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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

5 Interesting Truths about State of Lies

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

There's so much I could tell you about State of Lies, but then I might have to kill you. Bad jokes aside, this book is a crazy ride you won't want to miss. via @chautonahavig

When you’re an author, people ask you lots of book-related questions. Things like your favorite genre (the one I’m currently reading), or your favorite book (changes weekly). Sometimes they want to know what you think of a specific author, like Dee Henderson (she wrote my all-time favorite scene) or Grace Livingston Hill (has half a dozen great books and the rest are meh).

When people ask what I think of Siri Mitchell, I always give the same one-word answer. “Straw-woman.”

No, it’s not the logical fallacy issue but with a feminine spin. I mean it literally. Thanks to her book, The Cubicle Next Door, one of my daughters went on an anti-straw campaign that would have made Cassie’s green challenge look like an inconvenient day. Fun book, by the way. To this day I remember the main character’s wardrobe, although I don’t remember the gal’s name.

Oh, and Siri Mitchell needs to repent of her spurious doctrines on the Oxford comma. 😉 

I haven’t read a lot of books by her recently. I enjoyed a few about ten or fifteen years ago and then read one that bugged me. Right about then, I didn’t see many more of hers, so I just assumed that maybe she’d taken a sabbatical or had gone into other literary pursuits like other authors.

Then I saw it—a call for reviewers for a new book by Siri Mitchell. I didn’t even bother to read the synopsis before I requested that free review copy. Just sayin’. Once the form was filled out, then I read the synopsis.

Nearly pouted at the thought of having to wait to read it.

5 Interesting Truths about State of Lies

Note: links are affiliate links and provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

5 Interesting Truths about the State of Lies

Whooeee! This is book is one wild ride! (hint: that’s the first truth!) The problem is, I have to be careful about what I say because it’s almost like literally every single thing in this book is a twist and a spoiler for the next.

Told from the first-person point of view, after about the third or fourth chapter, I didn’t even notice anymore. Georgie got under your skin and made you root for her—faults, virtues, and all.

Each character was so perfectly consistent that every nuance of the book made sense by the end. From childish malapropisms to personality quirks to absolute normalcies, the entire story unfolded bit by bit until you didn’t trust what you knew you knew.

For what it’s worth, characterization was the second truth.

She nailed every bit of it—even the lyin’, cheatin’, jerkface stuff. (Psst: that was number three!)

As a military wife, Mitchell also nailed that military bit. Seriously, I live in a town full of navy people. I know what it’s like to live among them—to live with a man who works for the DoD. To have people ask me what my husband does, and when I give the nebulous answer I do, they say, “Well, he probably couldn’t tell you or he’d have to kill you.”

People think that about this place. They’re both right and wrong.

What Mitchell did so brilliantly in State of Lies is to take all the security and troublesome issues seriously without making them the overplayed “got your six” when someone’s following you down a hall like you’d see on military-show TV. Just sayin’. I’ve never ever heard a military person say that in casual conversation. Not once. Not saying it never gets said, but not like you hear on TV.

And Mitchell… thank you for not cheapening your work with cliches and stereotypes that people expect. Bravo.

The fourth truth you’ll find in State of Lies is that innocence isn’t an excuse for guilt.

Yep, you read that right. Just because you didn’t know you did wrong doesn’t make that wrong okay. She shows this subtle spiritual lesson with such brilliant finesse that I’m still amazed by it.

This is also a good time to point out my only real quibble with this book. Like most of Thomas Nelson’s books in the last eighteen months or so, the spiritual aspect has to be “discerned” rather than noticed, even. As much as I hate preachy books, I can honestly say that I think anyone without a Christian faith base would absolutely miss that this is from a Christian publisher.

That makes me sad because as much as I don’t want a sermon rammed down my throat or disguised as a character or something, I really do want to be encouraged in my walk as a Christian when I read Christian fiction. Like I said, I really had to dig deep and pay attention to find it in here.

On the flip side, she does something brilliant with sex inside marriage. Few authors handle it in a way that seems realistic and still clean.  We see a healthy relationship without ever feeling like we’re intruding and yet not pretending it’s not a thing, either.  It’s seriously the best I’ve ever seen.

The fifth truth… is that God created so much more than we tend to give Him credit for.

I’ve got a cool quote to back that up.

Mitchell offers so many neat scientific facts presented in a way that makes you more interested in silly little things like quantum physics rather than bored by it all. Don’t believe me? Well, I bet you’ll never wish you could make time stand still again after you read this little nugget.

People talk about black holes all the time. Even when they don’t know they’re doing it. Everyone who wishes they could stop time? The only point at which time ever stands still is at the edge of a black hole. Just before mass tips over the “edge” and is drawn into one, time freezes. If people knew that’s what their time stopping moment would be, they wouldn’t make that wish.”

Yep. This is one fabulous book full of interesting facts so seamlessly woven into the story that you almost miss that it’s happened. It’s rich in character development, plot twists and turns, and amazing research. With careful attention to precise details and consistent character voice and growth,you just can’t go wrong!

Loved State of Lies. I’m not sorry I requested and received the free review copy, but I am sorry I didn’t find more spiritual depth in the pages. Sigh.

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Comments

  1. Siri Mitchell says

    August 29, 2019 at 10:50 am

    I’m so glad you loved this one! Thanks for taking a chance on me again. And thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful, in-depth review.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      August 29, 2019 at 4:55 pm

      You’re a favorite around here. Even if you did make straws a mortal sin… and we won’t discuss your heretical views on Oxfords. 😉

      Reply
      • Susan (DE) says

        August 29, 2019 at 7:14 pm

        Okay, so I’m confused. What IS her doctrine on Oxford commas? For ’em or against ’em?????

        Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
byChautona Havig

Nothing says fairy tale like a sweet western romance by an author like Karen Witemeyer… unless it’s a fairytale retelling set in Texas in the late 19th century, right?  Fairest of Heart takes the familiar “Snow White” and turns it on its head with retired cowboys, a self-absorbed actress, a Texas Ranger, and a sweet girl who knows the true Source of her beauty.  Listen in to see all the genius Easter eggs Witemeyer planted in this book.

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Sometimes All a Girl Needs Is a True Change of Heart

I fell in love with the cover of Karen Witemeyer’s Head Over Heels a few years back (only to learn it’s much older than that, even), and meant to read that book.  I didn’t.  #BecauseIdiot. Well, that’ll be rectified just as soon as I’m done listening to her first book in a trilogy of fairytale retellings. I loaded it up on my Audible app tonight and wheeeeeeee. Here I go! So much for no new books until October. HA! 

Karen talks about her heart for young women today and how they’re taught by every bit of media blasting at them that they need to use their bodies to get what they need or want when the Lord has a better plan. And I can’t guarantee it, but I strongly suspect she does it without preaching. SQUEE!

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters–and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather’s ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope’s acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope’s guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

You can learn more about Karen Witemeyer and her books on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget the book is 30% off on BakerBookHouse.com.  

Follow Karen on BookBub and GoodReads.

And don’t forget her Posse Group on Facebook.

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Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
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