are numbered. So he does what any man in his situation would do—he borrows a load of money from the mob.

Not that there's any risk involved: After all, when the Rapture comes, Hogan will be long gone. The mob will never find him.

But when Jesus fails to come back on schedule, Mark Hogan finds the mob is in no mood to discuss the finer points of end—times theology...

My review:
This story is so different from Deliver Us from Evelyn. The only similarity were the mob thugs and some of the dry humor. Other than that, this story is stand-alone unique. It's also a bit psycho and pretty funny at times. The other night I couldn't resist and read a few pages (that I found particularly hilarious) to my husband while we lay in bed. In some ways this novel read like a funny whodunnit "lad lit". It's truly unique.

The one thing I didn't care for was the main character's change of heart toward the end. After being so obviously clueless about a real relationship with Christ and having such a self-absorbed attitude, I had trouble buying the notion that he just got back on track. To me it seemed like he needed to be saved because his thinking didn't really line up with a believer's. Even one in a backslidden state. But that's just my opinion. Also, there seemed to be one too many points of view and some of them didn't seem necessary to me. But the innuendos were laughable and intriguing regarding his warped perceptive of Christianity and that provided some bonafide entertainment.

Also on the positive side (for their are many great things about Tribulation House) this story is not at all dull, which is why I actually finished it. I loved the premise. I also enjoyed the author's unique use of POV -- how the main character seems like he is talking to the reader. I've never seen that approach used before in a novel. Pretty creative. The author is obviously a gifted storyteller. I could yell at him for leaving me hanging at the end, though. I definitely want to read the next book. I already love the premise and set up for the next story.

Tribulation House was published by Harvest House and released in April 2007.