She blames herself for the suicide of a teenage boy. Now Maribel Montgomery is either being stalked or losing her mind. A job at a camp in the rustic and often rugged landscape of West Texas offers Maribel Montgomery a chance to escape both, especially if she makes sure no one knows she’s there.But when the body of a woman washes up in the river on her first morning, her hope of a safe place to … to start over is swept away. Circumstances force her into the acquaintance of Conner Pierce–a man with secrets of his own. Conner’s interest in Maribel is more than just a physical attraction. But his determination to rescue her from herself only pushes her farther away.A troubled teenage girl needs Maribel’s help. The terminally ill woman she works for needs her protection almost as much as she needs her company. And somewhere out there, another girl has gone missing and no one but Maribel seems to care. A growing sense of duty born of a selfless love keeps her from running again when the familiar feeling she’s being watched returns.When the attacks get personal she’ll have to decide who she can trust, starting with herself. But before she can trust herself, she’ll have to learn how to forgive herself.It’ll take the persistence of a man she’d rather avoid, the sage wisdom of a dying woman, and the desperate needs of a lonely girl to make her realize the power of forgiveness. Lingering self doubt from past mistakes threaten to cripple her until she finds out that love is the remedy for fear.Does she have the courage to face the danger stirring at the Pool of Siloam Camp? If she doesn’t, another girl might die. If she tries and fails, it could be her.Can Maribel risk working with him in order to save the next victim and find a missing girl? Or is he the killer?
more
Right when it seems you’ve found a nice, quiet place to stop and catch your breath, you haven’t.
Maribel Montgomery almost makes it to the Pool of Siloam Camp – where she can lick her professional wounds – when her car breaks down. Well, the 1967 Ford Falcon burns up, actually. And that’s in the first couple of paragraphs. That car is reminiscent of Cortés’s ships burning on the shore of the New World. There’s no turning back now, Maribel.
The waters at the Pool of Siloam Camp are troubled indeed, but not in a good way. Soon poor, beleaguered Maribel discovers the body of a woman who died under suspicious circumstances. Then another girl goes missing. Have Maribel’s troubles followed her to this peaceful, out-of-the-way place? Some people wonder about Maribel and others are in her corner, like the sheriff, who just can’t “see her being part of whatever it was that had his peaceful county humming with menace.”
Lori Altebaumer spins a satisfying, suspenseful mystery with a dash of romance. A Firm Place to Stand is truly Christian fiction, not just nice fiction written by a Christian author. I think the author’s inclusion of Christian dynamics and beliefs woven through this novel was my favorite aspect. Let me put that a different way. I loved that Altebaumer wrote about the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of these characters, Maribel and others.
I also loved Altebaumer’s writing. I’m a sucker for a well-turned, original phrase, and I highlighted some of my favorites on Goodreads.
If you’re a fan of mysteries, and especially if you’re a fan of Christian fiction, do yourself a favor and add this author to your short list. I’m looking forward to Lori Altebaumer’s next one!
I don’t even know where to start with this book and how much I enjoyed it and the message. I highlighted so many passages because they spoke to me. This book is more than faith, suspense, or trust. It is the culmination of so many different aspects, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of the various characters. Let’s just start with how the book starts:
“Journalists traveled light – especially the unemployed ones running from a tsunami of poor choices. Of course, she wasn’t exactly running since she had nowhere else to go.”
“Somewhat telling that at age twenty-six everything Maribel owned had fit into the back of a car.”
Maribel is a lost soul whether she realizes it or not. She doesn’t believe she is worthy of love or anything else all because of some bad journalistic moves on her part. But perhaps this new job at the Pool of Siloam camp will be her salvation, or at least give her a place to sort out her life. But everything is not as it seems as we travel the pages of this novel and follow Maribel’s journey. I felt for Maribel because she beat herself up over an event that was not her fault (especially near the end as we really learn the truth about the events) and her lack of faith in herself. She also didn’t believe that she was worthy of God’s love and forgiveness which is the furthest thing from the truth. Her time in this small Texas town and interactions slowly lead her down a new path to forgiveness and as the title states, A Firm Place to Stand.
I really felt the passion that Mack and Conner had for God and forgiveness and their calling to bring Maribel back into the fold. They have a long hard road ahead of them because Maribel carries a lot of guilt and emotional baggage that tends to get in the way of her life. But these new friends in her life can see past her baggage and despair and continue trying to bring her around to a more positive light.
Outside of the religious/belief aspect is the suspense/mystery portion. Why was Maribel brought to this sleepy little town in Texas? What happened to the missing camp counselor and camper? Who is trying to harm Maribel and why? All of these questions kept me hooked on the story and trying to figure out who had ulterior motives. There are some red herrings and not everything as it appears, but closer to the end of the book I had a feeling about a few characters and their motives, and I wasn’t far off base. While the “why” surprised me, it was somewhat obvious to me that these character(s) were up to no good.
There were multiple minor characters that also drew me into the story including Peg, who brought her here for research and a family history project; Rock Griger, the town sheriff, that just didn’t seem on the up and up; Daylee, one of the campers that had been abandoned by her family. The supporting characters had depth and I felt they were an integral part of the whole story.
Here are some of my favorite lines in the book (and there were quite a few)
“By the time she returned, the sun would be up, baking everything with the unrelenting heat of Texas in July.”
“The determination to stop giving herself away piece by broken piece was strong but she also knew her weaknesses.”
