Melanie WellsReseñas

55849

This book was an honest waste of my time to read. I hate saying that because I think books are amazing and worth the time, but the author relies on way too much deus-ex-machina to fix major plot holes.

Basically, the main character (who is quite obviously the author) prays her way through every plot problem and just waits for the answers to come to her.

It's an incredibly weak plot with a heroine is doesn't do much of anything. I was very disappointed because this book came highly rated here on Goodreads.

I felt like this review said everything I wanted to:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/461382429?book_show_action=true&page=1

Dylan Foster has elected of her own volition to follow the wending labyrinth of mysteries and intrigues surrounding the kidnapping of a young neighbourhood child. As the police turn up no substantive clues in finding the child, Dylan relies on a constellation of unlikely sources to aid her in the quest for truth. Chilling coincidences and the unsettling dreams of a six-year-old girl, Christine Zocci, lead Dylan on an epic and shadowy journey filled with bizarre twists and feints as she unravels an even deeper mystery. As opposed to other “whodunit” books of this genre, the tale is imbued with a more intensive psychological focus, involving haunting symbols and the paranormal connection between dreams and reality.
Melanie Wells employs sinuous, rolling description in this suspenseful drama. With a natural flair for dialogue, My Soul to Keep is a spellbinding example of a writer at the top of her prose, and an exemplary highlight that just may outshine her other offerings such as The Soul Hunter and When the Day of Evil Comes. As in her other two previous novels, Wells truly excels in writing characters of profound depth and in providing her readers with a mystifying and sinister atmosphere that truly compels. Moments of levity occur throughout to give the story a strong sense of pace and realism, allowing readers to catch their breath when the macabre richness of the tale becomes vertiginous. This interplay of shadow and light effectively make this book a kind of literary chiaroscuro, and will provide delight to those readers who wish to be swept up by the intriguing and sometimes shadowy details of the human mind

I absolutely devoured this book. What I want to share is how much I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it so much I took it with me to the Raven Cafe on Saturday. I squeezed in reading while my husband took his contacts out before bed. Basically, if I could read When the Day of Evil Comes even for a moment, I did it. Truly I only put the book down in order to not be rude.

The story introduces us to Dr. Dylan Foster who is a psychology professor at SMU. Dr. Foster sounds like the kind of woman I would have aspired to be when I was growing up. She is strong, well educated, beautiful, and has direction. Dylan's main flaw might be that she is a bit disconnected from those around her. She seems to have few close ties. Life may be slightly predictable and a bit boring for Dylan, but that changes rather quickly after an afternoon picnic with her colleagues at a lake.

From a meeting with a strange and rather creepy individual, Dylan finds herself on a path to possible personal destruction. Her usually ordered life is slowly coming unraveled with her professional ethics being questioned and her very career being put in jeopardy. Worse still she seems to be under some sort of spiritual attack, and that is far more difficult to get ahead of when you are accustomed to an orderly life where the rules are usually followed and most things are easily explained.

This story had plenty of edge and mystery to keep me reading. It contained characters that were entirely realistic and believable. This is a book that kept me actively engaged from the very first chapter. Seriously, I did not want to put this down. There were some questions in the story that kind of left things up to the reader, but that could be so you can find out more in the other books in the series.

Melanie Wells took me on a very interesting ride that I enjoyed thoroughly. I look forward to reading the second book "Soul Hunter" this week, and if it is anything like the first, I will be devouring "My Soul To Keep" the week after.

My thoughts: If you know anything about me and my book reviews you know that I have a really long TBR list. If you did not know that, look at my archives and see it. Anyway, it's long, I just have so many things that are calling my name. Well, I received this book My Soul to Keep and it is book three of a series. I'm one of those people who does not like to read things out of order, so I planned to put this one further down in the pile and maybe read the others first, but then I read a couple reviews on various websites and the blurbs in the front cover and decided to at least read the first chapter and intro. Well, next thing I know I'm starting chapter 6, then chapter 14, then it's the next day I'm halfway through and just have to finish it. So now, being finished with this novel I'm extremely glad that I read it. This book was un-like anything that I have read, it was better than almost any mystery film that I have seen. The main character, Dylan a female psychologist is the most fun-loving hilarious character that has ever existed. She is so real, and just what you need in a character to make you fully enjoy the book. The main point in the book is a kidnapping, but so many other things happen one after the other and you think it's all just ridiculous, but in a not so crazy sense, it is really is not. It makes complete sense. This book brings in a little paranormal with Angels and non-Angels, and it makes me curious about her other books. If you want some mystery, and some realistic faith, and lovable characters in a story, then please read this book! You will chuckle more than giggle, and you might even cry a little, I did.

