Nick of Time by Tim Downs

From the back cover:

"The Bug Man is getting married on Saturday...if his fiancee can find him.

"Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak lives in a world of maggots and blow flies and decomposing bodies. No wonder he's still single.

"But Nick has finally found a woman as strange as he is--dog trainer Alena Savard, a woman who is odd, reclusive, and can seemingly talk to animals. It was a match made in heaven.

"Nick and Alena are scheduled to be married on Saturday--but there's one small problem. Nick has disappeared.

"Caught up in a murder case involving an old friend, Nick finds himself on a manhunt that's drawing him farther and farther from the church where Alena is waiting. But will he make it back in time? Could Nick's single-minded focus cause him to forget his own wedding? Is he really pursuing a killer, or is he running away from something else?"

I have to say that this story was a good read, and I had trouble putting it down whenever I got started in it. Mr. Downs has done a great job of creating quirky characters. My one complaint with the characters is that they didn't seem to grow until the very end of the story, and they seemed a little over-the-top, particularly main character Nick. However, I haven't read the other books in the series, so I am at a bit of a disadvantage there. I was pleased that Nick learned a lesson in the end, and Mr. Downs set it up nicely for at least one more sequel.

For being listed as Christian fiction, I was disappointed that there was so little mention of anything related to Christianity. As an aspiring author myself, anything I want to get published under the heading of Christian fiction needs to be not merely covered with a bit of Christian veneer but full of information that will speak to the readers in a way that they will be drawn closer to God, be they Christians already or not. My other main complaint is that the book retails for such a high price ($15.99 for a softcover). This isn't terribly unusual in the realm of Christian publishing, unfortunately, and is not a direct commentary on this book or author specifically, just something of note.

I would be very interested in reading the rest of the books in the series so I could see where the characters have come from and where they are going. Overall, for readability and interest, I would give this book a rating of 4/5 stars.

Note: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review from BookSneeze.