The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman ~ review

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press; First Edition edition (May 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307730441
• ISBN-13: 978-0307730442

This book is also available in e-book format.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 take on this book:

I have always been fascinated by hauntings.  Nothing gets me more intrigued than a good ghost story and that's just what I found within the pages of "The Widow of Saunders Creek" by Tracey Bateman.

Corrie Saunders just longs to have her husband back, and really doesn't know how to go on with her life without him in it. Jarrod was an army man, who didn't make it back home from the Iraqi war.  So six months after his death Corrie decides to move into the family home her husband inherited in the hopes that somehow he will be able to come back to her.  As she decides to renovate the house, Jarrod's cousin Eli, who happens to be a pastor decides to lend his assistance. Soon Corrie starts sensing a presence and wants to believe that it is Jarrod. While Eli has never believed that people can visit from the beyond, he does believe in evil spirits, and thinks that is what is making its presence known at the house. 

Wow, labeled as a fiction/suspense I found this book really different from most christian suspense that I normally read. First of all we have Corrie who misses her husband, and I actually felt a bit of resentment from her, because her husband died and left her alone. She was very fortunate to have someone like Eli in her life. He was always there for whatever she needed, as I saw him becoming her best friend, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps something more might develop. I couldn't help but wonder though if she would ever be able to let go of the past to embrace a future. There were several secondary characters that were quite interesting. The paranormal twist was really an added bonus for me, and I really thought the author did a great job of bringing it into perspective, while keeping a christian feel to the story. Overall a great read that weaves together a bit of romance along with a paranormal slant that made this book a page turner for me. I am never disappointed with anything that I read by Tracey Bateman and always look forward to where her imagination will take me next!

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.