Kindle Edition Amazon Karen's Koncepts Category:  Spirituality Publisher: Createspace ISBN-10:  1466274743 Type: Fiction Pages: 334 Copyright: August 18, 2012 ISBN-13: 9781466274747 Price: $2.99 (eBook) Raider's is a riveting Christian thriller. It deals with tough questions head on. This is a story about an average, older woman, Charley, who gets caught up in a bank robbery nightmare. She relies on her faith and follows where God is leading her, but she falters at times and reveals her humanity.   The main character, Raider, is a bitter, hate filled man who blames so much of his life’s pain on religion and the people who are believers. He takes advantage of a hostage situation to unleash his fury on a Christian. This becomes a battle of will, faith, emotions and survival. Heaven touches Earth and these characters with delightful miracles.       Excerpt Long Ago He tried many times to escape, but Itchy couldn’t figure out how to undo the latch from the inside. How long will she keep me in here this time? he wondered. It was a simple mistake; he hadn’t meant to see Mrs. Anton naked. Itchy was just hanging out with his best friend, Marty Anton. When he threw open the unlocked bathroom door to relieve himself, he saw her standing in the tub. She hadn’t removed the towel from the bar yet and Itchy saw all of her nakedness. Itchy quickly looked down and fell backwards as he scrambled to get away. The screams from Mrs. Anton blasted his ears as he peed his pants. The uncontrolled release was horrific for a fourteen-year-old boy. Mrs. Anton was enraged. She threw on her robe and telephoned his Aunt Rose, screaming that Itchy was a pervert and Rose needed to keep him away from her son. She insisted that he would corrupt Marty and turn him into a “Peeping Tom.” Itchy panicked and ran from the house as Marty’s mom shrieked at him to never come back. Itchy was afraid to go home. He knew that his Aunt Rose would use his latest misfortune to punish and shame him, but if he didn’t go home right away, the punishment would be even harsher. She had a way of stacking sins on top of each other. He could already hear her screeches in his head. “It wasn’t bad enough that you lusted after a grown woman, but then you refused to face your foul sin and suffer the consequences. God sees your filthy heart. You can’t run away from Him!” When Itchy slunk into the house through the back door, Aunt Rose was waiting for him. She looked at his soiled crotch and clucked with distain. Itchy didn’t understand that his Aunt had mistakenly assumed the worst. The wooden paddle that she used for pulling bread from the oven was spinning in her hands. He knew what was coming next – he unzipped his pants and they, along with his boxers, fell around his ankles. She nodded toward the kitchen table and he placed both hands flat on the surface. The beating was vicious this time. He tried not to cry, but the repeated swings of the paddle became unbearable. The tears rolled down his cheeks and puddles formed on the table. While he endured her wrath, she quoted scripture to him. She always pulled scriptures out of context and Itchy was convinced that God expected him to suffer to be worthy of forgiveness and salvation. Aunt Rose would alternate scripture with demeaning statements, telling him that his pain was only a small measure of what he deserved. He was born a bastard to a mother who was cheap and easy with filthy men. Aunt Rose would do whatever it took to save him from himself. After Aunt Rose felt the punishment had suited the crime, she stopped and opened the cabinet door to the vegetable bin, an outdated storage area for fresh produce. It was the cell Itchy must endure until he repented for his wrongdoings. Itchy carefully pulled up his pants. There was no longer enough room to sit, as there had been when he was smaller. He had to squat, bend over, and squeeze in to fit. The blisters on his backside were on fire and wet. Itchy was sure they were bleeding. This was typical when she suspected his punishable infraction was sexually motivated, which was more frequent as he became older. The door closed and latched from the outside. There was no air circulation except for small holes drilled into the cabinet door. Originally, they had been drilled to keep the produce from rotting as quickly. Now, the holes were small windows into a kitchen filled with pain and horror. Each time Aunt Rose walked past the bin, she would kick the door and scream at him to pray louder for forgiveness. This was the angriest she had ever been. It was quite evident to Itchy that she felt he had crossed over to a new level of depravity. When he was young, his prayers were heartfelt. He wanted to be clean, but after years of belittlement and reinforcement of his undeserving and vile nature, his prayers were hollow and solely to pacify this enraged woman. His knees and legs began to ache and his muscles throbbed. Aunt Rose’s rantings over the years filled in the holes of Itchy’s history. His mother, June, had become pregnant at the age of sixteen. She was the youngest and the wild child in her family of staunch believers. She had run off to California with Itchy’s daddy, Arthur, who was seventeen. They didn’t have the decency to get married and lived in lustful sin. His father was blonde, handsome, and charming, like all demons were, and he’d tempted June beyond her strength to resist. When Itchy was only six years old, his mother escaped and left Itchy to survive his father’s brutality alone. No one heard from June again and Itchy didn’t know if she was alive or dead. Most days, he hoped she was dead, a long, painful, lonely death. Itchy had earned his name by contracting a severe case of head lice when he was young. His father’s abuse included extreme neglect. When he did go to school, the kids were relentless with their taunting. Itchy hated the nickname, but hated his real name even more. His real name, Arthur, was his father’s name. Eventually, his father was arrested for manslaughter, a bar fight gone bad, and the police officers took Itchy to Langston Hall. Most kids would be scared in a children’s home, but Itchy felt safe there. He had three meals a day, a clean bed, and clean clothes. He didn’t make many friends but there was one girl who touched him deeply. Her name was Pagne. He didn’t know her for long, but she would always be in his heart, one of the three females he would ever trust. The county eventually located his widowed Aunt Rose and she begrudgingly agreed to take Itchy to live with her. “It is the Christian thing to do,” she told the social worker. He was flown back to Boston to live with her and her son, Darrell. Itchy was excited to have a new home and an older brother. Darrell, however, was indifferent. He was too busy avoiding his mother’s wrath and quickly learned that having Itchy around proved to be an advantage. If he lay low, Itchy caught most of the hell. Before arriving, Itchy had no idea of the loathing his aunt harbored or the horror that awaited him.

