The Baker's Wife - Erin Healy

            Only a few months ago, Geoff was a Pastor and his wife was the ideal pastor’s wife with a very unique and special gift that has connected her to many people; but then, when the church is stirred to fury by a rumor spread by an elder, Geoff is banned from the church and from ever seeking a position as a pastor in another church.  Now Geoff, Audrey, and their son Ed have to start over.  Turning to their love of baking, they open a bakery; but only a few months later, while they are still in pain and trying to heal from the horrible lie that destroyed everything they once had, Audrey and Ed are in an accident.  Trying to drive in the fog that never seems to break during this time of year, Audrey hits something that she discovers to be the scooter that belongs to the wife of the church elder who destroyed her husband’s career.  What makes everything worse is that there is blood everywhere—and the blood is confirmed to belong to his wife…but where is Jack’s wife?  She has disappeared and Jack, the church elder, is determined that Audrey has everything to do with her disappearance.  In desperation, Jack takes Geoff, Ed, and 3 others as his hostages in the bakery—with the promise that he will start killing if Audrey does not tell the truth and bring his wife back to him.  Will Audrey be able to use the unique gift that she doesn’t always appreciate to find Jack’s wife before he destroys everything she has left?

            “The Baker’s Wife” is a beautiful story with characters that find a place in the heart of each reader.  In a country where 95% of the population claim to be Christian, but only about 1/3 of those people actually live the life of a follower of Christ, it is refreshing to read about a family that shows Christ in every aspect of their lives—even though they are fictional characters.  Audrey is the perfect example of a godly woman and an image for women to aspire to match in their daily lives.  All Christians like to say they trust God with everything, but very few trust God like Geoff, who lives in full submission and humility, aware of his inability to understand the ways of God and fix matters that only God can repair.  Ed is the typical teenager who tries to follow Christ but still makes typical teenage mistakes—except that he has faith that can move mountains and he lives a life of repentance.  How many teenagers do we see who live that kind of lifestyle?  These beautiful god-fearing characters are not the only characters that the reader will not soon forget, however, since the reader is also introduced to characters who are seriously disturbed.  I really enjoyed analyzing Jack, who is the first person to quote scripture in every other sentence, but creeps the reader out when he quotes scripture since his theology is very off, he lacks a true understanding of the words that he speaks, and he takes drastic ungodly measures to bring about what he sees as justice.  As a strong law-enforcement officer who emphasizes works, Jack is a great demonstration of the danger of legalism; but at the same time, his character reminds the reader of the beauty of grace!

            While “The Baker’s Wife” was very predictable and didn’t present a lot of surprises, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more by Erin Healy in the future!  It was a beautiful and page-turning story that I couldn’t put down!  I ended up reading the majority of the book in 1 day because once I got about a third of the way through, I couldn’t put it down and just kept reading until I was finished!  I found that the majority of my interest was captured by the characters who were so fascinating!  As a psychology grad student, I was thoroughly entertained with the task of analyzing every single one of them (haha!). This is a story that I will not soon forget! 4 stars!

*Thomas Nelson publishing provided an advanced copy of "The Baker's Wife" in exchange for my honest review*

"Waking Hours" - Lis Wiehl

            Tommy and Dani are re-united after nearly 12 years apart after their graduation from High School—where Dani was able to resist Tommy’s charms and the connection she felt at the homecoming dance.  Now, 12 years later, they partner to help solve a gruesome and tragic crime—the shocking and gory murder of a local high school girl.  The only suspects are other teenagers who were at a party with the girl; however, none of them claim to have known her well and none of them can remember what happened that night.  It becomes apparent to Dani and Tommy that there is more to this case than meets the eye and that supernatural and spiritual connections can no longer be considered impossible.  One thing they do know is that it would take a very disturbed and evil person to do what was done to Julie Leonard.  Is it possible that the killer isn’t even human?  The case forces Dani and Tommy to evaluate everything they believe in and face the possibility that the murder that they are trying to solve may have a demonic connection to the unseen.

            As I began reading “Waking Hours”, I felt like the story that Lis Wiehl was most likely going for was very interesting; however, it didn’t take me long to realize that she may have not been able to accomplish all of her ideas for this story.  While the concept of demonic activity in relations to a murder was interesting, and her portrayal of the unseen was extremely creepy and, at many points, definitely scared me to the point to where I nearly stopped reading and strongly considered writing a review stating that I was incapable of finishing the book, it seemed as if, overall, nothing ever really happened throughout the story.  The plot was weak and the ending was borderline intense and was over in an instant.  I expected that with a story about demonic influences on a human, that the ending would be almost too much for me to handle; but as soon as the “intense” ending started, it was over within 2 pages.  I think the story had a lot of potential if written by the right author; however, I think it may have been a little much for Lis Wiehl. 

            I did love the characters of Dani and Tommy.  As a matter of fact, it was their characters that kept me reading and gave me the will to finish the book even though it creeped me out.  Tommy is every girl’s dream and I found that with every page, I wished more and more that he was real haha.  The growing relationship between Dani and Tommy is very sweet but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who likes a good love story because that is just on the side.  Someone who favors love stories would be more likely to not be able to handle the creepiness and the demonic aspects of the story.

            Also, as a psychology student who has strongly considered forensic psychology several times throughout my education, I really enjoyed Dani’s character as a forensic psychologist.  If you like crime-solving stories and tv-shows that only focus on the solving of a crime but don’t really go anywhere, then this is your kind of book.  The crime-solving aspect was very interesting and it kept me wanting to know what happened next enough to keep me motivated to read; however, if you are looking for a well-developed plot, you won’t find it in “Waking Hours”. 

            Overall, I’d say I’d give the book 3 stars.  I give it that because I did LOVE the characters of Dani and Tommy and I enjoyed the crime-solving—since I enjoy a couple of more comical crime-solving stories and tv-shows such as “The Mentalist” and “Psych”; and I could see myself as possibly reading the rest of the series for the characters and crime-solving; however, mainly it’s because I try not to start a series and not finish it; so it’s possible that you may see reviews for the rest of the series as they are released.  Also, the last page (I can’t provide information without a spoiler), only added more to the possibilities of the story line.  Can Lis Wiehl salvage this story and do everything that she has most likely imagined for the story?

There are many authors much higher on my “to-read” list for now; so if I ever do pick up another book for this series by Lis Wiehl, hopefully she will have found a way to strengthen the plot. 

*Thomas Nelson Publishing provided an advanced copy of "Waking Hours" in exchange for my honest review*