Summary: Eighteen years ago, at the age of twenty, Charlotte Graham was born. Before that, she had been known as Ruth, the girl who was kidnapped at sixteen and held for four years before being released. No one knows what happened during those four years, and if she has her way, no one will. Now, at thirty-eight, Charlotte is content to live out of the public eye and keep to herself, a hard thing to do, now that she finds herself the owner of one of the largest storage facilities in the USA. Sure, she has friends, but they are very few, mostly limited to the two in charge of her protection, John and Ellie.Enter Bryce Bishop, coin collector, and savvy businessman who isn't afraid of hard work. Owner of Bishop Chicago, a high end coin dealership, he meets Charlotte one evening after an interesting phone call from the head of the FBI's Chicago unit, and close friend, Paul Falcon. Paul instructs Bryce to trust Charlotte. Confused, Bryce quickly learns that she has bought the storefront next to his, and has filled it with some of the most valuable coins Bryce has ever seen. She wants to sell them to him - all of them. Not only that, there's more.
Bryce decides to give her a chance, as he is intrigued by her coins, and her past. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes he cares for Charlotte. She, on the other hand, is plagued by her past, her wealth, and a pesky reporter who is threatening to write a tell-all about her kidnapping, and place her in harms way once again. Together, they must learn to trust God, and each other, in order to survive what is coming next.
What I loved: Charlotte and Bryce are extremely well written. I enjoyed getting to know them, as well as John and Ellie. I also liked hearing from more characters from previous books - Paul and Ann, even Gage and his back story is the same as in the O'Malley's. I also enjoyed the leisurely pace this book had. It wasn't rushed, it wasn't in your face, it just kept you wanting to read more. Paul and Ann's secondary cold case that they are working on is a fun addition, and does help keep the story moving.
I thought it was very interesting that much of the action in this book takes place off set. You hear about it, but it isn't happening where you are. For some, that may be a little bit of a let down, because Ms. Henderson's other books are little more action filled. For others, it's a nice change of pace.
Spiritual Application: I also appreciated the struggles that the characters dealt with, especially about trusting God, and the struggle with forgiveness. I felt that Ms. Henderson dealt with the "why do bad things happen?" and "why should I believe in a God that allows evil men forgiveness?" questions extremely well. Bryce was very patient with Charlotte as she worked through these issues, and while there isn't a good answer to these questions, (easy yes, good, not so much), they were treated with respect, and gave the characters, and the reader much to think about. Forgiveness is a crazy hard wonderful thing. It's easy to forgive little stuff, but the big stuff, especially when it's been done to us, is HARD. God forgives everyone who asks, and the idea that someone who harms a child could be forgiven and enter heaven is horrible to me. Yet, I have to remember that sin is sin. I too am stained and dirty, and God still forgives me. If God didn't forgive something big like that, then it would mean that it is bigger than God, and nothing is bigger than Him. Forgiveness is something that we can only do with God's help, because only he is bigger than what has been done to us or by us. Without forgiveness, we would be just as lost an alone as those who have wronged us. What a precious, humbling gift!
The other issue this book tackled was that of good stewardship/financial responsibility. Charlotte comes into a rather large sum of money - an astounding amount, and has Bryce help her figure out what to do with it. While most people would use it for personal gain, Charlotte does not. Even though she is not sure where she stands on issues of faith, she still wants to give to worthy Christian causes. I love the shout outs to Samaritan's Purse and World Vision - two of my favorites as well. What would YOU do if you came into that kind of money? Who would you give it to?
What I didn't care for: There wasn't as much of a mystery as I thought there would be. I also wish more had been done with Gage, or with Ellie's past. The first part, while interesting, was a bit slow at times, thought I must admit, I learned a LOT about coins and coin collecting!
Overall, a great read! A little different than her previous ones, and if nothing else, you should at least read Full Disclosure before reading this book, if you haven't already. If you enjoy a cozy mystery, a tiny hint of romance, or coin collecting, you'll like this book!
Happy Reading!
Sarah
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