House of Mercy by Erin Healy

For whatever reason, it takes me a long time to connect with Healy's writing. I have found this to be true to all of her books - including the books she co-wrote with Ted Dekker. It's not that she's a bad writer, there's just something about it that drags for the first few chapters.

Beth has made a poor decision and this one decision can bring disaster to many people. While riding a horse she shouldn't be on, Beth catches a glimpse of a ghostly wolf who spooks the horse and causes irreparable damage.

Maybe the problem came because I don't engage with "horse stories". It's clear that Healy had some personal connection to this book but it just didn't work the best for me.

It's up to Beth to redeem her mistake and that means traveling to a man she's never met - her grandfather.

While on her trek she's stalked by a wolf...or is it the Spirit of God in wolf form????

This has been Healy's strangest book to date. There are many layers to follow and the characters are fleshed out to a great extent. Healy does a fine job in bring out emotional impacts from her characters and their situations.

I would not call this a fast-paced novel. I wouldn't call many of Healy's books fast-paced but that doesn't mean it's a bad story. If you can pace yourself, you will enjoy the tales and moral-of-the-story climax.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.