Ten Years Taken, book #35

 

This book stumped me.  Let me tell you why.  

I was going to read it after I finished the insane Rachel Price book, but I knew I would need a little break since it looked like they were going to be somewhat similar.

I was the one who chose this book for our regular book club, and I was so excited to read it.  I absolutely LOVE Susannah B. Lewis as a person and her FB posts make me laugh out loud and ponder many things.  I had just had the opportunity to see her (and my other two podcast besties Angela and Fran) at a women's conference back in October.  That was the first time I had met her and she was just as lovely in person as she is on FB.  Real, gritty, hilarious, in love with Jesus and her fam.  I have read another one of her books and thoroughly enjoyed.  

And don't get me wrong, I loved this book too.  It looks like it was written earlier, in fact this may have been one of the first ones she wrote, although Amazon says this is a revised edition, so I'm not sure what was revised.  My challenge was, there was language in here that made me uncomfortable to read.  That made me uncomfortable to think about this being from a Christian author. At this point, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt, in that this was probably written when maybe she didn't have as much Jesus in her.  And we all know, nobody's perfect.  I am *certainly* not throwing the first stone, as I know there are just as many that could be thrown at me.  I was just a little embarrassed that I had raved over Susannah and how amazing she was as a Biblical teacher to my Book Club Buddies, only to then read the book and see the language in it.  

On a rainy September day in 2001, a stranger enters Elle Holley’s car and forces her to drive hours away from her Nashville home. The terrified young mother fears her life will soon end at the hand of her abductor. But Elle learns that her kidnapper, Jonathan Marsh, is a prominent Houston businessman who claims to be saving her from a life of middle-class monotony by taking her home to Texas, marrying her and molding her into the ultimate socialite. With a new identity, Elle is forced to play the role of Jonathan’s loving housewife, and it doesn’t take long for her to discover that her new husband is an incredibly powerful and cunning man. Elle is accepted by high society, and she slowly forms friendships, but soon secrets are uncovered that leave her wondering if her husband is truly the villain. Will Elle Holley ever be reunited with her daughter and with her life of middle-class monotony? (picture and description at Amazon)

But we keep reading anyway ... 

:)

Melissa