“The Chase” by Charles Besondy

The Chase
Charles Besondy        
Besondy Publishing LLC (2021)
ASIN B08T3GM8T6
Reviewed by Rachel Dehning for Reader Views (06/2021)

“The Chase” by Charles Besondy is a Christian psychological thriller about the “chase” that is happening every day for your soul between good and bad forces. This chase is a real spiritual event, but Besondy has written the event in a unique and authentic way.

The story begins with 34-year-old Sheryl confirming good news with her doctor. On the way home, Sheryl experiences a near-death situation that causes her to second-guess every decision that she’s ever made in her life, including whether she has made the right choice in her marriage with her husband, Clay. Sheryl starts experiencing the emotional downward spiral that fear, anger, confusion, and a plethora of negative emotions can cause; she starts to wonder if her life is worth living anymore.

Now rewind back to her childhood and the reader will learn her reasoning for these thoughts and feelings. Sheryl has carried around baggage and negativity for many years, but the one good thing that has helped counter the bad is her belief and trust in God. Unfortunately, even the most God-fearing individuals will experience temptations and setbacks from Satan.

In “The Chase,” Besondy takes acceptable artistic liberties to explain the spiritual phenomena of Satan preying on God’s chosen individuals and how Satan views the challenge of winning their soul away from his “competitor.” Throughout Sheryl’s life, she has had encounters with “the man in grey” that almost led to her demise, but equally as many encounters with his “competitor” in the form of a type of bird. In the end, Sheryl learns who holds more power in her life and how to adjust to that realization.

Throughout the story, the reader is given opportunities to examine their own lives and determine if there are any times that the “man in grey” might have surprised them by secretly causing havoc and wrongfully blamed on someone/thing else. Besondy’s approach to Satan’s involvement in our lives is eye-opening and enlightening to think of the spiritual battle that is faced every day between the “good” guy and the “bad” guy and how they are each fighting for our soul; one for self-pleasure and the other to keep us where we are meant to be. The finale will cause shock and dread and entice the reader to continue straight away to Charles Besondy’s first book, “The Hidden Saboteur.”