It’s been so long since I last read a thriller. Normally I’m down for action-adventure, the occasional mystery or spy novel, or whatever classic melodrama my family convinces me to try. I came across Fear Has a Name (the first book in The Crittendon Files) by Creston Mapes through the David C. Cook free book program, and I’m very glad I gave it it a try. Its whetted my appetite for more stories like this, real-life situations of suspense and intrigue suited comfortably with non-preachy godly wisdom.
Through the sorrows of his characters, Mapes challenges his readers to consider what they might do when all seems lost. The depressed and drug-dependent pastor on the brink of suicide, the young mother stolen from her family by a monster from the past, or the man who loses all control, which he as a husband, father, and professional is expected to maintain—each of Mapes’ central characters resembles us all at one time or another when we, too, reach the ends of our ropes. Like Job (though probably to a lesser extent), we all know what it’s like to feel Darkness creeping into our happy little worlds. Yet whether the Enemy attacks us through our thoughts and emotions, through external and overpowering struggles, or through a mixture of both, we can find comfort in knowing that we’re not alone.
Mapes does well to point the readers to Christ, without being overtly evangelistic or preachy. The fact that Granger Meade never becomes a follower of Jesus, for example, is a plus, not because we hope he wouldn’t (God forbid!), but because such an ending would be unreasonable, like so many TV drama episodes. This book is a neat little 40-chapter package, but Mapes leaves just enough unsaid that readers feel satisfied yet not babied.
One critique and one compliment for the book, to be fair. As a critique, I wonder about the car accident in the final chapters. Did this happen outside Lake Serenity, which is why Granger saw all the emergency lights down the road? If so, why such coincidence, as Jack’s location has no bearing on that of Granger, Pam, or Evan? If not, perhaps Mapes could make the lights Granger sees a little less ambiguous. As a compliment, I honestly didn’t know from the author’s name whether he was a man or a woman (now I know). This is a compliment, because balancing lead characters of both genders is a very difficult task, yet I felt like Mapes could have been either, as he did an excellent job of describing the thoughts and emotions of Pam and Wendy.
I’m going to look up the next installment in The Crittendon Files, titled Poison Town. I enjoyed the speed and suspense of this book and recommend it for those who like such novels without the overtly supernatural ingredients that Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti generally include.
© 2018