Jordan's Crossing by Randall Arthur

Jordan's Crossing by Randall Arthur ISBN: 0-88070-582-5 Trade Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Multnomah Books Released: 1993

Source: Bought at a library book sale.

Book Description from Back Cover:
When pastor Jordan Rau accepted a position with a European missionary agency, his decision was not based on an opportunity to serve God, but on the monetary rewards the position would bring him.

However, shortly after his family's arrival in Germany, Jordan's priorities dramatically change after his young son, Chase, is murdered. Jordan becomes obsessed with finding his son's killers and delivering justice by his own hand. Driven by hatred and revenge, he sets out on a course of action that will destroy not only the murderers, but his own family as well--and only a miracle can stop him.


My Review:
Jordan's Crossing is a Christian suspense novel. There is a character in this novel that is the main character in a previous novel, but this novel can be read as a stand-alone. It did spoil the previous novel, though, so you might wish to read them in order.

The suspense was created by the relationship tensions caused by financial worries and the death of a son/brother and from the physical danger Jordan put himself and others in while tracking his son's killers. The characters dealt with realistic problems, but I felt like I was held at a distance. The author told about the character's emotions instead of pulling the reader into them.

The whole story was basically a sermon to the reader about the problems in the modern, western church and the effect of picking and choosing what parts of the Bible to believe has on Christians. While I liked the story and agreed with a lot of what the author pointed out, I wished the story had emotionally engaged me more.

Also, I didn't really like the ending. After bringing home the point repeatedly that Christians need to leave justice to God rather than seeking revenge themselves, the ending solely focused on the justice dealt out in this world. No one mentioned the ultimate justice given by God on Judgment Day.

There was a minor amount of "he cursed" style bad language and one explicit bad word which, apparently, some people don't consider a bad word. There were no sex scenes though a rape was referred to in vague terms. Overall, I don't regret reading the book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt:
Read an excerpt from chapter one using Google Preview.