When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (Westbow, 2006) was recommended to me by my friend and an incredible editor, Rachelle Gardner. I was hesitant because my experience reading "Christian" fiction has disappointed me more often than it has delighted me. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. Charles Martin holds you captive and never lets you go as a reader. His style is similar to Nicholas Sparks in my opinion, and his depth of character makes me want to keep reading long after I've turned the last published page. I'm ready for more from Charles Martin and I hope you will be too!

From the Publisher
In a small town square of a sleepy Georgia town, seven-year-old Annie sits at her lemonade stand, raising money for her own heart transplant. At a nearby store, Reese flips through the newspaper, thinking about the latest boat he's restoring. As a beat-up bread truck careens around the corner, a strong wind blows Annie's money into the road. Reese looks up in time to see Annie's yellow dress fluttering in the wind as she runs into the road. What happens next will change both of their lives forever.

Richly atmospheric and evocative, with the kind of characters that move into your heart and take up residence, Charles Martin's new novel will resonate with fans of God-haunted southern fiction, and with anyone who enjoys a solidly crafted, heart-touching story.