Erin Healy's The Baker's Wife ~ Reviewed

The Baker's Wife [Paperback]

Erin Healy (Author)

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Original edition (October 4, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1595547525

Description:

Before Audrey was the baker's wife, she was the pastor's wife.

Then a scandalous lie cost her husband a pastoral career. Now the two work side-by-side running a bakery, serving coffee, and baking fresh bread. But the hurt still pulls at Audrey.

Driving early one morning to the bakery, Audrey's car strikes something-or someone-at a fog-shrouded intersection. She finds a motor scooter belonging to a local teacher. Blood is everywhere, but there's no trace of a body.

Both the scooter and the blood belong to detective Jack Mansfield's wife, and he's certain that Audrey is behind Julie's disappearance.

But the case dead-ends and the detective spirals into madness. When he takes her family and some patrons hostage at the bakery, Audrey is left with a soul-damaged ex-con and a cynical teen to solve the mystery. And she'll never manage that unless she taps into something she would rather leave behind-her excruciating ability to feel other's pain.

Review:

Erin Healy blends supernatural gifting and challenging topics and bakes up a satisfying, fragrant, crusty-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside read.

Audrey was married to a pastor, and one of her ministries was delivering fresh bread she and her husband made to parishioners that God laid on her heart. However, a scandal erupts in the church and Audrey and Geoff are pushed out of the ministry and into baking as a career.

One day the unbelievable happens and the elder who pushed the hardest to have Geoff step down as pastor is in the middle of it all.

Audrey is left, with the help of an ex-con in town to atone for her past, to solve a mystery, and save those nearest and dearest to her when the situation explodes.

Healy handles some heavy topics in this unique novel including depression and religiosity vs relationship. She mixes in the Holy Spirit's working in individuals and fallout of church fractures. This is a well told story with a heavy mix of complex characters. Those who love fiction light might find this a little too overwhelming due to the topics. But Healy does a terrific job with the mixing and blending of ingredients and those who love hearty Christian fiction might want to check it out.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer