Life as We Knew It: Transformation Project, Book 1

With this brief volume, Markham (The Willow Branch) sets the stage for her post­apocalyptic thriller series, which features fiercely self-sufficient Christian preppers and government conspiracies. Shane Delaney, a mercenary haunted by his past, is close to committing suicide in fictional Mirastan when the book opens, but an unexpected text from his grandfather Jacob and a visit from his friend Mike interrupt him. Back in Emmaus, Kans., Jacob and other members of Shane’s family feel moved to pray for him, even without knowing why. Shane is a Central Security Agency asset, and his depression is bad enough that his handler, Grant Rigby, is prepared to pull him from his current assignment and send him home. Then Grant and others learn of a plot to nuke multiple American cities—and at least some elements of the federal government are aware of this plot and doing nothing to stop it. (This bizarre premise is never really explained.) Shane’s unique skills may soon be needed by his family and the rest of his salt-of-the-earth rural Kansas town. This flimsy science fiction thriller will appeal to fans of novels by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. (BookLife)