ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matthew Raley is senior pastor of the Orland Evangelical Free Church in northern California, where he lives with his wife and two young children. For fun, he enjoys playing chamber music with friends, giving occasional solo recitals, and playing first violin in the North State Symphony. This is his first book.ABOUT THE BOOK
Jim was at work when his eyes drifted to the coffee shop visible from his office window. An attractive woman driving a Mercedes pulled up to the curb . . . and Jim’s married pastor emerged from the car. When Jim delves deeper into his pastor’s world, will he be able to handle what he discovers? Is he right to suspect that Dave is having an affair? In the behind-the-scenes church battle that ensues, Jim is torn between duty to his church and a desire to show grace. A ripped-from-the-headlines drama of suspense that keeps you engaged to the last page.Fallen is the story about Jim’s relationship with Dave—how Jim tries to do the right thing to keep Dave accountable, but finds the situation getting worse and worse. It’s also about Jim’s other relationships. Just as he discovers hypocrisy in Dave, Jim discovers his own sins against his wife and daughter.
My review:
Fallen is a thought-provoking, page-turning novel that will cause you to see things differently by book's end. As with peeling an onion, layer after layer of deception is removed as the cover is stripped away and the truth is exposed. The insight this author has is impressive.
The process of uncovering the truth will make you question things. Sticking with your convictions may be unpopular, but what is more important, stating the truth or allowing sin to continue? It's hard to say much more about this story because I don't want my review to be a spoiler for the reader, but I can say that Fallen truly exposes the darkest places in a man's heart. It also helps you to see that sometimes Christians have ulterior motives based more on pride than Christ.
You'll never see accountability in the same light after reading this book. It's truly sad how warped things can get and how easily deceived people can be. But in the end, if you allow God to expose the sin in your heart, and you are willing to follow his lead, change is possible. But humility is a key ingredient, because if you don't think you've sinned then you have nothing to confess, right? This book will blow your mind and stretch your thinking, trust me. I especially appreciated how the author used the situation to make Jim see how he'd hurt his own family and how he used that knowledge for the benefit of the people he loved.
Fallen is published by Kregel and will be released in February 2008.
1 comment:
Awesome review! I think this is a book I might enjoy quite a bit. I already want to know what happened! Thanks for posting your review. :)
Kelly
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