The Seat Beside Me

Bea Sheftel

The writer expertly draws a thread around all the survivors and tells their story with compassion and truth. Her fictional account of a plane crash is dynamic, heartfelt, and so real you'll cry for those lost, and those who survived.
—AOL Romance Online

Detra Fitch

Author Nancy Moser has written such an emotional story about coping after living through the worst moments of life! Keep the tissues close, because this one will fill you with sadness and then lift you upward with God's words! Excellent! Highly recommended.
— Huntress Book Reviews

John Mort

Some become heroes, others demonstrate their selfishness. All who survive are profoundly changed.
— Booklist

Kim Peterson

Moser provides a compelling story that should motivate readers to reasess their own lives before tragedy disrupts.
— Marketplace Magazine

Library Journal

In light of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Moser's latest is particularly powerful; essential for all collections.

Lisa Ramaglia

The Seat Beside Me isn't so much about a plane crash as it is about surviving...This powerfully emotional book had me in tears more times than I can count. It had me up late when I should have been sleeping. It had me turning pages when I should have been working. It held on and wouldn't let go until I'd read the very last page…well done, Ms. Moser.
— Scribes World (Reviewer's Choice Award)

Romantic Times

Nancy Moser causes readers to feel a wealth of emotions with this book...Not just a work of fiction, The Seat Beside Me is a tool for healing and understanding how God touches the lives of those He loves---which is all of us.

Publishers Weekly

Where is God in the midst of appalling tragedy? Moser follows up her inspirational Mustard Seed series of novels by exploring the timely topic of random chance versus divine will. In a few seconds, Sun Fun Airlines Flight 1382 goes from takeoff to nightmare, as the plane crashes into a heavily trafficked bridge, then plunges into a frigid river. Ninety-seven people are dead, and five passengers are left to wonder why they are alive. The survivors, three women and two men, re-examine their priorities and ideas about God, while journalist Dora Roberts struggles with the temptation to indulge in sensationalist exploitation of the disaster as she covers the aftermath for the Chronicle. Despite writing from multiple points of view, Moser keeps the story line clear and the pacing steady. However, like many recent Christian fiction releases, the novel is too long; it also includes a seven-page dialogue between Tina and another character that mostly functions to present the plan for salvation. Readers will have to stretch their imaginations to believe that the characters share as much personal information as they do with their seatmates in the long delay before takeoff. However, Moser makes the stretch worth the effort. As the survivors mull over why they were spared, Moser admirably demonstrates that tragedy is a life-changing opportunity, in which reassessments and changes for the better are possible. This is upbeat news that many Christian readers will appreciate after recent tragic events. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.