Silent Pledge

Dr. Mercy Richmond struggles to balance her roles as a single mother and busy physician whose patients have nowhere else to go. Her small Missouri town has no E.R. and Mercy is overwhelmed by the sick, the injured and the personal problems they bring into her clinic—and her life. If she thought her schedule would help her forget Lukas Bower, the handsome doctor she believes betrayed her, she was wrong. A new Christian, Mercy must make a decision that will change four lives forever—including her daughter's. And then Lukas comes home….

Publishers Weekly

Readers seeking an honest--if flawed--Christian novel will appreciate this earnest effort. In smalltown Knolls, Mo., health crises abound: a seven-year-old girl is afflicted with cystic fibrosis; a despairing fireman's wife has attempted suicide; another woman has been beaten by her husband; an older man has suffered a stroke. Dr. Mercy Richmond and Dr. Lukas Bower tend these souls and bodies. Alexander (a pseudonym for a husband and wife writer-doctor team) manages to weave theological questions into this narrative with a light touch. When Mercy wonders why God allows Crystal to suffer so much, her musings are credible. Also refreshingly subtle is the attraction between Mercy and Lukas. While readers will divine the love interest early on, Alexander develops that plot line with subtlety. Nor are Christians presented in an unrealistically rosy light: one of Lukas's paramedics mentions that when her mother was dying, none of her fellow church members bothered to check on her, and Mercy later reminds her daughter that "even Christians aren't perfect." But the novel's not perfect, either. As a sequel, it sags; Alexander should have provided a little more information from the previous two books, Sacred Trust and Solemn Oath. Eventually, we learn that Mercy is divorced from her husband, a new Christian who has reformed his hard-drinking ways, but too many pages elapse before we grasp that background. And some of the plot lines tie up too conveniently. Readers searching for uplift, however, may be happy to overlook these flaws. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

"You're a doctor?" Cheryl leaned toward Mel and raised her voice to be heard over the din of restaurant diners. "You could help me paralyze someone, then, couldn't you?"

Mel stared at her with some trepidation. This was the "nice young lady" his pastor, Brother Ron, wanted him to meet?

"I only want to paralyze him temporarily, of course," Cheryl continued.

Mel glanced toward the nearest exit.

"I'd better explain myself," she said with a smile. "I write novels. I'm doing research for a book."

Ah, interesting. He relaxed slightly and gave her all the information she needed in good, graphic detail. He couldn't understand why she only ate half a slice of pizza the whole evening.

This was Mel's introduction into Cheryl's world of fiction. It was Cheryl's introduction into the life of an emergency room physician. They were both fascinated. A year and a half later, they were married.

The fascination grew as Mel downloaded at the end of his workday-- never betraying patient confidentiality. Cheryl's imagination took over, and together they generated ideas for a completely new story, with a completely new novel. With Mel's medical input, encouragement and help with plotting, and Cheryl's writing skills gleaned over 13 years, they developed their first ER-style novel.

The Hoddes (pronounced Hoddee) have loved working together ever since that first meeting. Cheryl has been a professional writer for 19 years now. Mel is a board-certified ER physician with a degree in osteopathy. They work together under the pen name of Hannah Alexander. Their specialty is medical romantic suspense.

Mel and Cheryl live in theMissouri Ozarks, where they like to set the majority of their books.

They love to hear from their readers and can be reached through their web site, www.hannahalexander.com.