TITLE:  Living Lies
AUTHOR:  Natalie Walters
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: *****

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Opening this suspense novel was like walking into someone else’s nightmare. The author reveals the inner darkness of Lane so well, I felt the shadows that chased her.

Her son, Noah, brightened her life and my reading with his innocence and energy. I fell in love with him immediately. The sheriff and his delightful wife were integral parts of the story, as their love and faith surrounded those they cared for—especially Lane.

Family secrets and dysfunction created even more issues; when murder becomes a political tool, no one wins.

The supporting cast of characters—plus the humid, oppressive heat of Georgia—enhanced this well-written story. The faith aspect shone brightly, changing lives as it should.
​
Living Lies reveals the pain of mental illness, including PTSD, and helped me understand the guilt, fear and isolation it can cause. This book earns five stars and is highly recommended. I received a copy of Living Lies from Graf-Martin Communications and Baker Publishing Group.
 

TITLE:  Whose Waves These Are
AUTHOR:  Amanda Dykes
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
STARS: *****
​
In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny, coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes.

Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help. What she didn't anticipate was finding a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Long-ago memories of stone ruins on a nearby island trigger her curiosity, igniting a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.

She joins forces with the handsome and mysterious harbor postman, and all her hopes of mending the decades-old chasm in her family seem to point back to the ruins. But with Robert failing fast, her search for answers battles against time, a foe as relentless as the ever-crashing waves upon the sea. 

Whose Waves These Are wraps itself around you with lyrical prose and deep emotions. Family ties and secrets keep the plot steadily moving back and forth through time at a steady pace, as these mysteries require a slower pace for their resolution.

The faith message in this story is quiet but true, as are the romances. The theme running through Whose Waves These Are is the necessity of hope, the hope of better things, the hope of love gained. Forgiveness and grace weave these disparate characters together, sometimes in spite of themselves.

Through secrets unveiled and sorrows endured, I appreciated this story, smiling at times,  wiping tears at others. Whose Waves These Are earns five stars.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications and Baker Publishing Group.

TITLE:  Homecoming (Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek, Book 1)
AUTHOR:  Carolyne Aarsen
DATE:  2017
PUBLISHER: Misty Ridge Publishing
STARS: *****

A heart broken twice from love and family. Can a trip to the ranch give her a second chance with both?

Sheryl Kyle isn’t the trusting type. After all, her abusive late husband and her disapproving stepfather haven’t given her much reason to feel otherwise. But when a rugged rancher named Mark seeks her out, she learns her stepfather is on his deathbed. And his dying wish is for her to return to Sweet Creek for one last chance to reconcile.

Mark can’t help but be fascinated by Sheryl. Despite hearing the worst about her from her stepbrother, he’s drawn to the hauntingly beautiful woman. When his ranching partner suffers an injury at the worst possible time, he’s surprised and delighted that Sheryl agrees to work by his side.

As Sheryl and Mark’s friendship deepens, she suppresses her growing feelings toward him. Can she forgive her family and herself before Mark too becomes a man of her past?

I’ve read several books by Carolyne Aarsen, and while I’ve enjoyed each one, this is my favorite so far. Her often tender/sometimes gritty prose pulled me into the story and kept me captive until the end. Sheryl broke my heart with her painful past, guilt and longing for wholeness. And Mark’s faithful patience is the perfect foil for her. I loved Mark’s family and understood the conflicts in Sheryl’s. Watching love peel away Sheryl’s layers of anger and guilt was a privilege.

The faith aspect of this story touched my heart; it clearly showed the necessity of faith and forgiveness.
​
The familiar settings of British Columbia and Alberta added a sense of homecoming for my imagination, too. I loved Homecoming and award it five stars. Highly recommended.