Sunday, February 5, 2012

A Slow Burn by Mary E. DeMuth



book cover

A Slow Burn
by Mary E. DeMuth


ISBN-13: 9780310278375
Trade Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: October 1, 2009


Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Christianbook.com:
Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy's murderer-a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. Not even the kindness of her persistent suitor Hixon can soften her heart towards the community of friends that long for her healing. And as the questions surrounding Daisy continue to mount, and Emory's safety is shattered by the tattooed man's dark pursuit, she can't shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy's disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?


My Review:
A Slow Burn is a Christian historical novel set in 1977 in Texas. This is the second novel in the series. You can understand and enjoy the story even if you haven't read the first novel, but I got the feeling the story would have had even more depth (and there was plenty already) if I'd read the first book before this one.

This was one of those stories that drew me in and came vividly to life in my imagination, but I think it had more to do with a few, select setting details combined with vividly drawn characters. You truly got to know Emory and Hixon's deepest thoughts, hurts, and fears--nothing held back. The characters were realistic in their reactions to the events and in their coping mechanisms.

The low-level suspense came from the mysterious break-ins at Emory's house and people's worries that the murderer might strike again. When the story ends, we still don't know the name of whodunit, but Emory has finally admitted the truth about herself to herself and started down her road of healing. It's a long, hard, and painful road for her to get to that point, and I suspect it's not going to be an easy road for her from this point on, either.

There was a Christian element--God is clearly involved in these character's lives and is pursuing a closer relationship with them. It didn't come across as one character preaching to another, though--it's more people loving each other like Christ loves us. There was a minor amount of "he swore" style and fake bad language. Emory did use drugs. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

No, i have not read this novel...but you did an awesome job in your review of making me want to! So this goes on my list. Thanks for a job well done.

Debbie said...

You're welcome. I always enjoy helping readers get connected with books that sound interesting to them. :)