About the Book

Book: Cleansed by Death

Author: Catherine Finger

Genre: Thriller/Suspense/Mystery

Release Date: June 2016

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

I was excited to read Cleansed by Death by Catherine Finger because I love the suspense/thriller genre. It’s not very prevalent in the Christian market, probably because of the limitations. A “clean” novel that tackles the nitty gritty part of a world most of us aren’t privy to is a challenge. I applaud Ms. Finger for taking it on. She does a beautiful job of getting into the emotions of main character, Jo.

Someone recently pointed out to me that fiction can take on two different forms. One in which the events of the story occur organically, as if the story actually happened and the author is just detailing it. The other is where twists and turns in the plot are put there to make the story more interesting, but it feels somewhat contrived. Although Cleansed by Death had a lot to the plot, it felt like the latter rather than the former.

The opening scene plops the reader into the main character’s nightmare—an abusive, crazy husband bent on punishing Jo for some past issues in their marriage. Then we’re suddenly in the middle of an active serial murder investigation where the lead investigator and Jo have emotional history. They spend most of the story flirting with each other, which leads me to believe Jo’s true love is Nick—and why she married the other guy isn’t clear. It bothered me that Nick was supposed to be a Christian, but his constant flirting with a married woman tells the reader otherwise.

The story jumped around but focused mainly on Jo’s marriage problems. The case they were working on wasn’t well developed—in fact, it was secondary to the story. And although I understand the psychology behind spousal abuse is conflicted, Jo’s emotions didn’t ring true. There were two scenes that completely threw me off—one in which Jo was with a female psychiatrist and she and the doctor discussed facial creams and which of them was more beautiful. In the midst of this, Jo had a “vision” of God, but it was so convoluted, I had to reread it several times to make sense of it.

The other scene was where Jo contemplated suicide because of the betrayal of her husband. I didn’t feel the character would have been entertaining the idea, given all she had in her life. She had an upcoming adoption of a child she loved, wonderful friends with whom she was closely connected and her obvious love for Nick—the flirty partner. She obviously didn’t love her husband, so why was she so devastated to be free of him?

One other thing that was a problem for me was that Jo, who was by all accounts a well-respected police chief—very intelligent and wise—purchased a stuffed animal for a child that had an RDIF chip inside, but she wasn’t even aware of it until the six-year-old downloaded the app on Jo’s phone. A toy such as this would be very expensive, and it would be obvious to anyone purchasing it that this was a particular feature. It’s not plausible that it would have come as a surprise to her.

Ms. Finger has a very strong character in Jo, and she does a beautiful job with description and putting the reader into the myriad of emotions. I know this is the first in a series, and I was intrigued enough to want to read more.

About the Author

More from Catherine

Welcome to our Jo Oliver Thriller series Celebrate Lit Tour!

Cleansed by Death, the first book in the series of four novels, began with an idea to write a book about strong women struggling with life, love, and loss while embedded in traditional male roles. I wanted to show real women dealing with difficult internal and external struggles and create tension for my readers. Playing with the question of whether such challenges make our characters better—or bitter—added depth and twists to my story.

It took a long time to get this story to the point of releasing it into the world. I stopped writing it twice, shelving it for about a year each time. Every summer as I percolated over the story, I read it cover to cover and realized I still loved both the voice and the bones of the story. Adding the faith piece in a way that felt authentic and edgy was the frosting on the cake and it happened as a half vision, half spiritual warfare experience in Jo Oliver’s head and heart. This experience developed her unique brand of conversation with God as she understands Him and added a spiritual dimension to my stories.

My Midwestern roots showed themselves with reckless abandon in this debut—becoming a cornerstone of future installments. As I write this kick-off note to you, I sit in front of my computer facing a wilderness scene that features prominently in this story. Writing in the midst of the corona virus leads me back to some of my favorite places for comfort—the woods and lakes of Wisconsin.

Enjoy the read!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 28

Blogging With Carol, June 28

Texas Book-aholic, June 29

Through the Fire Blogs, June 30

Bigreadersite, June 30

Betti Mace, July 1

Godly Book Reviews, July 1

For the Love of Literature, July 2

Older & Smarter?, July 3

Emily Yager, July 3

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 4

Daysong Reflections, July 5

deb’s Book Review, July 5

Inklings and notions, July 6

For Him and My Family, July 7

Where Crisis & Christ Collide, July 7

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 8

Pause for Tales, July 9

Lights in a Dark World, July 10

Ashley’s Bookshelf, July 10

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Catherine is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fcd9/cleansed-by-death-celebration-tour-giveaway