One of the Nicest Books I've read in a Long Time
I tend to lose interest rather quickly if what I'm reading doesn't grab me right away. This book had me hooked from the first page. "Raider's Vendetta" runs the gamut of human emotion, complex relationships as well as enormous
physical and spiritual challenges; all interwoven by the hand of God. Charley's unwavering belief in the Father's ability to reach Raider's hardened heart inspired my own personal faith. And the ending could only be described as a "God Thing." Two people who thrown together during the most frightening of circumstances discover that they are bound together in a most unexpected way. It's a wonderful read, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a great book. Michelle Close Mills~author/contributor: Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Full of Suspense
The author had me sitting on the edge of my seat while reading this book. I loved how she wrote about the miracles of God. How He fulfills his promise never to leave nor forsake believer`s. God was with Charley every step of the way. He was with Raider too even though Raider would never admit to that. There is a reason he also blessed Raider too, God had a plan. (Isn't that just like God?)

This book touched me in a way that no other book has touched me in a long time. I found myself getting very emotional in parts of this book. This was my God working through situations that seemed hopeless. This is a book about not only having faith but a willingness to forgive. This book shows God's plan during each situation that came up.

Only God can take away bitterness of a lifetime of mistreatment. Only God can take away intense anger. Only God can change a person.

I must say, the ending of this book surprised me! I actually was stunned when I read it and had to read it several times before it actually sunk in. Could it be true?

I think everyone should read this book. It is that good. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

I wish to thank the author, Karen Arnpriester, for giving me a copy of this book to read. She wasn't expecting a review in return. The opinions in this review are mine alone.

God's Miracles Will Surprise Readers
Karen Arnpriester is making me think of Stephen King in some of her amazing writing in this book!!! This book is full of suspense, action, forgiveness, God's provision, and miracles. In fact, miracles abound for Charley and her captor, Raider. Raider is not overly fond of God and does not appreciate it when Charley prays or talks about her faith, and yet he can't seem to hear enough at times. I was moved to tears at points in this book, and I was covered with chill bumps at the unbelievable miracles and signs of God's care and provision for the characters. You will be surprised beyond imagination at how this book ends. It is a must read!
As I read, I thought of a precious young man who believes that the Bible is fantasy. I can see how he might feel that way and many of the characters in this book share similar opinions. I was thinking how I hope he will agree to at least read Raider's Vendetta and talk with me or other Christians about it afterwards. I believe that reading this book will change lives!