My thoughts: If you know anything about me and my book reviews you know that I have a really long TBR list. If you did not know that, look at my archives and see it. Anyway, it's long, I just have so many things that are calling my name. Well, I received this book My Soul to Keep and it is book three of a series. I'm one of those people who does not like to read things out of order, so I planned to put this one further down in the pile and maybe read the others first, but then I read a couple reviews on various websites and the blurbs in the front cover and decided to at least read the first chapter and intro. Well, next thing I know I'm starting chapter 6, then chapter 14, then it's the next day I'm halfway through and just have to finish it. So now, being finished with this novel I'm extremely glad that I read it. This book was un-like anything that I have read, it was better than almost any mystery film that I have seen. The main character, Dylan a female psychologist is the most fun-loving hilarious character that has ever existed. She is so real, and just what you need in a character to make you fully enjoy the book. The main point in the book is a kidnapping, but so many other things happen one after the other and you think it's all just ridiculous, but in a not so crazy sense, it is really is not. It makes complete sense. This book brings in a little paranormal with Angels and non-Angels, and it makes me curious about her other books. If you want some mystery, and some realistic faith, and lovable characters in a story, then please read this book! You will chuckle more than giggle, and you might even cry a little, I did.

NCLA Review - Dylan Foster is a psychology professor who goes to a park with friends to celebrate the end of the school year and the sixth birthday a friend's daughter, Christine. While there, the young son of one of her other friends is kidnapped. The clues lead nowhere and the police are perplexed. Christine seems to have an eerie connection to the boy and her insight helps Dylan search for the child. At this point, the story becomes unbelievable, going over the top with far out experiences such as exploding light bulbs and buzzing non-existent rattlesnakes. The reader is led to assume that an elusive stranger named Peter may be doing all these things from another dimension. These incidents took away from what could have been a great story and made it unbelievable. Rating: 2—PD

When the Day of Evil Comes is book one of the Dylan Foster series and, with Dylan Foster, it introduces a literary character whose company I think I would enjoy in the real world. Dylan, a Southern Methodist University psychology professor, is one of those down-to-earth types not easily impressed by status symbols and those who flaunt them, someone who never quite loses her sense of humor about herself and those around her no matter what crazy turns her life might take, including the discovery that a demon from the spirit world is determined to destroy her.

That particular demon, who calls himself Peter Terry, is a bald, emaciated and very white-skinned man with an ugly horizontal wound across his back who makes contact with Dylan at a faculty outing that she is attending with fellow SMU professors. Spooky as the man is from the start, Dylan does not realize his intentions (or his true nature) toward her until she makes the connection between him and the student who suddenly files a formal complaint that Dylan made sexual advances toward him during his visits to her office for psychological counseling.

Dylan is removed from the classroom pending a formal investigation of the charges against her and, just when she thinks that things could not possibly get any worse, they do. She knows, of course, that she cannot defend herself by explaining to the investigative committee that her problems are being caused by harassment from a local demon. But when a second student’s sanity is threatened by the same Peter Terry, Dylan realizes that she has to move quickly and heads for Chicago hoping to learn more about the young man whose complaint started all of her problems.

When the Day of Evil Comes is a mystery and thriller combination that will satisfy fans of both genres. In order to defend herself in Dallas, Dylan Foster has to delve into the secrets of a Chicago family that has kept them hidden for decades, and she has to do it while enduring psychological tricks and physical threats from Peter Terry. Dylan defends herself from this demon through prayer, help from one little girl’s personal angel, and by covering herself with the spiritual armor described in Ephesians, chapter six.

