False Hope

False Hope is the story of a man named Paul Jakarta and his mission to hunt down and destroy evil. This search takes him to H. W. Mudget High School where a demon has taken over the body of the principal there, making him do evil. It is the first book in a coming series that will follow Jakarta's movements across the country trying to do God's will in taking down the Devil to save mankind.

This book is not my usual order, as I sometimes have trouble with religious novels, but seeing as how my mother wrote it, I felt, of course, the need to see how she has done in writing. And while the result is typical of a first time writer, with room to improve, I have to say that I was not disappointed in the telling of the story.

Let me briefly point out some of my problems, for the benefit of other readers. The book does heavily lean on the use of religion, it is after all a tale of a man sent by God to cleanse the Devil out of America. So you must know that going in or be prepared to have God thrown in your face. Readers who are not of the Christian faith may find it a little difficult to believe parts of this book, but if one has faith, it all seems plausible enough. The only other problem I had with this was the first chapter. Upon first reading it the chapter seems to stand out, a random bit of back story that I didn't immediately associate with the rest of the tale. But the ability to simply ask the author, made life easier. She was able to point out that the child in the first chapter was in fact young Paul, it was a flashback to his past to show the faith he has always had.

Now, let me say that this is a unique tale. Yes demons have been done before, but I do not think that this type of novel has been explored enough, that is one in which faith is so predominate to the story line. After all Paul is fighting in a battle against evil and he has God on his side. I enjoyed reading about someone so focused on his life's work, so sure of what he was doing, with no wavering of his faith.
I also enjoyed the writing, especially the imagery. The author saw the scenes in her mind and made sure that the reader was able to join in on the viewing, giving plenty of detail to make each image real.

I look forward to watching her abilities develop and grow as she continues to tell the story of Paul Jakarta. I already have the next book on my shelf and ready to be read! I encourage everyone to give this author a shot. It is always incredible to find new talent as they strive to tell stories no one else has heard! And look out for her next book Things of the Flesh coming soon!