Annette Rodriguez has just learned that her husband, Tony, is dead. A victim of reckless drunk-driving teenagers, he died on the operating table while doctors tried to put him back together. With two children to care for, Annette is suddenly alone, not knowing what she should do. She has lived in San Antonio her entire married life, and it’s now her home, but she feels she should move back to Choice, Utah, where she grew up.
Her mother, Pat, is a bitter woman. Years before, Annette’s father was found embezzling tithing money from the Church, using his position in the bishopric to gain access to the funds. He was excommunicated, and not too long after that, he and Pat divorced. It was a painful time for Pat. The people in the community had a hard time looking past what had happened, and Pat eventually left the Church because of it.
Meanwhile, Becca James is traumatized. She was in the parking lot where Tony was killed, and she saw the accident. A friend of Tony’s, she was shocked to rush to the side of his car and see him so injured. He asked her to take his journal out of the back seat of the car and return it to Annette. She did, not knowing that would be the last time she would ever see Tony alive.
The journal, as it turns out, holds evidence that would put Becca’s father away for a long time. Larry Latham, the James’ attorney, is anxious to get his hands on it so he can destroy it. He would go down, just as Mr. James would.
This LDS suspense novel included some great twists and turns that I never saw coming, and overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I did find Tony’s car accident a little too coincidental, but that was really the only flaw I discovered. The novel was tense without being too tense, and I felt I got to know the characters and feel their emotions, always a plus.
(This book was published in 2004 by Covenant Communications.)
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