This struggle between the forces of good and evil fits firmly into the Christian fiction genre but Melanie Wells makes her religious points in a way that are not so obvious or preachy that they intrude on the story being told. Dylan Foster is the kind of Christian that most of us probably are: a little bit lazy about the whole thing at times but quick to ask for help when we find ourselves over our heads in some kind of panic situation. The message is that there are bigger and better weapons on the side of good than on the side of evil – if we remember to ask for them.

I have not read the second novel in the series yet but my first exposure to Dylan Foster and Peter Terry was with book three, My Soul to Keep. After reading that one, I was a little surprised to learn that I had just finished something in the Christian fiction genre, a type of reading I rarely do, because its religious references are so much more subtle than in this first book. But now that I have read When the Day of Evil Comes it is easy to see why these books have been embraced by the Christian community, and I suggest that they be read in order if at all possible in order to get their full impact.

Rated at: 4.0

Melanie Wells is a Texan and a psychotherapist in marriage and family therapy and comes from a musical family which contributes to her rhythm of writing. She is also clearly a traditional Christian as this shapes the book imagery, plot and narrative. As a consequence don’t expect natural street talk as the bad guys don’t curse although this is not handled in a clumsy way.

The novel seen as psychological thriller/mystery is the 3rd in a series: the first was When Day of Evil Comes when the 30 + redhead female hero, Dylan Foster a psychology professor in a Christian University, is framed for a murder and the second is The Soul Hunter which deals with a Psychotic stalker. The events and characters of first two are echoed and hinted at throughout this novel but it does stand alone. A constant theme in the three books is the fight between good and evil which is reflected in the every day fact that she is plagued by a demon called Peter Terry and helped by a guardian angel. She also prays and talks to God, has psychic insights from dreams etc. And to be fair it’s hinted at and suggested rather then clichéd white robes and wings or red eyes and horns.

To be honest not my type of Christianity but think TV shows where angels drift in to people’s lives and help them resolve emotional and ethical concerns rather then Buffy the vampire slayer. You don’t have to see this traditional Christian view as real and true as I am sure many bible-belt Americans would but as part of a narrative world to which you the reader enters. No difference really in entering the peculiar 1950’s Agatha Christie’s English social world of country houses, weekend parties, dressing for dinner, afternoon teas etc.

The story starts with a picnic in a park (the smart park rather then the local run down one) with Dylan out with two friends and their young children. Nicholas’s mother had been raped by the stalker from The Soul Hunter but had kept the child (anti abortion and forgiveness message). Christine the little girl is deeply sensitive to the supernatural and her parents are rich but caring- father and brothers out delivering aid and the bible to the staving masses (a rich man can enter the kingdom of heaven). Then Nicholas is snatched from the park and the hunt begins to save his life. USA statistics show that more then 76% of abducted children are killed within three hours of the abduction so tension amounts as time seeps away

Christine the little girl was also snatched but then rejected as the wrong one as we find that she is psychically linked to the fate of Nicholas. Dylan struggles to make sense of the events as they unfold whilst dealing with her stalled career and hapless love life. And the past comes back facing her to deal with issues left hanging in the previous stories.

Don’t expect big plot twists as this is a narrative and character driven story. Both of which are done well in a made for TV movie sort of way. It’s not cutting edge existential metafiction…and thank god for that I hear many of you say. Would I recommend it? Well it’s not a book I would have chosen to read as it was an Advanced Readers Copy sent to me for a review. I am not a fan of Mystery/Crime writing or supernatural going ons so was I the wrong person to be contacted!! But actually I enjoyed it and may even read the first two as I warmed to the Dylan Foster character and can see the potential for a good TV series along the lines of Ghost Whisper.½

Psychology professor Dylan Foster has a problem: a demon who has dedicated himself to destroying her sanity and her soul, an evil spirit by the name of Peter Terry who loves to torment her. The demon comes and goes but he knows so much about Dylan that he always pushes exactly the buttons that he knows will cause her greatest grief. Now, just when she is ready to enjoy a brief teaching break from Southern Methodist University, she is certain that he is back and that he has influenced the kidnapping of her friend Maria Chavez’s little boy.

