My review of Trial by Ordeal by Craig Parshall

Trial by Ordeal was different from any book I've ever read. The author used first person past tense to describe the events that took place literally in the past...as in beyond just a few minutes ago. At first, I found the unique presentation difficult to read. But by the end, I realized the style actually worked well for the story.

The main character, Kevin, gets himself in one mess after another. Things just keep getting worse the harder he tries to fix his problems himself. The tension from protagonists was excellent. The fact that bad things kept happening to Kevin kept me reading. I would've like to have seen more dialogue, but maybe that was difficult because of the style the author used to present the story to the reader.

Overall, I'd say the story was a pleasurable ride for me. I really liked Kevin by story's end. How the author showed Kevin's messed up life and the changes that slowly took place when he give his heart to the Lord--how Christ can truly make a difference in a person's life--was probably my favorite part of the story. The spiritual arc was awesome. :)

Trial by Ordeal was published by Harvest House and released in May 2006.