Catching the Wind

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary ecopy of this book from NetGalley. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts.

There were both high and low points in this book for me. I liked the WWII thread best, but the contemporary one featured a lovely mystery. The depth of both storylines was wonderful and kept me entertained and interested from beginning to end. Themes of forgiveness and redeeming the lost were beautiful the majority of the time.

Things got a little awkward when some child sexual abuse showed up. That part was tough to read, but I was happy to see some defenders arrive on the scene.

The largest issue I had with this book was the questionable theology in these lines: “I believe in a God who forgives when I ask. I'm not convinced that He forgets... It almost makes the grace cheap if He forgets it all. I like thinking, at least in my limited understanding, that in His great love, He remembers and still forgives.” While that is a charming concept, it is perhaps not a realistic one. According to Jeremiah 31:34, part of God's new covenant with Israel (which was fulfilled with Jesus's sinless life, sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension) was that God “will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” If God does not remember forgiven sins, that means He actually does forget them. This does not cheapen His grace. It's a clear and beautiful expression of His fathoms-deep love for us. Love chooses to forgive and “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV). Keeping no record of wrongs is choosing to forget the sins, which just might be one of the greatest forms of love in existence.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. That one dip in theology tripped me up a little, but the rest of the biblical content presented was sound.

The time-slip style worked perfectly for this particular story. The mystery was awesome. This book will most likely have many fans.

Narrator Nancy Peterson was marvelous. Her voice lent itself well to the drama and depth of both eras.

Content: alcohol, tobacco, child abuse (including sexual abuse), marital affairs