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| The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips: A Novel (Faithwords) | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 8 reviews)
Sales Rank: 285338
Category: Book
Authors: Stephen Baldwin, Mark Tabb
Publisher: FaithWords
Studio: FaithWords
Manufacturer: FaithWords
Label: FaithWords
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0446196991
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780446196994
ASIN: 0446196991
Publication Date: November 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When Officer Andy Myers met Loraine Phillips, he had no interest in her son. And he certainly never dreamed he'd respond to a call, finding that same boy in a pool of blood. Even more alarming was the father standing watch over his son's body. Myers had never seen a man respond to death-particularly the death of a child-in such a way. When the father is charged with murder and sentenced to death, he chooses not to fight but embrace it as God's will. Myers becomes consumed with curiosity for these strange beliefs. What follows is the story of the bond these two men share as they come to terms with the tragedy and the difficult choices each one must make. (2006)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 The Life & Death of Gabriel Phillips December 28, 2008
Good book. Easy reading. Quite an unusual ending and sort of disappointing at the end. Not what I expected.
Powerful Story Crosses Serious Christian Fiction Lines.... December 14, 2008
Christian publishing has crossed a barrier with the publication of The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips.
For starters, this story is compelling. Told through the narration of Andy Myers' son. The son he never wanted, I might add. Narration is not my favorite point of view because it tends to lack intimacy. But I connected with the characters in Death and Life. I also love crime fiction and Death and Life is full of cop/legal drama. The writing is creative and easy to read and the story is positively page turning.
I mentioned that Christian publishing has crossed a barrier with this story because the dialogue is peppered with raw language -- think PG-13. I am not super offended by language and am able to watch or read something and not get caught up in coarseness if the story is compelling enough. Death and Life is full of three, four and five letter words that will stomp on sensitive toes.
Interestingly, I've seen a lot of debate in Christian author loops that discusses this issue and the challenge of writing real and raw when the characters are limited to "Aw, shucks, Ma'am." The fact that Stephen Baldwin has opened the door is going to ease things for the storytellers who want to write real if it includes raw. The bottom line consensus in this debate seems to be that story does rule. And in this case, The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips shares a story that is worth reading.
Still a Good Story November 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although there is a lot of very strong offensive language I am thankful I read this book. I cannot believe a Christian publisher published a book with this kind of language in it though. I am not used to reading books with cursing in them. That is one of the reasons I read Christian fiction and some other clean fiction. There are some redemptive parts of the story. The overall plot line is unique and powerful and interesting. Thankfully the last half of the story features almost no cursing. I think the goal of the cursing was to portray the lead character more realistically as he is an unchristian cop. The main plot line includes finding the son of his girlfriend dead at his father's apartment and convicting the father of the crime even if he is really innocent as he says. The father is a Christian and portrays a powerful witness throughout the whole book. The story is told through the voice of the cop's son. I recommend this book with a strong language warning.
www.abookloverforever.blogspot.com
 Terrific debut stands out from other Christian fiction November 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips by Stephen Baldwin and Mark Tabb is an unusual Christian fiction book. Police officer Andy Meyers responds to a call to find a dead boy, Gabriel, whose father is reacting strangely. Meyers had been sleeping with the boy's mother and bonding with the child, so he feels a deep-seated need for justice for the boy's death. The father doesn't react like Meyers would expect with tears and hysteria. Instead, he's calm and talks about how Gabriel has gone home to be with the Lord. This infuriates Meyers who sets out to prove that the father killed Gabriel because he was angry about the affair. The plot is delightfully twisted and convoluted, especially because the narrator is Meyers' son, who he abandoned as soon as he discovered his wife was pregnant. Despite the complicated plot, Baldwin and Tabb keeps things running smoothly from the death to a trial and finally an execution. There has been some concern about the strong language used in the book. While I admit, it is stronger than most Christian fiction on the market, it's nowhere near as strong as plenty of secular fiction, and it's always used appropriately to the character and never for titillation. The only character who is a Christian is Gabriel's father, so the occasional cuss word helps create the character and scene. It works. The authors keep the reader guessing as to exactly what happened to Gabriel, as well as what Andy is going to do next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope that Baldwin continues writing!
Unexpected November 19, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an unusual read for several reasons! First, the author is a celebrity. Having seen Stephen Baldwin on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice, I was quite excited to have the opportunity to read his first work of fiction. Written in conjunction with Mark Tabb, this murder mystery with a twist is an enjoyable book. Secondly, this purported Christian fiction contains profanity--quite a bit of it--which is why the following disclaimer was sent out:
The statement from FaithWords is:
Normally, it is not the policy of FaithWords to include foul language in our fiction titles. The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips has dialogue which reflects the heart of the main character. His transformation and ultimate conversion to Christ throughout the book is key to the story and the author's intention was to make that transformation clear. We apologize if this inclusion offends our readers. We are committed to publishing fiction that depicts the power of Christ's love in even the darkest life and situation. Harry Helm, Associate Publisher, FaithWords
Thirdly, my observation is that the profanity and adult themes contained in the novel are not attributable to only the main character. Other characters speak with profanity too, and some of the adult themes are spread amongst them throughout the story.
Fourthly, although this is not a book of humor, I laughed out loud when I read the Santa scene. I can't tell more without revealing secrets, but it's funny. I bet you'll laugh too at the Santa part.
The characters are believable. The story is believable. And, (sigh) the dialogue is believable. I must say that it's a good story, and I enjoyed it.
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