Book Description: Before Audrey was the baker's wife, she was the pastor's wife. Then a scandalous lie cost her husband a pastoral career. Now the two work side-by-side running a bakery, serving coffee, and baking fresh bread. But the hurt still pulls at Audrey. Driving early one morning to the bakery, Audrey's car strikes something-or someone-at a fog-shrouded intersection. She finds a motor scooter belonging to a local teacher. Blood is everywhere, but there's no trace of a body. Both the scooter and the blood belong to detective Jack Mansfield's wife, and he's certain that Audrey is behind Julie's disappearance. But the case dead-ends and the detective spirals into madness. When he takes her family and some patrons hostage at the bakery, Audrey is left with a soul-damaged ex-con and a cynical teen to solve the mystery. And she'll never manage that unless she taps into something she would rather leave behind-her excruciating ability to feel other's pain.
Synopsis: Audrey and her husband Geoff were leading a church in their small town when a lie-filled scandal took it from them. They decide to stay in town and make a living by turning a hobby into a successful business. They work together operating a bakery and use the bakery as a way to minister to the community. Unfortunately, an accident and disappearance shatters their life, putting Audrey under a cloud of suspicion. A wayward ex-con ends up in their lives and carries secrets of her own. Through a hostage-taking, Audrey is forced to solve the mystery of the disappearance in order to save her husband and son.
Review: This book was not at all what I was expecting. It started slow but I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it once I got into it. I liked the suspense in the book but I was somewhat disappointed in the ending. It didn’t really “fit” with the rest of the book. I can’t really put my finger on exactly what my complaint is, it just felt somewhat forced in parts. I’m not saying that makes it a bad book or even one I’m sorry I read, it just wasn’t my favorite. One thing to note… I’m still not 100% sure how I feel about Audrey’s “gift” of being able to feel other people’s pain/sickness. I know the author explains it as feeling extreme empathy/compassion for others but I’m still a little uncomfortable with it. It’s not enough for me to not recommend the book to others, it’s a good book, I’m just not sure how others may react to Audrey’s gift. All in all, it was a good book; not my favorite but a good book all the same.
Thomas Nelson Publishers gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.
1 comment:
I felt the same way about Audrey's "gift." The explanation made sense, but it still made me feel just a little odd.
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