Good Contemporary Christian Fiction

[Greg McKitrick]

Hi,

I write Christian fiction aimed at a secular readership. It's different in tone in that the messaging is a lot more subtle. It may be what you're looking for. "A Walk in the Thai Sun" is a murder mystery set in Thailand.

G.J.C. (Greg) McKitrick

 

[Mayor]

I juust finished a series you might like: Karen Hancock's Eidon series
I can't post links, so Google it

I loved it. (I read SF, fantasy, history, cereal boxes, etc)

I have that series as well. I enjoyed it.

 

[DennisT]

Lisa Phillips' "Denver FBI" series is apparently popular with a Christian audience.

As is Steven James's Chess series (Pawn, Knight, etc)

Never the Sinner by Tony Denn (full disclosure - that's me) features a devoutly Christian police detective investigating the murder of a cult leader. I placed a conservative Christian in a contemporary setting so there is swearing and some very occasional violence and although there is no 'on-screen' sex it IS discussed frankly in places. Secular reviewers say the way the detective is sucked into religious debate is frustrating to them, so I wonder if I should be promoting it more to a Christian audience. It would be interesting to get any views.

 

[EndTimesAware]

Thanks so much for all these suggestions, I've been desperately looking for good recommendations. I enjoyed the Left Behind series, and have been looking for something similar. I've been waiting for the release of "As Promised It's Here" by Kevin J. McCarthy, which seems to deal with similar subject matter.

The author has written a few non-fiction books aimed at helping families of those in the criminal justice system, which helped my Aunt cope with her son being on death row. She even got the book for free from his website, and she couldn't stop talking about how much it helped her & her son through their difficult situation...

While the book she mentioned wasn't exactly my "cup of tea", I thought that was such a nice, Christian thing for someone to do, I decided to check out his other works, and oddly enough it looks like he's writing a series similar to the one I had enjoyed so much.

The lord works in mysterious ways indeed! Thanks again for the wonderful suggestions here, I look forward to checking them out!

 

[mojoboy31]

@Crazylikeafox

All the good 'contemporary' Christian fiction that jumped to mind was supernatural thriller.

Andrew Klavan has written some excellent stuff. Crazy Dangerous is probably my favorite book ever. Modern day, Christian themes, but not too heavy. A very interesting mystery plot, and a sarcastic protagonist that is just hilarious.

I know it's not really what you're looking for, but I'd try The Solitary Tales by Travis Thrasher. Yes, it deals in supernatural/thriller territory, but it also deals very much in faith, and especially struggling with faith.

Dekker has written a few that aren't supernatural, but I don't think I'd recommend them. His strength is in fantasy.

 

[dms1972]

That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis explores some dark themes, but moreso in regard to the male protagonist in the story, but its supernatural in the second half - it does explore modern attitudes to marriage, but was written in the 1940s. The setting is sometime after the second world war.

The dark themes - the temptation to be in a powerful inner circle / small elite (for the male protagonist)

The female protagionist has a christian background (ie she's been to sunday school and church) but never really believed.

Basically Mark and Jane who are married and modern end up on opposite sides in a spiritual battle for England's soul, with Mark under pressure to bring Jane over to the side of an elite, and Jane being given a haven by a small christian fellowship. If that sounds interesting to you, its worth a read. Its very slow in the first half, all about the machinations of a progressive element in a university.

 

[Rawtheran]

I have a difficult time relating to the traditional "Christian" book, it seems. I've recently returned to the Christian faith (I'm 23), and am looking for books that are Christian, but deal with the issues I deal with. I'm looking for Christian general fiction (aka not supernatural thrillers, or romance, or historical) that doesn't sugarcoat, but deals with real life issues. The only thing I've found that was even close was Anne Lamott's writing (even though I disagree with her theologically & even morally, I can appreciate her writing and her Christianity).


Any ideas? I'm also worried that maybe I haven't given those "traditional" Christian writers (think Francine Rivers, Melody Carlson, Ted Dekker, Frank Perretti, etc.) a fair shake, so if you have suggestions that seem to fit what I'm looking for from them, don't be afraid to suggest. It's just they seem to have written so many books, it's hard to find one that fits me!

It's old but I definently recommend the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

 

[raffy28]

try the books of Joshua Harris.

 

[Natasha L. Polak]

While I see that this post was from some years ago, its relevance endures! As an avid reader with a deep appreciation of books from more than just Christian fiction, the genre is one in which I’ve seen tremendous changes happen over the last 2 decades, thus making it more interesting to me as time has gone on. Not all authors are on the same level of writing, so it all depends on what you’re looking for!

For a good balance of enduring characters whose lives are anything but perfect, try anything by Kristen Heitzmann, Tracie Peterson, Colleen Coble, Lyn Austen, Kacy Barnett-Gramckow, or Tracie Bateman. Lighter reads would be from authors like Melody Carlson, Hannah Alexander (although the character plots can be quite gripping and more complex, ie thrillers), and Becky Wade. All of the above are authors whose work have bolstered my faith in some way, entertained me, and inspired me to write novels of my own. So, if I had to categorize myself, I’d say I’m somewhere in between in terms of spiritual truths contained and having light plots. I don’t want to be preached to, and don’t want to subject my readers to my views, but instead I point them to the Lord and where He may lead them.