Best mystery & suspense books for christians according to redditors
We found 269 Reddit comments discussing the best mystery & suspense books for christians. We ranked the 65 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
This Present Darkness. I'm not into religious fiction, but I was told by several people that if I like Stephen King and if I like Screwtape Letters, that I would love Peretti's books.
I couldn't believe how bad they were. Bad theology notwithstanding, I couldn't take the prose. Worse than Danielle Steele. Far worse.
Here's an example.
>He had been shot through the guts ... Somehow he had lost his armor plating. He had always been Marshall Hogan, the hunter, the hound, the stay-out-of-my-way getter of whatever he wanted, a foe to be reckoned with, a guy who could take care of himself.
Try reading 300+ pages of this.
Lucifers Hammer - Pre and post asteroid impact.
One Second After - Post EMP, this is well written but the setup is a little to perfect. If you're a dad you will probably cry.
Patriots - Post financial collapse. This one has a decent premise but parts of it are really bad. There is also at least one sequel/prequel/companion.
My answers are in alphabetical order. I don't have any items for the game category.
Movies: The Book of Eli, The Day After, The Postman
TV Series: Jeremiah, Jericho, The Walking Dead
Book: Lights Out, Lucifer's Hammer, Patriots
Idaho. I shit you not. For reasoning and hilarious fundamentalist conservative propaganda, go read Patriots. pretty much, awesome access to spring driven H2O or groundwater, low population density, good distance from any major cities, a high level of community preparedness, excellent and fertile soil, and good places to let livestock roam. that's my two cents.
Sounds like a Patriots book report.
That Day, Great and Terrible
on Amazon - $2.95 for the Kindle. $9.95 for the paperback.
Angela is on a never-ending road trip she can’t escape. Kat is the mother of a son whose bizarre behavior fills her with horror. Milton is a teen with nothing to say. And Gabe is a college student searching for glory.
These four lives twist together in a small Minnesota town. As the world begins to fall apart, they must face their darkest sins and brace themselves for the coming of that great and terrible day.
One reviewer said, “I truly loved it. It had a bit of Stephen King (sans gore) and even a bit of Hitchcock. I didn't want to go to bed last night because I was so close to finishing it but couldn't keep my eyes open. It was such a good read and had a great ending.”
People that know just enough about me to know I read a lot keep recommending these damn things to me. As if those of us that like to read will read any damn thing; cereal boxes, airplane seat-back safety cards (admittedly, I love these), and shitty immature porn.
I also have this terrible habit of listening to people's awful book recommendations when I am drunk. This is exacerbated by my kindle, which is always with me. So drunken super_luminal will IMMEDIATELY PURCHASE horrible books on the recommendation of drunken strangers she meets at bars with wild abandon.
I woke up one morning with a terrible hangover and a copy of The Shack blinking back at me.
So much shame.
I liked California: https://www.amazon.com/California-Novel-Edan-Lepucki-ebook/dp/B00GG0GJ2Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506023269&sr=8-3&keywords=california
And Sleepless: https://www.amazon.com/Sleepless-Novel-Charlie-Huston-ebook/dp/B002XHNONI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1506023332&sr=1-1&keywords=sleepless
And a friend wrote this strange indie book: https://www.amazon.com/That-Great-Terrible-Brian-Scott/dp/0996843205/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&dpID=41g6nFlhgNL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=detail
have fun!
My two most recent reads that were of this genre:
Patriots
One Second After
Buying a book is not about obtaining a possession, but about securing a portal.
Used book: The Shack
Thanks for the contest!
My wife continues to change my view on things at least on a weekly basis. It's one of the things I love most about her: we have very similar views on a lot of things, but even when we share the same view, she helps me to see a different side of things and to understand why other people might hold a different view.
The other day, I was reading The Shack and making fun of it for the clumsy dialogue, the weird way in which the main character seems to injure himself in every chapter, and the reasons why its answer to the problem of evil couldn't really resonate with people who had experienced certain types of suffering (natural disasters, for example). She laughed along with me but then pointed out that the first two chapters are actually the only ones in which Mack injures himself and asked me if I understood why the book was so popular and meaningful for a particular demographic of (mostly) American evangelical Christians, and I had to admit that I did understand. The thing is, she doesn't really like the book either, but she still helped me to appreciate it for what it is and to see it through other people's eyes.
At least, Jason Elam.
Seriously. This is real.
Longshot but maybe This Present Darkness?
The book has sold millions of copies.
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
Read The Shack, I could explain all day long my beliefs, doesn't mean they make sense to you or anyone else.
The Postman - David Brin
Dies the Fire- SM Stirling
I just finished reading Patriots, it was alright.
