Book Review: The Sharp Edge of a Knife by D. N. Giles

The year is 1958. Mel Peterson and his wife, Jeneal, are expecting their sixth child. She's a devoted homemaker, and he is a teacher for The Church of Latter-day Saints. They both work hard, love their family, and believe whole-heartedly in their faith. But one day, that faith was tested to its very core.

On his way to work, Mel stopped to pick up two hitchhikers, not knowing they were refugees from the law. They pulled out a knife, and Mel became a hostage in a carjacking.

The next several hours were grueling as Mel struggled to understand his captors and to say the words that would keep them calm. Back at home, Jeneal felt something wasn't right, and wondered what could be happening to make her feel so ill at ease.

Offering countless prayers for guidance and deliverance, Mel's life was spared as his captors took last-minute pity on him and left him in the desert rather than slitting his throat, which had been their original plan.

This novel by D. N. Giles is remarkable in many ways.

First, it's the true story of her grandfather, told as closely to his original account as possible. D. N. did a tremendous amount of research in the telling of her story, even going so far as to conduct a phone interview with one of the kidnappers, now out of jail. She even included newspaper clippings from the event.

Second, it's written in such a way that you really believe you've stepped into the 1950's. The use of language, from the sentence structure to the colloquialisms, speaks of a by-gone era. D. N. used speech patterns traditionally used by her grandfather to bring his character in the book to life.

Third, the story is simply compelling. To see the faith of this humble man as he is driven across the desert, having no idea what is to become of him but trusting in the God who made him, and retaining his dignity ... it was very inspirational. And in the end, it was the strength of Mel's character that saved his life, as his kidnappers showed their respect for him by not following through on their original intentions for him.

I applaud D. N. for the time and devotion she gave to this book, as well as the respect and honor she paid to her grandparents by telling their story. "The Sharp Edge of a Knife" is a job very well done.



Now, read this important information from author D. N. Giles!!

The Sharp Edge of a Knife Blog Tour and Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of The Sharp Edge of a Knife, I’ve put together an exciting giveaway, with several opportunities to win. Since the book deals a lot with making choices, the prizes all have something to do with choice.

Among prizes I’ve been collecting, Lisa at Watches by Lisa has agreed to sponsor the giveaway by donating a custom made beaded watch and face. Head on over to her blog and take a look at the incredible selection.

So, choice number one: the winner gets to choose a watch band and face so that their watch is personalized to their tastes and fashion needs.

Yes, I realize that a beaded watch is not exactly a prize to be coveted by a bunch of masculine men (though it makes a great gift for the woman or girl in your life), which is why I’m also giving away more great stuff. Check out the following really cool prizes:

1. Choice between: An autographed copy of the New York Times number one bestselling novel, Wings by Aprilynne Pike—or—a non-autographed copy of The Darwin Awards, Intelligent Design by Wendy Northcutt—or—a numbered, autographed copy of Recovering Charles by Jason F. Wright. Click here to learn more about Wings, here to read about The Darwin Awards, and here to find out about Recovering Charles.

2. Choice between: A $25 gift certificate to the Restaurant Morelia in Murray, UT (Sorry out-of-state peeps, this is local to Utah.) or $25 worth of vinyl lettering by Whaddayawannasay Vinyl Lettering—you choose your quote or phrase.

Bonus prize for author types

3. You may substitute any of the above selections with the following incredible opportunity: The chance to sit in on a critique session with my wonderful, amazing, incredible critique group. While there, you will be treated to not one, but six critiques on the first chapter of your work in progress. This is no ordinary group. We have in our midst some fabulous authors including Tristi Pinkston, acquisitions editor for Valor publishing and author of the Secret Sisters series, Danyelle Ferguson, freelance editor and author of (dis)Abilities and the Gospel—who will edit via internet, since she actually lives in Kansas—Heather Justesen, author of The Ball’s In Her Court and the upcoming release, Rebound, Kimberly Job, author of I’ll Know You By Heart, and Keith Fisher, up and coming author of women’s fiction and plotting genius, and Nichole Giles, also known as D.N. Giles.

**If you are not local to Utah, but would still like this option, we will still critique your chapter online.

**If enough people enter this contest, I reserve the right to choose extra winners and give away some, or all, of the prizes left after the top three winners have made their choices.


Entries will be accepted between March 15th and April 3rd. On April 5th Nichole will announce the contest winners on her blog. Entry requirements:


1. You must be a follower of my blog.

2. You must leave a comment telling me which prize you want to win and why.

3. For those wishing to win the watch, you must go to Watches by Lisa and become a follower, then come back and tell me which watch combination is your favorite.


Extra entries:

1. Blog about this contest, then come back and leave either a url address or a link in a comment.

2. Twitter this contest, tell me where to see your tweet in a comment.

3. Follow me on Twitter @TristiPinkston.

4. Follow Nichole on Twitter.

5. Facebook the contest. If your Facebook page is private, and I’m not your friend, I can’t see that you’ve done this, so you’ll need to friend me.

6. Become a fan of The Sharp Edge of a Knife on Facebook.


You may enter this contest here, as well as on any of the tour posts at the following blogs:

March 15th Cindy Beck, Review

March 16th David J. West, review, interview

March 17th Cindy Beck, Interview

March 18th Tristi Pinkston, review (and here you are! :)

March 19th Rachelle Christensen, review

March 22nd Shanda, LDS Women’s Book Review

March 23rd Kimberly Job, review

March 23rd Keith Fisher, Interview

March 24th Heather Justesen, review

March 25th Christine Bryant, Review

March 26th Kimberly Job, interview

March 26th Heather Justesen, interview

March 27th Keith Fisher, review

March 28th Ali Cross, Review

March 29th Rachelle Christensen, Interview

March 30th Heather Gardener, Fire and Ice Book Reviews

March 31st Danyelle Ferguson review, interview