Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Skizzer by A. J. Kiesling (And Giveaway)

***To win a copy leave a comment on this post until Wednesday June 11 at midnight.***

About Skizzer:


After receiving news of her sister Becca's abrupt disappearance, Claire Trowling must piece together the shadowy remnants of a past she's long forgotten in order to find her. A cryptic note scrawled in Becca's handwriting leaves more questions than it answers. When a stack of mysterious letters bound by a rare necklace is found, Claire races to discover the secrets that hold her family captive. Suspenseful and full of intrigue, Skizzer takes you on a transcontinental hunt for answers, weaving seamlessly between the distant past of childhood and the urgency of the present.

A.J. Kiesling had this to say about her debut novel...


The story centers on two sisters, Claire (the main character) and Becca, her younger sibling. At the outset, Becca has disappeared--up and leaving her husband with just a cursory note offering no real explanation. Claire drives to North Carolina to pursue a hunch that Becca might have fled to the town where they grew up, perhaps taking refuge with their elderly Aunt Jess. She stops at a place where they used to play as children—an old estate the local kids called haunted—and finds a letter addressed to "Skizzer" inside a sister-secret box she and Becca left there more than twenty years earlier. The letter says "something both terrible and wonderful has happened" and that Becca needs time to herself, urging Claire not to look for her. But of course that's exactly what Claire and her distraught brother-in-law do. The story weaves between the present and the past through flashbacks to the girls' growing up years in North Carolina. The search for Becca ultimately takes Claire and her brother-in-law to England, to a town that imprinted the girls heavily in their youth. The theme of the story is that the people we think we know best don't always turn out to be who we thought they were.

My Review: I liked the mystery in this book with the added bonus of sister relationship development. It sorta had a goth like feel in parts that I had to get used too but I think it enhanced the overall feeling of the book and I am not a goth person. The plot line is interesting and the flashbacks add to it. The finished product is a very enjoyable mystery that I recommend. I look forward to reading future novels by this author.

A.J.'s bio:


A.J. (Angie) Kiesling grew up loving trees and words--trees because they formed the natural backdrop and playground for her childhood years in rural North Carolina, and words because they captivated her from as far back as she can remember. When she wasn't romping through the woods with her siblings, she might be found with her nose in a book--or lost among the shelves at the local library.
She has worked in the Christian publishing industry since 1985 as an author and editor. A former religion writer for Publishers Weekly and Religion BookLine e-newsletter, she frequently reported on spirituality trends and religion book publishing. Angie is the author of numerous books, including
Skizzer (a novel, Revell), Where Have All the Good Men Gone? (Harvest House), Jaded: Hope for Believers Who Have Given Up on Church but Not on God (Revell), and Soul Deep: Prayers and Promises for Cultivating Inner Beauty (Barbour). She also ghostwrote Live Like a Jesus Freak (Albury), the popular follow-up to D.C. Talk's bestseller Jesus Freaks.
Beginning her career as a staff editor for Charisma magazine, she went on to cover industry news and book trends for the award-winning trade periodical Christian Retailing, followed by an editorial position on the startup website
iBelieve.com. Over the years she has worked as an independent book editor and writer for some of the leading names in book publishing: Baker Publishing Group, Jossey-Bass, Thomas Nelson, Honor Books, Harvest House, Creation House, Barbour Publishing, and Xulon Press, among others. Today she heads up the editorial department at Xulon Press, a print-on-demand publisher based in Orlando.
A.J. Kiesling's website: www.ajkiesling.com


Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800731409?&camp=212361&creative=383841&linkCode=wss&tag=sprightly-20

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

please enter me to win ,thank you!

tasha t
gypsywitch36@yahoo.com

Ronnica said...

Sounds interesting...

windycindy said...

I find it interesting how she knows Becca so well that the first place that she searches for her, there is a note for her. Why in their growing up years were they in England?! The most fascinating fact that is mentioned in the review is how people we think we really know, may not be the person we think at all! Please enter me in your drawing. Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

mom2boys said...

This sounds like a great book. I would love to add it to my summer reading list. Thanks for the giveaway!

pintolinda said...

Please enter me for this interesting book.

linett said...

Sounds like a good read

ChristyJan said...

This sounds like a great mystery read.
Please enter me to win a copy.

Carole said...

I've read many interesting reviews of Skizzer and would love to read it. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy.

cjarvis [at] bellsouth [dot] net

Anonymous said...

I LOVE a good mystery. This would be a great win.

sweetsue said...

This sounds like a fun summer beach read.

Karrie said...

sounds like a good read

Grateful Gramma said...

I'd love to read this one. Please enter my name. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Please count us in too!

risanjax@metrocast.net

forex said...

count me in

yyeres said...

looks like a good mystery, thanks

Mary said...

I love a mystery, please enter my name. Thanks!

kaylee8 said...

Sounds like a great summertime read!

Carolynn said...

This book sounds great, please enter me too, thanks!

klp1965 said...

please enter me :)

calgirl said...

Great book for a summer read

/\Heather/\ said...

I hope I'm not too late to enter! Thanks for the giveaway.

Charlene Kuser said...

I love a mystery,this one sounds
like one you can't put down.
I love stories that have a twist
it just adds to the excitement.
Count me in and thanks for the
giveaway

CharlieGurl57@aol.com

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