“Order and control eliminated chaos. Order and control took away the anxiety laden sleepless nights. Order and control equaled safe right?”
“Maribel may not have as many Texas generations behind her name, but it only took one to understand the character of those who did. A character she admired and respected.”
“How would it feel to have that strong a connection to something, roots running that deep? A simpler, purer life perhaps. A life without regrets.”
“Everything about the woman picked at the stitching holding Maribel’s heart together. Eventually she might find a loose thread and Maribel would be unraveled.”
“Peg wasn’t picking at the loose strings of Maribel’s heart. She had simply cut her anchor line and tossed it overboard, instead of being anchored in place, Maribel sensed release.”
“She reminded Maribe of a giant metal clip trying to hold her pieces together.”
“Something – or someone – spoke to her in the soft rustle of the breeze, like a breath whispering truth in her ear. You are enough.”
“The notes didn’t just silence the night. they silenced the noise in her head and the chaos in her heart, demanding she be still.”
“Maribel felt more broken and vulnerable than ever before. The protective shell she worked to build crumbled around her. After everything she told herself, she knew what she had wanted wasn’t possible.”
I was inspired by this book and it had me looking deeper within myself and was I enough?
We give this book 5 paws up.
A Firm Place to Stand is an exciting tale with enough twists and tension to keep me guessing from page to page, an ideal scenario in a well-written suspense novel. The dialogue snaps, and the author’s voice appeals, making the read a joy from start to finish. I also appreciate how the romance and spiritual threads deepen the connection between reader and author. I’m impressed! Although I received a complimentary e-copy from the author, I’m not required to write a positive review. The views expressed are my own.
What a good read.Would recommend to anyone loves Christian romance
I highly recommend Lori Altebaumer’s book “A Firm Place to Stand”. It was a book that had me captivated from the start! It will pull at your heart with romance, have you intrigued with gripping mysteries, and reveal a deeper love and forgiveness available to all of us. It’s a great story of hope and discovery that will encourage you in your own journey in life.
While I have to say that I was definitely intrigued by the cover, the synopsis really hooked me with its darker mystery elements. I also really enjoy second chance stories, and as its Christian themes of redemption began to make their presence known within the narrative, this book certainly did not disappoint.
From the beginning, readers are very attune to the fact that Maribel is carrying around A LOT of emotional baggage that has severely impacted her confidence when interacting with other people. While we have some ideas about what has completely derailed her life, the full ramifications of the decisions she has made are not made clear until the story begins to reach its dramatic climax. From a spiritual and/or religious perspective, this is an emotionally engaging read that will provide readers with many moments for personal reflection as we follow along from her point of view.
We spend a great deal of time with Maribel in her thoughts as she works through her own insecurities and misgivings, including guilt for reasons that are not made clear for much of the story. A vast majority of her internal strife centers on coming to terms with a troubling romantic relationship that makes it seemingly impossible for her to even entertain the notion of another love interest. She is overwhelmed with a sense of distrust for everyone, and as we come to slowly see, many other characters are burdened with this feeling as well. At its core, the story centers on choice and the positive or negative connotations we attribute to the consequences. Obviously, good results are what we all strive for, yet this found family helps one another to realize that even in our darkest moments, forgiveness can be attained by the gifts of grace and mercy. We are most often harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be, so the redemption that each character works toward is quite beautiful to witness. The sprinkling of scripture spotlights the tenderness in their quest for absolution.
This story is not short on action or suspense, as Maribel finds herself in the midst of one extremely dangerous situation after another. While the character development is quite slow-burning, the plot keeps the pages turning and the momentum moving. As a police procedural aficionado, I would have loved more time with Sheriff Rock Griger and the principal investigations featured in the story. He had quite the personality that may have worked well with Maribel as she came to terms with both her personal and professional problems. Maribel is an investigative reporter, albeit a disgraced one, so watching these two fields working together or bantering back and forth would have aided in not only our understanding of how the cases were solved, but could have provided Maribel with the redemptive arc needed to rebuild her career. Ultimately, this isn’t that story, but personal preference aside however, I can fully appreciate it for what it is. This is not a mystery in the traditional sense of the genre, but the mounting tension brings the story full circle to a satisfying conclusion that is believable.
Overall, this was a fast paced, intense, and easy read that will absolutely resonate a hopeful message that we could all use a little more of especially during these unprecedented times.
Many thanks to Lone Star Book Blog tours and the author for providing me with a free copy of the book. This is my honest and thoughtful opinion.
From the moment I opened the cover, this story took me on a roller coaster ride of danger, mystery, and intrigue as heroine Maribel Montgomery runs from her painful past into an unknown future with a handsome new acquaintance she can’t determine is friend or foe. But It wasn’t just the suspense that captured my attention. Altebaumer’s prose are filled with excellent descriptions that bring the heat and humidity of a Texas summer to life and the snappy dialogue between Maribel and Conner often had me chuckling out loud. I think what I like most though, was the depth of realism that Altebaumer brought to the conflict in Maribel’s life. Doubting her own self-worth due to past mistakes, she is not only running from an unknown suspect bent on ending her life but from God. The author cleverly combines memories of Scripture spoken over Maribel by a beloved aunt along with the voice of new friends to encourage Maribel to trust God again without beating the reader over the head. Maribel’s struggle, like most people’s, is real and heartfelt, and refreshing to find in Christian fiction.
Lori Altebaumer’s A Firm Place to Stand is a firm win!