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The Cure Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Athol Dickson / Bethany House Reviewed by Laura HiltonAthol Dickson's fans will not want to miss this compelling story.Riley Keep is a former missionary and pastor. He lost his wife and daughter and turned to the bottle, losing everything else in the process. Riley left Maine for warmer climates, but three years later, his best friend, Brice, another homeless man, is dying from alcoholism, and Riley almost carries Brice back to Maine, hearing that miracles are happening there. Once back in Maine, Riley and Brice check themselves into the local homeless shelter. They get the last two beds. Other homeless people have heard the same rumors and now the town is overrun with "bums" and the mayor and some business owners are trying to figure out how to run them back out of town. Brice, in desperation for a drink, drinks an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol and he dies. Riley finds a bottle of good whiskey and drinks that, then prepares for death himself. But in doing so he finds a powdery substance that an attached note claims is the cure for alcoholism. Riley tastes it, and miraculously, he survives his death-defying act, and finds himself cured of even wanting drink. But finding the cure causes a lot more problems, a whole avalanche of problems that Riley is not expecting. Sometimes, the disease is not nearly as dangerous as the cure… I've looked forward to reading THE CURE ever since I read Athol Dickson's award winning River Rising. THE CURE is an interesting read, but it was slow starting, and for a long while I had to wonder what certain parts even had to do with it. Once I got into the story though,I began to care for Riley and hoped he'd find himself out of the pit that he lived in. I don't think I'd ever read a book where the main character was a homeless pastor before. I didn't totally like the premise, but it works in this story. The setting and faith were both woven in as important parts of the story-line, and the story wouldn't survive if either aspect were removed. Written in several points of view, the reader gets to experience all sides of the story, from Riley's to Brice's, to the mayor's, to other town residents. Athol Dickson's fans will not want to miss this compelling story. |
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About Laura Hilton |
Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing. River Rising, named one of the top novels of 2006 by Booklist magazine, received a Christy Award and his novel They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist. He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California.Read more about Athol Dickson
Suspense Books By Athol
| River
Rising Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Athol Dickson / Baker Welcome to Pilotville, Louisiana, 1927, isolated outpost on the Mississippi River- -a stilt village bounded by swampland to the horizon, accessible only by boat, an island of brotherly love in a sea of racism. Meet Hale Poser, a stranger with a bad hip who's come looking for his roots-- a humble man, a righteous man, a miracle man. In the swamp beyond the cypress and the tupelo and veiled by Spanish moss lies a lingering evil. For years it slept in dreadful isolation. Now comes Hale Poser, and it will sleep no more. It will rain down on Pilotville, it will rise up like a river, and nothing but a miracle can stop this awful flood. |
| The
Cure Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Athol Dickson / Bethany House When a small town in Maine becomes a mecca for miracles, Riley Keep journeys north to find out for himself---returning to a place and people he had left long ago. What he finds waiting is a hope beyond his wildest expectations! But will his past drag him away from this second chance at life? 336 pages, softcover from Bethany. |
| Winter
Haven Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Athol Dickson / Bethany House Eleven years ago, Vera Gambles brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found, washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body, and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother has not aged a day since last she saw him. Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Havens murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth. |
©2006-09
Susan Sleeman
Susan Sleeman
is the author of Nipped in the Bud, available May of 2009 from Heartsong Presents: Mysteries, an imprint of Barbour Publishing.