The book I'm going to read is called 'The Shack'. I don't know the whole background on it, but it's fiction, and somehow talks about the religions in church is not 'the religion' that is in the bible yadda yadda yadda.
From Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252527523&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Monday-Night-Covington-Thriller-Series/dp/141431731X
> This explains a lot. What you fail to mention is how in the world his book predicting a dollar collapse become so popular with great reviews? 400+ reviews for a book on Amazon is above decent.
Shucks, I guess that means that Noah's Ark really happened and the entire universe was created in only 6 days.
http://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Novel-Earths-Last/dp/1414334907/ref=sr_1_federatedaps0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410683312&sr=8-1&keywords=left+behind
Hey look, that's even more reviews than the book that you chose. I guess that means that everything that book predicted is going to come true.
http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Rich-Lessons-Cofounder-Memoir/dp/1476751773/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410683403&sr=1-3&keywords=amway
Pretty solid reviews, I guess this means that Amway is a credible company.
Yep. That's what it is. The book from Amazon;
======
23 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction
======
Netflix has a wide variety of titles, including many that I'd like to filter out just because I have no interest in them. If anyone knows how to do that, I'm all ears.
On one hand, I think you have experienced one or two unique coincidences and then your mind came up with this idea. Now, you have latched on to it and are subconciously looking to confirm it. I recommend you read "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin DeBecker, which will help you be more perceptive to details you may be overlooking, in this situation and others.
On the second hand, there is no technology whereby a person's thoughts can be seen or read. Only yourself and your Creator know your thoughts. Fallen angels may be able to as well. They can certainly influence your thoughts and are keenly sensitive to a human's reactions and are able to interpret them and predict behavior correctly. There exists overwhelming evidence to demonstrate the connection between world leaders and occultic behaviors.
Perhaps this is the beginning of an active campaign wherein the deep state, working with demonic forces, are seeking to create fear and the belief in their all-knowing, all powerfulness -the result being that people are fearful of standing up for what is right. Consider this scenario: You are watching YT, some video about girls dancing. Halfway through the video you are reminded by one girl's pink leotard that you saw a cute pair of pink earrings you think your girlfriend may like, in the store two days ago. The demon which has been following you around and saw you looking at them is the one who put the thought into your mind. He communicates this thought to another demon an hundred miles away, who is sitting unseen on a YT server somewhere. This demon manipulates the data stream so the next video that pops up is one about pink jewelry. Along this line of seemingly crazy and absurd thinking, let me also recommend you read the excellent novels by Frank Peretti: "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" -both of which do a great job fleshing out the battles and shenanigans which go unseen, everyday.
I'm taking the assumption that God exists. I can grant that goodness has a transcendent source, and personally my own moral ideals are mostly derived from Christianity. But evil seems to be more parsimoniously understood as the simple absence of good, and given the evidence of history I see no personal reason to believe that there is no grand conspiracy of evil beyond human imperfection and natural chaos and entropy (which I agree isn't in nature's vocabulary, though it seems to be from a Christian perspective).
>Please explain how you know this.
This is more my own intuition than anything, but ever since high school what I've learned about human societies seem to tell me that any belief expressed by a large enough population will be taken to the extreme. I feel like, to some degree, the inherent goodness or badness of beliefs can then be determined from how they play out. Christianity as a whole produces great evils, but it's also done much good, so it can be said to be benign (especially given how broad a tradition it is). Belief in spiritual warfare and the worldview of a demonic conspiracy to me seems to lead to Satanic Panic, overzealous exorcisms, Salem, and paranoid Frank Peretti novels more than anything good. Even if we believe that Jesus is already victorious.
Anyways. I know it doesn't play out like that for many individuals. But it does for many others.
>I thought no Bible?
This sentence doesn't make any sense. What were you trying to say?
This is nothing new. I was involved in evangelical Christianity when I was younger. I remember reading this book when I was in high school. It was published in 1986. It and it's sequels was hugely popular at my church, and it is a novel all about how Satan and his minions are actively involved in the minutiae of our every day lives, especially the lives of Christians. People treated this stuff like it was gospel.
So this was happening more than 20 years ago, and probably much longer than that.
Novels by Ted Dekker, one of the best selling Christian authors.
https://www.amazon.com/Circle-4-1-Ted-Dekker/dp/1595547924/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495545811&sr=8-1&keywords=ted+dekker+circle+series
Perhaps the Days of Elijah series? https://smile.amazon.com/Days-Elijah-Complete-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B07HHCXN1Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=days+of+elijah+book+series&qid=1573851449&sprefix=days+of+eli&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/House-Frank-Peretti/dp/159554156X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344496946&sr=1-1&keywords=house
Enter House-where you'll find yourself thrown into a killer's deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose . . . and the only way out is in.