Nicholas Chavez was snatched from a public park near Dallas right in the middle of a party to celebrate Christine Zocci’s fifth birthday. Christine, the daughter of another old friend of Dylan’s, is no ordinary little girl. She is highly sensitive to the supernatural and her brief glimpse of the kidnapper has somehow linked her to both him and to Nicholas. It is only after Christine is hospitalized for cardiac arrest and Dylan has spent some time talking with her that anyone realizes that Christine is offering clues about the missing boy’s whereabouts and condition. She is able to describe what Nicholas sees and how he feels, often exhibiting symptoms herself of whatever is physically or emotionally bothering the boy.

My Soul to Keep is the third Dylan Foster book, a Christian fiction series in which Dylan has been doing battle with demon Peter Terry. I have to admit that I am not overly familiar with the “Christian fiction” genre, especially Christian thrillers, but I can certainly understand the appeal after reading this Melanie Wells novel. Yes, it is about good vs. evil and, yes, demons and guardian angels are some of the book’s main characters. Dylan Thomas does appeal directly to God in prayer but she doesn’t really expect to always have her prayers answered. Melanie Wells presents her as a bit of a lazy Christian, someone who might not attend church regularly but who still believes in God and the lessons of Christianity, someone who plans to do better someday but has not quite gotten around to it yet.

Melanie Wells deals with brutal characters in her story but, in what might best distinguish My Soul to Keep as “Christian fiction,” she draws the line at letting her characters use some of the harsh street language that real-life thugs are so prone to use. Her dialogue brings them to the brink of some of those words but Wells stops at precisely the point where her readers will have to use their own imaginations in order to complete some sentences. She does this so naturally that even fans of the most hardcore mystery writing will hardly notice it.

My only regret is that I was unaware of this series before book three came my way. My Soul to Keep works as a stand-alone but it did take me a while to understand the true nature of the Peter Terry character. Readers new to the work of Melanie Wells might want to consider starting at book one in order to have a clearer understanding of the plot line that runs from book to book. As for me, I’m searching for copies of books one and two while looking forward to book four.

Rated at: 4.0

Christian fiction for people who don't like Christian fiction. Wells has a cut-the-bull attitude, and so does her main character, psychology professor Dylan Foster (female) who finds her life being troubled by demonic activity. Dylan is unladylike, often sarcastic, and an intelligent hard-line investigator. Wells writes tightly and in a totally non-preachy way. Even if you don't buy the existence of demons, the story is eerie and hard to put down and the character won't annoy you!

Dylan Foster is a phychology professor who also works at the local clinic, helping students deal with their problems. While at a faculty picnic, Dylan meets Peter Terry, an ashen, whisper thin bald man, whom she takes to be a cancer patient. His conversation with her gives her the willies, and when he finally turns to leave she notices a hugh gash on his back, exposing bone and muscle. When she returns to the picnic she discovers that all of the faculty have been presented with expensive, but anonymous, gifts. She receives a necklace, one that she finds very pretty and would have bought for herself.

When Dylan returns to her truck at the end of the day she finds another gift, in a similar box. It’s her mother’s wedding ring. The same ring that should currently be on her mother’s finger, six feet under ground. Dylan then takes the necklace and, truly creeped out, throws it into the lake and drives home. When she arrives, she finds hanging from her doorknob, “that necklace, still dripping with the cold water of Barton Springs.” So ends chapter one.

For a first time author, Melanie Wells has written a gripping tale, one that will not let you go. It deals specifically with the reality of angels and demons in our world, and the war that we may not always see. She also tackles the effects of that war, both positive and negative. While there are questions that seem to be left unanswered, it seems to me that the answers just aren’t obvious. Melanie doens’t come out and say, “This is the answer to that little conundrum on page 47…” but she does weave the answers into the story. There were some that I didn’t discover until after I’d finished the book and thought about it, but they were there. I eagerly await her newest book, out in just a few months.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read Christian suspense. Although, you may want to sleep with the lights on for a few nights!½

Good as an edgy inspirational.