The Familiar Stranger, by Christina Berry

The Familiar Stranger, Berry's debut novel, opens with a scene between a couple whose marriage is obviously in trouble. Craig goes his way, Denise goes hers. Then she receives a phone call that changes the stakes from the everyday to stunning suspense.

Craig has been in a devastating accident, and when he wakes from a drug-induced coma he no longer remembers Denise or their life together. Berry ramps up the story from a domestic plot to page-turning suspense as one revelation about Craig’s past follows another. Betrayals, lies, and false memories all play into the mystery of their marriage.

Told from two points of view, we see Denise reel as she grapples with discoveries from Craig’s secret life. At the same time we share Craig’s bewilderment at finding himself part of a family he doesn't remember, and being accused of things he has no recollection of doing.

The Familiar Stranger moves quickly, and kept me riveted to the story when I should have turned off the light and gone to sleep. Berry does a masterful job of bringing all the plot points together at the satisfying conclusion.

I recommend The Familiar Stranger, and look forward to Berry’s next novel. Inspirational fiction has a new star.

Please stop by again on October 9. I'll be posting an interview with Christina.

Where in the World Are You? contest winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my newsletter contest. Bob in Kentucky is the winner of the $15 Amazon.com gift certificate.

I loved reading all the entries from around the country and outside our borders. G'day to my Australian readers! Special greetings to friends in British Columbia and Alaska! I know, Alaska is part of our country, but it's fun to see how far my book traveled.

Hope you'll all be on the watch for the next newsletter contest, coming sometime during the holiday season.

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Blessings,

Ann

Riding Lessons, by Sara Gruen

Riding Lessons was Sara Gruen's debut novel. I'd never heard of it, but like most readers, had definitely heard of her later book, Water for Elephants (which I loved!)

Riding Lessons is an entertaining story about a former world-class equestrian, told from her point of view twenty years after her glory days. I seem to be on a horse kick lately, as I recently reviewed Deborah Vogt's Snow Melts in Spring, which also concerned horses.

Gruen's book takes a different approach, in that it's almost a love story between Annemarie Zimmer and the horse that took her to championship status. The novel opens with a brief flashback to Annemarie's youth, then drops the reader smack in the middle of her current life with one of the best introductory chapters I’ve ever read. By the time I reached Chapter Three I was glued to the pages with horrified fascination, the way you'd watch a train wreck.

Gruen did an amazing job of writing throughout the book, although at times I felt Annemarie’s behavior was a little over the top. I'd recommend Riding Lessons, with the caveat that if you loved Water for Elephants, you probably won’t like this one as much. But for a story about a woman and horses, it’s one of the most interesting novels you’ll ever read.