Five Days in May

Hammon follows up God Said Yes with a tale of four characters, five days, and multiple connections: A faithless pastor plans to leave the ministry six months after his wife's passing; another husband (the pastor's father-in-law) plans to kill his own sick wife and himself with sleeping pills; the adopted teen daughter of the soul-suffering pastor plans to have an abortion; a convicted child murderer's date with "Ole Suz" (the electric chair) draws neigh. But a tornado, dubbed "The Big Ugly" by a mystic confined to death row for the last 14 years, sweeps through town, deciding on the fifth day who will live and who will die. A well-woven storyline and wonderfully rich, largely unsympathetic characters make Hammon's second book a great, gripping read. Minor loose ends occasionally lessen the drama, and Hammon isn't afraid of knocking readers over the head with the allegorical nature of her work, but ultimately succeeds with a fine story about love and sacrifice that will hook readers to the end. (May)