The Camera Never Lies by David Rawlings is a thought-provoking Inspirational novel.

Daniel Whitely's inheritance from his beloved Gramps is a vintage camera and a photo album he has never seen. Daniel is touched by the accompanying letter but confused by the photos. Nevertheless, he is eager to try out the camera but he is very perplexed by the pictures he receives after they are developed. The images capture his life as it really is, not how Daniel perceives it. Growing more disturbed with each set of prints, Daniel clings to the secrets he has been keeping but at what cost?

Daniel is a successful marriage counselor and author of a bestselling book. But his marriage to wife Kelly is in serious trouble and their twelve year old daughter Milly is also struggling. Daniel is frustrated by Kelly's continued conviction that he is having an affair in spite of his firm denials. He and Milly have always been quite close but she refuses to discuss what is troubling her. Daniel is extremely overdue turning in his second book and he is under immense pressure from his publisher to turn in his manuscript. He is also very alarmed by what the pictures are revealing to him. But will Daniel be willing to do what is necessary to change what could be a bleak future?

Kelly is working as a pharmaceutical saleswoman for a wonder drug for children. Due to her increasing concerns about Milly and the drug she is selling, Kelly would love to quit her increasingly stressful job. The delay in Daniel turning in the book means they are counting on her income to maintain their current lifestyle. Kelly's dissatisfaction with her marriage is also weighing very heavily as her suspicions that Daniel is being unfaithful continue to grow. Daniel's secrecy over his photographs leads her to take drastic steps to try to understand what is causing him such anxiety.

Milly is becoming more and more withdrawn from her family but she refuses to tell what is wrong. She grows even more apprehensive after a celebration with her parents and her father's co-workers at their home. As the situation continues to worsen, Milly is becoming more and more desperate. Will Daniel and Kelly be able help their daughter before it is too late?

The Camera Never Lies is a captivating novel with a powerful message. Daniel and Kelly are interesting characters who are well fleshed and grappling with life altering decisions. The storyline is quite unique and well executed. David Rawlings brings this clever novel to an uplifting, satisfying conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this interesting novel.
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When Daniel’s dear grandfather dies, he leaves Daniel his beloved camera. He knew how his grandfather treasured this camera! On the bottom of the camera is engraved, “No matter what you think you might see, the camera never lies.” Along with the camera, his grandfather left him a small album of some of the photographs he had taken. The photographs were strange, though. No one looked like they were aware of being photographed. No one smiled, either.

As Daniel receives this gift, he is facing lots of problems in his life. His publisher calls often, and he finds he cannot write another best seller. His advance has already been spent! In addition, his marriage is failing, and his daughter is troubled. To top it off, someone is using his camera. He hasn’t taken one picture, and the roll is all used up!

This is an interesting book. It is about facing the truth. It has a valuable message. However, I found it preachy. Also, this plot has been done before. Sadly, I also found it predictable.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )

Imagine having secrets from those you love and should share everything with all the time. This situation is exactly what happens to Daniel and his wife Kelly. The secrets they are keeping from each other could potentially devastate each other and their daughter. But then Daniel’s beloved grandfather dies and leaves him a camera. Daniel begins to experience strange things, such as an entire roll of film being taken by someone other than him. But even stranger, when the pictures are developed Daniel sees things that never happened.

When a marriage counselor and his wife are having marital problems, who can they turn to (especially when the marriage counselor is a best-selling author who has secrets of his own? I love how the story slowly winds its way through unexpected twists and turns. Millie, daughter of Daniel and Kelly, is one of my favorite characters. She sees everything and only wants her life to return to normal.

The book ends on a note I was happy with, but then an epilogue enters the scene that makes me want to read more about the characters in this book. I feel there are so many more stories that need to be told. So check out this book for yourself. It is definitely worth reading.

I received a copy of this book for my fair and honest review. ( )

All throughout the book I kept having this pop into my head; "A picture is worth a thousand words." In this story I was hoping for words to set people free from shame, lies, deceit and temptations. The author missed the mark in getting his message across with too many characters with problems and a twist on seeing someone's inner thoughts.

The main character is a marriage counselor and a bestselling author. He is finding success in his life, but what if it was based on lies? Daniel wasn't easy to like because he just felt like a person who goes through the motions but his heart isn't really there. Over and over he continues to help couples while his own marriage is in shambles. It is funny that there were signs that his life was turning upside down, but he pushed it aside until pictures he takes with a special camera makes him face reality.

There is a lot going on in the book and at times I felt it was too busy. We have a man on the brink of disaster, a wife who has to choose between integrity or hiding the truth about her company and a troubled daughter who screams for help but no one hears her. I understand where the author was going with the book, but I wanted more meat and less whining. I may be one of the few but I was't as blown away about the book as others. I didn't see any faith elements in the book but perhaps the author had that thought while letting us glimpse inside characters thoughts. Secrets are huge in this book and as we all know they always find a way to come out.

I liked the book to a point but I guess I could already figure out what was going to happen. I wanted the author to give examples of what happens if a character chooses the wrong path or even giving readers a reason to sympathize with characters. I didn't really like Simon and couldn't quite connect with him. He didn't seem to fully have compassion for others and almost couldn't wait for the pictures to expose the truth of someone's thoughts. Although I didn't like the book as much as others, I hope readers will give the book a try and come to their own conclusions.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. ( )

“No matter what you think you might see, the camera never lies.”

Because I heard so many positive remarks about “The Baggage Handler”, I decided to give “The Camera Never Lies” a try. Photography doesn’t really interest me, although I do enjoy looking at nature and wildlife photos, and I have never been a fan of having my picture taken. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when I skimmed the synopsis, either. Had I not read so many favorable reviews when this author’s previous book toured with CelebrateLit, I likely wouldn’t have signed up to review this one, and I’m glad that I did!

Blending elements of magical realism and allegory, David Rawlings’ “The Camera Never Lies” explores the secrets that we hide and the consequences to which they lead. This story reminds me of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” television series, and I can easily envision it as an episode; likewise, if this book had a theme song, I think that Natalie Grant’s “The Real Me” would be a perfect fit. Rawlings offers great insight into the human psyche and how one lie leads to a cascade effect, even subtle lies such as pretending that things are fine when they’re not. Using a camera to develop the ideas in the narrative is brilliantly apropos because “[t]he camera reveals how our lives truly are. We can’t trick it, even if sometimes we think we can trick ourselves and everyone around us.” Furthermore, “Truth cannot simply be avoided, covered up, or ignored, and the camera chooses the truth it shows.” The symbolism also works well, as with the fictional prescription drug Mendacium, which references the term “mendacious” and its Latin etymology from words meaning “lying” and “fault.” The revelations from the storyline filter through the lens of truth, exposing the lies.

One aspect of this book that I did struggle with was the characters. I didn’t particularly like any of them, with the occasional exception of Simon, nor did I feel a personal connection with any of them. I found myself groaning and rolling my eyes a bit with David, in particular, but to be fair, his reactions are believable and his approach to life is essential to the plot’s execution. Also, although there is no direct mention of faith, there are easy parallels to Christianity throughout the text and in the theme of uprightness vs. deceitfulness. Sometimes we, like Kelly, might think that honesty doesn’t always work, but as Simon tells her, “Well, sometimes your honesty doesn’t produce results you can see with your eyes. Sometimes the results are about your own integrity.” This immediately brought to mind Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It all comes down to trust. We have to decide who or what we are going to trust in, ourselves or the Lord, and when we choose to trust in Jesus, we find the truth, the way, and the life. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

I received a complimentary copy of this book through CelebrateLit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own. ( )