Review - Chasing Manhattan by John Gray
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For those of you who don’t follow along in the daily newsletter, you may not know that I’ve recruited three lovely ladies to do some reviews for me so I can make this blog an even better resource for readers searching for Christian books. This is the first review of what I hope will be an ongoing feature. These reviewers were not paid or given anything other than the book (paid for by me, the blog owner) to do this review. None of us had any contact with the publishers or the authors unless I state otherwise. The opinions are their own and I instructed them to be brutally honest so that readers will be able to decide if this is the right book for them to purchase.
Here’s Patti’s review of Chasing Manhattan by John Gray. You can read a bit about Patti at the bottom of this post. She chose this story from a short list of new books I said I’d like to have reviews for. It’s from Paraclete Press, a small Christian publisher, and the author, John Gray, also writes children’s books.
Book Description
From the author of Manchester Christmas comes a new adventure full of love, generosity, and heart-pounding intrigue.
Following the runaway success of her first novel, Chase Harrington is hiding in Manhattan. Assuming the visions from her past are behind her, Chase takes an assignment that lands her in the center of a new mystery surrounding a mansion known as Briarcliff Manor and deceased millionaire Sebastian Winthrop.
A letter, left by Sebastian, reveals three secrets surrounding the mansion where Chase is now living. Silent messages begin to appear, urging her to help those closest to her who are now in peril, including a deaf child shut away from the world and a war veteran still haunted by his past.
With her handsome boyfriend Gavin and faithful dog Scooter at her side, Chase must unlock the secrets of Briarcliff, help those she has come to love and face the surprise ending not even she saw coming.
This latest Chase Harrington adventure is so full of romance, kindness, mystery, and astounding twists and turns, it will leave you wanting to grab a flashlight and best friend, to go searching for clues in the dark.
Patti Stephenson’s Review of Chasing Manhattan
I am completely in love with this charming story by author John Gray. Even though this is a sequel to his novel “Manchester Christmas”, I became immediately absorbed in the events surrounding Chase Harrington and her friends.
I did not read Book 1, but that in no way hindered my enjoyment of this book. I am looking forward to reading Book 1 soon to get the full scope of this storyline. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.
Chase is an author who wrote a best-selling book. Because it became so popular, she escaped from all the fame by living in Manhattan and is now living her life supposedly as an “ordinary” citizen. I use “ordinary” in quotes because there is nothing ordinary about Chase Harrington. Because she’s loyal and compassionate, she can’t help wishing for her friends to find happiness in life. But there is something extraordinary about Chase: She’s occasionally given very small, incomplete clues to the future of her friends and family. As Chase searches to find the meaning of these clues, this story unfolds in a way that’s uplifting and heart-touching.
I will admit that at times, the events that happened seemed to be a just little bit too “fairytale perfect” and sometimes stretched the storyline, but I was able to set that aside and still enjoy the book.
The secondary characters in this book are all memorable in their own way. Chase’s boyfriend and best friend, Gavin, is there to support Chase in her search. Even Chase’s dog, Scooter, plays an essential role in this book. The ending to this story had me cheering for Chase and Gavin. If you love clean and romantic endings, don’t miss this one.
I loved the way that the author ended each chapter with a “hook” to draw me immediately into the next chapter. It made it difficult to stop reading because I wanted to see what happened next! It reminded me of my days of reading a book to my elementary students at school and always finding an exciting stopping point for the day. I truly enjoyed this author’s writing style.
This book does not have an emphasis on faith, but it is a moral, clean story. I wouldn’t classify it as Christian fiction, but more of a clean romance. It’s up to the reader to decide as to the source of the wonderful, somewhat mystical things that occur in the story.
Although the setting of this book involves Christmas events, you could easily read it at any time of year.
I’m not familiar with this publisher, but I appreciated the fact that this book was very well edited.
It was a pleasure to read this well-written book. It has no foul language and good morals all throughout the story. It’s a wonderful book to read during the Christmas season. You’ll find yourself wanting to read “just one more chapter”.
Where To Find Chasing Manhattan by John Gray
You can purchase this book at the following links:
Amazon Christianbook (paperback only)
About the Reviewer
Patti Stephenson has been avid reader ever since she read her first “Nancy Drew” book many years ago. A retired elementary/middle school teacher, she enjoys doing wildlife/landscape photography with Mike, her husband of 45 years. They love doing photography road trips across America, especially in the National Parks. She also loves doing Bible study with the ladies in her church and blogging about books. You can find her blog at http://www.shelivestoread.com.
