"The Widow of Saunders Creek" by Tracy Bateman

Review: Corrie Saunders is an army wife who is deeply in love with her husband Jarrod.  She gave up a life of luxury and her art for Jarrod and was perfectly content to spend the rest of her life with Jarrod and raising a family.  It seemed to be the perfect dream -- until Jarrod became a hero and sacrificed his life when he stopped an Iraqi suicide bomber.  Now Corrie's dreams are shattered.

She retreats to the family home her husband inherited situated deep in the Missouri Ozarks.  She longs for Jarrod's presence and feels that by moving back to the home place, she can hold onto Jarrod.

Corrie has hired Jarrod's cousin Eli to help with the renovations of the homeplace.  Eli is a pastor of a small local church and senses Corrie's deep desire to hold onto Jarrod.  Eli also has certain family members who believe in spirits and communicating with the dearly departed.  He warns Corrie to be careful about getting involved with these family members, but Corrie senses that Jarrod is near and her longing to have Jarrod back is a strong pull to this spirit world.  Can Eli help Corrie see the dangers and that she has to let Jarrod go?  Can Eli help Corrie renew her faith and look to the One who will ultimately never leave her?

This is a enjoyable book and shows how grief can take over our lives and lead us down paths that can be harmful.  Tracy Bateman has written a good story using characters and situations that we can certainly relate to and clearly shows that God is truly the only one who can ease our grief.  She has also done a good job at dealing with the "spirit world" and how nothing but trouble can come from associating/communicating with demons.  I'm not one who usually enjoys reading anything about the spirit or demon world.  I'm not necessarily a scaredy cat about these things, but I know that they are real.  The Bible is clear about our not giving room for Satan's influence, which can be very powerful and easily control a weak or young Christian. That being said, I did like this book and will probably read some of her other books when given the opportunity. (rev. P.Howard)

Read an Excerpt

About the book. . . . . . .

A grief that knows no boundary.
A love without any limit.
A need that doesn’t end at death.

 

About the author: Tracey Bateman lives in the Missouri Ozarks with her husband and family. With more than thirty novels in print, including Thirsty and Tandem, Tracey spends all her time telling tales, creating characters, and dreaming of other worlds. 
DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided to us in exchange for our honest review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer.