Product Description

Law Enforcement Agents Can Do It All. But Forgive?

John Russell is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent assigned to the missing Dylan Jacobs’ case. But while he’s tracking down clues in his professional life, a murderer is hot on his trail—his own flesh and blood. John’s father relentlessly seeks something John refuses to offer: forgiveness. Forced to face the source of his paralyzing fear of thunder and his stolen childhood, can John find the missing boy without his personal life completely unraveling?

Ten-year-old Dylan Jacobs is missing from state care. John Russell is the team leader of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement task force trying to find him. Although the governor has declared this a top priority, all the team is turning up are corruption and crime of a different sort. Could Dylan still be alive after disappearing from the system six years ago?

Meanwhile, John’s own long-buried nightmare is unearthed when a paroled killer shows up in his driveway. He struggles to leave old horrors where they belong—in the past. Determined to protect her children and help her husband, his wife, Marie, does some investigating of her own. Because she soon realizes, what you don’t know can hurt you.

Join the agents of the FDLE as they seek the truth behind the crime and grapple with Truth in their personal lives. Dealing with depravity all day, every day, it doesn’t always seem like God is in control. Which just makes victory all that much sweeter when it comes.

“Drawing upon his real-life experience as a police detective, Mark Mynheir has given us a realistic story and characters to care for. Mark presents us with a fresh new voice who writes from a unique perspective.”

Angela Hunt, bestselling author of Unspoken

“A remarkable first novel, with strong action and a solid moral. Readers will eagerly await the next installment from Mark Mynheir.”

T. Davis Bunn, bestselling author

“Rolling Thunder is a compelling story examining the struggles, importance, and power of forgiveness.”

Bill Myers, bestselling author of Soul Tracker

Story Behind the Book

Mark Mynheir’s experience as a homicide detective enables him to accurately expose, from an insider’s view, the exciting world of law enforcement and crime investigation. It also sets an unassuming scene for the serious spiritual work that needs to be accomplished in Mynheir’s main character. While the story unfolds, the reality becomes clear of how many Christians welcome God’s grace and forgiveness for themselves but struggle to extend it to others. They harbor unresolved anger and resentment, often for years, against those who have hurt them. Mynheir challenges readers to identify with fictional characters and to initiate the process of forgiveness in their own lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #865333 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-04
• Released on: 2005-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
...a remarkable work of fiction...Mynheir is well on his way to becoming a respected crime writer. -- Christian Retailing, May 2, 2005

About the Author
Exciting new novelist Mark Mynheir is currently a homicide detective whose law enforcement career has included positions as a narcotics agent and a S.W.A.T. team member. A former U.S. marine, he authors several articles for Focus on the Family’s Breakaway magazine for Christian teen boys. Mark and his family live in central Florida .

Customer Reviews

If you like Dee Henderson, you'll love Rolling Thunder!
What a great first novel! For those who love Law & Order or CSI, Rolling Thunder will be a sure-fire favorite.

Balancing an interesting and appealing story about an estranged son/father and the thrill and intrigue of a detective story, Rolling Thunder will appeal to both men and women.

Can't wait for the next one!

Debut novel lacks the suspense you'd expect
ROLLING THUNDER is the first book in a series of 3 (so far) by Christian author Mark Mynheir. John Russell is a top detective in the statewide Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He and his partner have been assigned a case that is getting statewide attention and demanding action by the governor. A 10-year old boy named Dylan Jacobs went into the custody of the state when he was four and hasn't been heard from since. There are no records tracking him through the system. The governor is outraged that something like this could happen. Also, Frank Moore is an old man and dying. He is also a convicted murder and being released from prison. He has just on thing left to do before he dies, and that is to see John Russell.

Of the two story lines, the search for Dylan Jacobs is definitely more interesting. John and Tim follow a few clues and interview criminals. They seem to have an idea on who might be behind Dylan's disappearance, but can't come up with the evidence. In the second story line, Frank Moore shows up at John Russell's house, and John almost kills him. It seems Frank is his real father and John watched him murder his mother when he was seven. John has never forgiven Frank and never wants to.

For a suspense novel, this book had little suspense. I blame that on Mynheir revealing John's horrible childhood so early in the novel. There is never a question of what happened. Every time the novel switches to Frank's request to get John's forgiveness, the story comes to a halt. The novel felt too preachy and covered too much of the character's spiritual and prayer lives. This might not seem like a fair criticism for a Christian suspense novel, so let phrase it another way. The story line with Frank Moore had no supense to it, and it needed to in a suspense novel.

I haven't read the other two books in the series, but I hope Mynheir focuses a little more on the twists and turns of police work. He obiously knows a lot about the subject. His bio tells you that. He's also seen first hand the suffering and abuse that kids face everyday. I know he wanted to convey that in this novel. I also hope Mynheir changes his writing style in future novels. In scene after scene, the point of view shifted from character to character, making it hard to follow the action.

Much better then I expected
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time and for some odd reason I hadn't picked it up. I was very surprised that a real-life police officer could write such a good book (not that cops are dopes or anything. I was arrested by some real smart ones in my younger days). It's very refreshing to have a Christian Fiction book actually contain Christian characters that live their lives after Christ. I'm getting a bit tired of secular books being sold under the disguise of biblical novels.
The storyline and writing get a 3 star rating but the message gets 5 stars (which I rarely give). The power of forgiveness and the importance of following Christ are very strong and even though I found some of the characters to be a bit weaker then I thought they should be they came out with great maturity in the end. Jesus was glorified. To actually say what the book is about is tough because there isn't really a main plot but two intersecting stories going on at once. Neither are subplots.
Although there's no bad language and Christ is lifted up the story does contain some uncomfortable scenes that if this book was made into a movie you would not want to see. For me (and the main character, John) crimes against children are the worst. You may want to know that before reading this book. But don't let it stop you, this book is what Christian fiction is all about. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

1 Star = I've been robbed!
2 Stars = Why'd I finish it?
3 Stars = Good
4 Stars = Excellent
5 Stars = Life changing