Josh McDowell & Ed Stewart Mistaken Identity

Mistaken Identity

Josh McDowell & Ed Stewart

Green Key, Oct 2005, $13.99, 308 pp.

ISBN 1932587632

The Chapel of the Valley Church in Orchard Valley, Washington is a ministering place of worship led by Reverend Ezra who dreams of erecting on the thirteen acres of private land that the ministry owns a ministry site for migrant workers. For now, homeless people and drifters are allowed to camp at that site.

Joe, a man who rides a motorcycle, has a scar on his face and a tattoo on his arm, is the only person camping there right now. When he sees a fire at the church he uses a garden hose to contain it until the fire fighters arrive to put it out; Joe is accepted as one of the congregation. The reverend goes to check on the $22,455 that was in a box in his desk and notices the drawer has been jimmied and the box along with the money is missing. Suspicion falls on Joe because he is a stranger, his screwdriver was found in the church and the box is located in his tent. Joe wants to clear his name because he has come to care about the people in the valley and he doesn't want to lose their regard.

Joe came to Orchard Valley to meet his birth mother but finds a community of Christians who practice what they preach and make a stranger feel like one of the flock. This is a riveting tale with characters who are believable, especially a man whose love of god and good heart makes one forget that he is mentally challenged. He is the glue that holds the story together because people can sense saintliness about him and his joy in the word and his love of people. MISTAKEN IDENTITY is a very special treat that fans will feel privileged to have read.

Harriet Klausner