The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman

A grief that knows no boundary. 
A love without any limit. 
A need that doesn’t end at death. Corrie Saunders grew up in a life of privilege. But she gave it all up for Jarrod, her Army husband, a man she knew was a hero when she vowed to spend her life with him. She just didn’t expect her hero to sacrifice his life taking on an Iraqi suicide bomber.Six months after Jarrod’s death, Corrie retreats to the family home her husband inherited deep in the Missouri Ozarks. She doesn’t know how to live without Jarrod—she doesn’t want to. By moving to Saunders Creek and living in a house beloved by him, she hopes that somehow her Jarrod will come back to her.

Something about the house suggests maybe he has. Corrie begins to wonder if she can feel Jarrod’s presence.

Jarrod’s cousin Eli is helping Corrie with the house’s restoration and he knows that his dead cousin is not what Corrie senses. Eli, as a believing man and at odds with his mystically-oriented family members, thinks friendly visits from beyond are hogwash.  But he takes spirits with dark intentions seriously. Can he convince Corrie that letting go of Jarrod will lead to finding her footing again— and to the One she can truly put her faith into?

My Comments:  Corrie Saunders recently lost her husband, Jarrod, of about 7 years.  He was killed in the line of duty to his country.  Corrie moves into a family owned house that Jarrod leaves to her in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.  Surprisingly, she loves it!  Eli, Jarrod’s cousin, a preacher/contractor is renovating the house for her.  Strange things happen in this house, however.  Doors slam.  Food falls all over the table.  Shadows appear. Corrie thinks Jarrod is making an appearance, but Eli does not agree.  He thinks an evil spirit inhabits the house.  Corrie misses Jarrod so desperately, she is willing to believe anything.  Aunt Trudy seems to agree with her that Jarrod is visiting.  It sounds like some people living in this region believe in ghosts, etc.  Some of these people are in the Saunders family.
In some ways, this book reminds me of a Frank Peretti book, although not as graphic.  I believe in the spirit world, so I don’t have too much trouble with this aspect of the book, however, I also read mysteries and was waiting throughout the book for the mystery of the occurances to be solved.  It was, but not in the way I expected.  This is also a sweet romance story.  Eli is the perfect man – polite, caring, thoughtful, handsome, etc AND Jarrod’s cousin.  Some of the characters could have been developed more.  I enjoyed this book, although not one of my favorites.  If I were rating with stars, it would be 3 out of 5.
I received this book through Blogging for Books for an honest review.  I have done that.  It is published by WaterBrook Multnomah.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 21st, 2012 at 2:01 pm

This post was written bySally and is filed under Christian Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman”

  1. tracey Bateman Says:
    July 21st, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    Thank you for a good, thoughtful review. I’ll take three stars accompanied by an intelligent review like this one. :) God bless!

  2. Diane Says:
    July 23rd, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    Thanks for your honest review. I had seen this book and wondered about it. :O)

  3. Melissa @ Melissa's Bookshelf Says:
    July 28th, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    Nice review! I do love that cover :-) Thanks for your honest thoughts.

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