Doug Lucas

The Good Servant’s Wife tells the missing scenes from Doug Lucas’ novel, The Good Servant, from the viewpoint of Eli’s long-suffering and wonderful wife. Some scenes are repeated, and well worth repeating, with the different point of view convincingly portrayed. Some scenes become complete when the other side of the story’s told. And some tales were simply missing from the previous book.

The voice is convincingly different in this novel, and Eli’s wife's sense of humor is pleasing and wry. She tells a story of faith and romance, where neither comes easy, and she proves, while improving her husband’s language, that genuine humor doesn’t have to squeak to be clean. The novel offers a most vivid depiction of war’s consequences in the “mummy ward,” with honest humor and sorrow. There’s a lovely wedding scene too, and the novel moves on with faithful vows, unflinching and uplifting wisdom and honesty, and a hilarious story of Eli not using his “potty mouth” while berating a junior. It all builds up into a genuine and pleasing image of a life well lived.

Best of all, for me, was Eli's ministry interview questions and answer session, but different readers will each have their own favorites in a novel that’s filled with real people living the real recent history of the USA.

Disclosure: I bought it when it was free, and read it straight after reading the Good Servant.… (altro)

The Doug Servant tells a small-town American story of a pretty good guy, with pleasing self-deprecating humor and a very genuine, believable voice. Eli, the narrator, grew up in a small and comfortable place, going to church, making friends and falling in love, all before joining the Marines. He is nicely wise, both about his upbringing and about lessons learned along the way. “I learned in recruit training that God’s peace does abide within,” he says, though he voices God’s peace in the earthy “potty-mouth” language of his fellow recruits, until growing older and wiser.

Lessons learned in childhood, in Vietnam, in marriage, in parenthood, in joy and in sorrow, all fall nicely to the page. The story is convincingly told and reads like listening to a beloved grandpa’s musings. There are clever lists of things to remember, wise ponderings on mortality, zany escapades, animal shenanigans, war stories, and more, all enjoyably gathered in a comfortably long package. But the highlight is an incredible funeral scene, and the book’s worth reading just for this. When you reach it, you’ll know what I mean.

By the end of the this tale, Eli seems a very real person who the reader might almost have known. He’s convincing. He’s flawed. He’s a great speaker, a born leader, and a fascinating character. It’s a long slow read, but it’s worth it and I’m glad to know I’ll learn more by reading the Good Servant’s Wife next.

Disclosure: I bought this when it was free.… (altro)

Doug Lucas’ Good Servant Series is a set of independent novels tied together by a theme of service. Of the five, this is definitely my favorite, and, once I’d started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The narrator’s voice is consistently convincing, digressing from the buzz words of police work to the trials of marriage and diet to the wonders of his beloved car and back, always back, to the closed case files now reopened in small-town America.

Some places are just too small to afford expert video technology (or modern bullet-proof vests). But the people who work there are just as eager to see those lost crimes solved. And when a curious connection appears between two unsolved murders, this mystery spirals into something so much more. But it all stays grounded in a man denied the privilege of donuts, his matchmaking, dinner-making wife, and a cool cast of fascinating characters.

From NASCAR to golf, from bullets to bombs... people die, pain is real, and times have changed. But the time spent with Buzz Words’ protagonist will be time well-spent, meeting a truly memorable character, taking a fascinating journey through mystery and detection, and getting what certainly feels to me like a genuine feel for the real team-work of detectives chasing their case.

Filled with shifting focus and human distraction, yet never losing direction or pace, this novel’s a treat, and not even the occasional editing glitch could spoil it for me.

Disclosure: I bought it when it was free and can’t remember why it took me so long to get around to reading it.… (altro)

Author: Doug Lucas
Published By: Pipe Dreams Publishing
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5
Review:

"The Good Servant" by Doug Lucas was really some read that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. We find that Elijah B. Connors was dying and realizes that there has been a lots of questions that had gone unanswered...so he write a book and explains it all to his wife, son, and daughter. I found this somewhat sad that he had carried this with himself but as I read the novel...I was able to understand his reasoning.

I don't want to give too much away but here are some of my thoughts on the read: ELI'S RECORD IS SET STRAIGHT in "The Good Servant" ...you must pick up the read to find out what it is all about.

Camels...cancer?...Eli was born on a 'brisk winter day'
Many things left untold to his wife, son and daughter....now he tells all... Eli father died when he was just eleven by a drunken driver, so he took it on him to be his sister's protector...from her dates!
Was Eli hard headed? ... just ask him mom, grammy and pap
Liked the words: Actions always speak louder than words...for Ray
Always watch what people are doing around you.
What was up with the fire of the tool shed?
Just how did Eli meet Sue....she beat him up in the church parking lot?
Trust everyone but keep them honest.... poor Ben Randall?
Eli's Best Friend ...like a twin brother...Jerry...Jeremiah Jacob Collins
Sugar Cookies and Root Beer!...Grammy's special for for only Eli
...Senior Gala...the snake?...strippers? No smoking Camel's ever when hunting and/or shooting...taught by Pap and Mr. Collins
NOW....WHO DECIDES TO JOIN THE MARINE CORP AFTER GRADUATION?
What did the moms, grammy and Sue (Sorority Affair)... do sending them what? What had happen to Uncle Dan Vette that would come back and bite
Eli somewhat later by having to give it up.
MARINE LIFE...What was up with the Sea Bag Shuffle, Alpha Company... more camels...mike boats...Happy Valley?...Cap Pendeton...Hill 22..Hoa Cam Hue...in the Republic of South Vietnam...More Camel's...
Jerry getting married to Lynn...omg!....twins....
BOHICA....FUBAR....? Why did Eli stay in Vietnam? answers....
coming home... song heard from church Just A Closer Walk With Thee....
Poem stitched by Sue for Eli...'Footprints in the Sand'...'Be thankful for all God has continually blessed me with'....for Ray
Hospital stay for Eli at Bethesda Naval in Maryland. Eli and Sue???
Momma Mae has gotten the grand babies and they have names...JP and Marie
Last days in the Marines..The Vette and Dart story...and Ansel Story....WHAT A EULOGY! leading to Eli becoming a pastor because of "Sister Marie's insight, Grand Pere showed him what God's love looked like and Father Maurice showed him that you must live as a servant sharing God Peace and love with others."

Now, if you can take this all in ....pick up this read "The Good Servant" and see for yourself .... all of the why, what,where, when and how of it all. You will not be disappointed with this read because it will really leave you with thoughts... "Trust only people whose words match there actions...A true friend will stay by your side in the worst or best of time...People don't have to be related to be family and Humor is the very best form of retribution....Find your own joy filled memories and share them from time to time with yourself...but remember memories are even sweeter with they are shared with to other."

This only leaves me to say Wow... this was some excellent novel..."The Good Servant" by Mr. Lucas. Well done Doug Lucas. I can't wait to see what you have in store of us next.… (altro)