"Maybe we could start over today."
Sam Mattas returns to his beloved mountain home near Hot Springs, Arkansas a changed man. War will do that to a person, won't it? Still suffering nightmares and flashbacks, he tries to re-enter life with his family, only to realize that they are struggling mightily with who he has become, while dearly loving the man that he used to be. There are those, though, who are primed to take advantage of Sam's often addled state of mind; he's been gone for years, and the Mattas property is strategically located for nefarious activity . . . or is Sam just seeing things? . . . again.
In the midst of so much uncertainty, there's one thing about which Sam will never waver. . . his steadfast love towards his beautiful wife Annie and their little girl Rosie, whom he has just met for the very first time. But is Sam an asset or a liability to his family? Time will tell, for Sam's intense desire to protect those he loves has set off a chain of events that will be difficult, if not impossible, to stop.
What an outstanding debut novel!!! Deeply romantic, inspiring, interesting, and yes, even suspenseful . . . this book paints a beautiful picture . . . of a restoration project of sorts, for "sometimes you got to choose what you see. And sometimes God uses broken things to save us . . . Ain't no light that can get through something solid. It sneaks through the broken places. Give our Sam a chance to show you, and I'll bet you'll like what you see."
"Happily ever after don't happen lessen each person in a marriage works. It's like a team of horses . . . They both have to carry their own load."
Wise words, Dovie May!
*I purchased this book and was under no obligation to provide a positive review. 4.5 stars.
BackCover Blurb:
Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on—responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who’s come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam’s experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand—but that everyone is learning to fear.
Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn’t the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts?
Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she’s terrified he’s going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam’s mental wounds—or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life?
Debut novelist Janyre Tromp delivers a deliciously eerie, Hitchcockian story filled with love and suspense. Readers of psychological thrillers and historical fiction by Jaime Jo Wright and Sarah Sundin will add Tromp to their favorite authors list.
Kregel Publishing, April, 2022
Available in digital ebook, paperback, and audiobook:
Buy SHADOWS IN THE MIND'S EYE at Amazon, Christianbook .com, or Baker Book House
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