Nick of Time: A Book Review

Nick of Time by Tim Downs, a book I got free through Book Sneeze, is a light mystery focusing on Nick Polchak, a forensic entomologist who heads to Philadelphia to help a friend with a case, only to find evidence that his friend has been killed. He follows the case to the Poconos, leaving his fiancée in Virginia without word of his whereabouts less than a week before their wedding.

The mystery was entertaining enough to keep me reading, even though I figured out most of the solution before I got to the end. The characters had a little more personality than most who appear in Christian fiction, but I also wouldn’t have categorized this book as Christian fiction. The only thing “Christian” about it is the presence of a pastor as a secondary character the main characters respect. Not having read any of the previous books in the series, I have no idea whether Nick and his fiancée were presented as Christians, but if they were, there’s no evidence of it here. Their faith, if it exists, does not affect their words or actions at all.

If you’re looking for a book to read on the beach, Nick of Time may do the trick. But if you’re looking for a complicated mystery or a book to encourage you in your walk with Christ, try something else.