The stakes of the game become clear when a tin can is tossed into the house with rules scrawled on it. Rules that only a madman-or worse-could have written. Rules that make no sense yet must be followed.
One game. Seven players. Three rules. Game ends at dawn.
A couple of thoughts:
You say that you have been feeling depressed. Depression is anger turned inward generally expressed by feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. The truth is that you are helpless. We all are. We can do nothing outside of God and that’s a good thing. Most people are forever worrying about the future: something that is impossible to predict or prevent. Think of all the energy that we waste worrying about things that almost never happen. As for hopelessness, place your hope in God. This does not mean that God is going to make everything in your life painless. We are told that there will be tribulation in our lives. But even in times of tribulation you can be certain that God is with you. Trust in Him even when what is happening to us seems “bad”.
You say that you don’t understand the workings of God. Join the club. No mere mortal can understand the workings of an all-powerful, all-knowing God. We can only see but a small fraction of reality that is happening right before us at this very minute. Trusting God during times of uncertainty is called faith.
You ask why others “move on to what appears to be a much happier life? Why is it that I am left in the shadows, while everyone continues to move on, thrive/flourish?” We are told not to judge others. Most people believe that simply means not to condemn others for their sins. I would maintain that God commands us not to judge others at all. Don’t judge (or place on a pedestal) those who APPEAR to have it all together. They wear the right clothes, drive the right cars, say the right things, smile and seem happy. Do you know that they are? Do you know what’s in their hearts? Do you know that they are happy? Content? Only God knows what’s in a man’s heart. Everything else is just illusions that we create to try to convince people that we are somebody else.
You say that you are “surrounded more than ever by people who are controlling.” No you’re not. The only person who can control you is the person that you ALLOW to control you.
I’d like to recommend a book that I recently read (for the second time). http://www.amazon.com/Shack-Special-Hardcover-William-Young/dp/0964729245/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288888492&sr=1-1 . More than any other, this book has really changed my view of God, how He works, and my relationship with Him. After you have read it, you will understand when I tell you that God is especially fond of you.
Patriots - James Wesley Rawles
http://www.amazon.com/Patriots-Surviving-James-Wesley-Rawles/dp/156975599X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
It's definitely worth buying if you cannot find it at the library.
I liked Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse. It's written by the man behind http://www.survivalblog.com/, a survivalist himself, and he seems to know what he is talking about.
The Next Testament by Daniel Putkowski www.amazon.com/dp/0981595952 - While it is a Faith-based novel (Christianity), it’s gritty and powerful and can be enjoyed by anyone. Also, it features a kick-ass girl gang. Highly recommend!
This is the link its 4 books in one. the ending book kind of ties the last one to the first one
I always recommend books. Scroll down for four book recommendations.
Can you make time to meet with your pastor?
Could you email, or phone-video-chat?
One of my favorite prayers is from Mark 9:24 when a parent frantically brings his son to Jesus for healing and cries out, "Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief!"
You are not alone in having a crisis of faith. But go through, don't stop. Do participate in the life of the church -- not just the worship service but study and service as well. Do repeat that Mark 9:24 prayer -- put it on a mental loop.
I'm also happy to keep on talking.
Now the books:
Lately I've been recommending Joshua Ryan Butler's The Pursuing God, as he re-frames the story of God interacting with people.
I also appreciate how William Young deals with belief in The Shack.
Perhaps my strongest recommendation for you at this time: Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life
One other recommendation, a memoir from a British satirist named Tony Hendra, Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul.
more on the supernatural side. I enjoyed House BUT it was not unique at all (very derivative). So it's not going to suprise you much or interest your with its originality like True Detective did...
Does "Patriots" get any love around here? The story is meh, but I appreciated a lot of the SHTF-planning ideas.
Link to book on Amazon
The Next Testament. When faith becomes a crime, some dare to believe. This is an alternative, near future dystopia set after a second civil war has ravaged the United States and left behind one tyrannical religion, The Common Faith.
Here’s the trailer:
https://youtu.be/ZDbDXILo6Kg
On sale at Amazon now:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981595952
First in a trilogy in this story world.
I suggest reading A More Christlike God by Brad Jersak.
For lighter reading, read or watch The Shack
I really liked Patriots by Rawles.
It kind of reads like a field manual at times, but the story was good. I'm NOT a fan of the follow ups, or his other writings, but that was a good book.
Wow.. was this confirmed or could it have been the dark forces which besmirched his reputation? The book Piercing the Darkness comes to mind here