Jack, Pamela, and their two girls seem to live the perfect Christian life until a stalker harasses Pam in their home. Narrowly escaping to a neighbor’s house, she calls the police, but they aren’t too concerned at first. The danger escalates as they realize this man is no random criminal but a shadow from Pam’s past. Pam fights her fear because she doesn’t want to end up like her recluse mother who is paralyzed by it on a daily basis. Jack fights his anger, an emotion he has accommodated in the past, but has put behind him. Both of them just want the culprit caught and their lives back.
Along with the stress of the search for the stalker, Jack also struggles to meet his deadlines as a journalist for the Trenton City Dispatch. He is called on to unravel the confusion surrounding the disappearance of Evan McDaniel, a local pastor. Not all is what it seems in that church, as Jack finds out in the course of his interviews of the staff and members.
Creston Mapes is a solid, deep writer. His previous novels are nothing short of fantastic, which is why I became a huge fan of his from the beginning. There is so much in this novel to praise. The characters are well-written, the ending is amazing, and the spiritual lessons are many. Mapes has tackled some of the most controversial and difficult topics in evangelical Christianity, not to mention American culture: depression and anxiety disorders, hypocrisy in the church, suffering, God’s sovereignty, guns used in self defense, mental illness as a result of traumatic personal events, forgiveness of those who have hurt you, abuse in the name of God, and the list could go on. He definitely gets the reader thinking.
The book is definitely suspenseful, and hits a good speed part way through. I enjoy a faster-paced story with much more scariness and danger, but for those who like it milder and with lots of inner dialog from all the point-of-view characters, this one’s for you. I happily recommend it.
