Across the China Sky

Revewied by Rach: 9 out of 10

Across the China Sky by C. Hope Flinchbaugh involves believable characters battling selfish desires, lust-thirsty cult members, torture and much more. Anyone interested?

While Mei Lin spend her summer rescuing orphans in Shanghai, her fiancé Liko is being seduced into a secret cult by a young woman who claims to be a new house church Christian. How will Liko escape the brainwashing, seduction, and coercion of this evil cult? Will Mei Lin lose both her father and her fiancé to the clutches of the vicious Eastern Lightning Cult?

A sucker for novels regarding China and also great inspirational stories of faith, Across the China Sky was a winner in my books (excuse the pun) as it combined the two ideas in a vivid and realistic way, leaving the imagination running, piercing thoughts for hours after putting it down.

Although it is the second book in the series by C. Hope Flinchbaugh (Daughter of China being the prequel, and I'll Cross The River being the third in the trilogy), one can still read it as a single story and get a lot out of it. Not knowing that it was a sequel before picking it up, I had a little trouble at first to follow the characters and who they were, but quickly got over it and into the very believable plotline! After having read the back cover blurb, I knew that there was going to be a twist brewing, but when it finally came to fruition I got a fabulous shock and was totally hooked, made a line for my favourite armchair and sank into it until finishing the book!

Not many books tend to scare me, but I must say, this one had my heart racing as the pace of the book picked up and I almost couldn't get to sleep that night (house-sitting on my own didn't help). The cult themes it produced were literally torturous and I am so thankful I don't live in China.

All in all, my faith was challenged, the blood was pumping and it was a great read that I couldn't put down. As one reviewer put it...

"Sweet scenes of Mei Lin showering Christ's love upon unwanted children are interjected by scenes of temptation and torture creating a riveting combination."

Click here to visit C. Hope Flinchbaugh's site.