A fairly recent addition to the LDS romantic suspense lineup, “Voice in the Night” is the story of Lesley Kern, a television actress who has returned to her roots in Park City between filming jobs. Her family owned a home in a nearby community and while she’s in town, she wants to see if the house is still viable to be rented out. On the flight to Utah from Los Angeles, she meets Gareth Sanders, a restaurant owner from Park City who takes an immediate interest in her and her itinerary. He invites her to come to his restaurant any time, his hospitality generous, but his overt familiarity making Lesley a little uncomfortable.
Upon arriving in Park City, Lesley checks into her lovely vintage hotel room, and then begins to take in the sights. The book is set during the Sundance Film Festival of 2002, just before the Winter Olympics, and she has plans to participate in both. As we go with her on her sightseeing jaunts, we can tell that the author was either heavily involved in these events himself, or did a bit of digging to come up with the schedule of films and the events leading up to the games.
When Lesley goes to see about the house, she’s dismayed to find that the exterior has been investigated by a hungry woodpecker, and it appears that a family of cats has taken up residence in the basement. These were not the renters she had in mind, so she calls a pest removal company, only to come face to face with Jim Shepherd, the handsome owner/operator. Together they check the house over and Jim comes up with an estimate for his work, but before they leave for the day, Lesley has a startling experience – when glancing at an old mirror, she sees the reflection of a little girl dressed in pioneer clothing.
As Jim helps Lesley clean up the old house, she has more episodes which lead her to believe that she is being visited by a relative from another time. Does this relative mean her harm, or is she being warned of danger coming from a more tangible source?
I liked the plot of this book quite a bit. I did find some of it repetitive – many of the chapters begin with Lesley saying her prayers, which is a great thing (I’m all for prayers) but some varying in the structure would have been nice. I thought Jim quoted John Wayne a few too many times. I also felt in some places that I was reading a Park City guidebook rather than a novel. But overall, the suspense was great and I was immersed in (and a little freaked out by) the ghost plot twist.
(This book was published by Covenant Communications in 2006.)
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