Deeper than Need by Shiloh Walker
06/11/2014
Trinity Ewing is looking to start a new life and safe home for her son far from the heartache and scandal she left behind on the East Coast. She found a beautiful old house in need of renovations in a small town in rural Indiana. Madison is picturesque surrounded by Amish communities, and on the surface appears to be everything Trinity is looking for. But Madison isn’t what it seems & her old house has a horrible history.
Noah Benningfield has spent his whole life in Madison and knows
something of the town's dark side. Noah is a former pastor, contractor and an alcoholic who counsels some of Madison’s troubled kids. He does his best for a community that hasn’t done the best by him.
When an accident at Trinity’s house uncovers a long-dead body hidden in the cellar, Noah and Trinity are targeted by those who want to keep some of Madison's dark secrets from coming to light.
Why I read it: The blurb caught my eye and I was very curious to read a book with alcoholic ex-preacher contractor.
As the wife of a pastor I am always interested in the portrayal of pastors in popular fiction, particularly romance novels. In popular fiction it is very rare to see pastor presented in positive ways, and it is even rarer to see one with a complex and troubled history instead of being a caricature. I particularly appreciated how his faith and vocational history was organically revealed in the story.
What worked for me: I like the slow development of the romance for Trinity and Noah. Trinity has been very badly hurt, and Noah is only starting to get over the loss of his girlfriend 20 years ago in murky circumstances. Both carry bad memories, and are cautious people.
What didn’t work for me:
While not central to the story the portrayal of the Amish community and particularly Caine Yoder, Noah’s friend seemed a bit odd. I felt there were some missing pieces to their characterization, to the point of it not being clear if Caine is actually Amish or simply loosely affiliated with them. There are three e-novellas about some of the supporting characters that were released before this and I don't know if the peculiar nature of the Amish community near Madison were established there or not.
4 out 5 stars.
A review copy of Deeper Than Need was provided by the publisher St.Martin's Press via Netgalley