The Words between Us by Erin Bartels

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian Fiction
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary
Content: Clean as far as I can remember

 

Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.

When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book--a first edition Catcher in the Rye--is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to be exposed all over again?

 

This book seemed like it would be an intriguing read, plus I love that cover. I liked the mix of mystery with the love of books. It's a bit slow moving but that didn't really bother me. My main problem with it is that I just didn't find it all that memorable. The story is told in present day with flashbacks to the past. I found the past segments interesting, probably more so than what was happening in present day. 

One thing that I found missing with this being labeled a Christian book, is that it didn't feel as inspirational as I would have liked. I don't need scripture quoting and endless talking about God, but I would have liked to have felt inspired in some way after reading it. Instead, it felt more like a run-of-the-mill contemporary fiction with a mystery. In the end, I enjoyed this and I liked how things ended up for the characters, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. 

This is the first and only book I've read by this author. Would I read another book by her? Maybe. I think this was well written, even if it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.