The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

The Baker's Wife is a Literary Christian Mystery Fiction.

Audrey Bofinger is a pastor's wife and she loves to bake bread for those who are in need of some humanity.  She loves her husband, Geoff and her son, Ed and being a pastor's wife is the best job in the world.  Everything appears serene when Ed is caught up in a scandal and Jack Mansfield, detective and Church elder, demands Pastor Geoff's resignation.  However, not to be deterred by lies, Audrey and her family open up a bakery in town.

Diane Hall has just been released from prison for killing her sister and decides to head home to make amends with her past.  When she finds a cell phone on the side of the road, she has no idea what the future holds.  Diane has the misfortune to arrive in town on the very day that Audrey has run over Jack's wife, Juliet.

Audrey is shaken but determined to uncover the truth and with only blood, a wrecked scooter and no body, it is not going to be an easy mystery to solve.  Audrey has empathic abilities that she believes are entrusted to her from God and she feels connected to Juliet though the two women are virtually strangers to each other.

Jack Mansfield believes that Audrey and her family know more about Julie's murder than they are letting on and although he has been removed from the case, he comes up with a scenario and nothing can deter him from its outcome.  When his sanity finally cracks, Jack takes everyone hostage in the bakery and demands that Audrey and Diane return his wife within six hours or every hostage will die. 

With time racing against them, Audrey must trust in her instincts, Diane's tie in with the past and Miralee, Juliet's errant daughter, who could care less the outcome of her parent's dilemmas. 

I thought this was an excellent read with well-rounded characters and a believable plot.  I enjoyed reading the suspense and mystery of Juliet and her death.  I liked how Audrey and her family kept their heads level and worked towards a solution that everyone would find satisfactory.

I thought each of the main characters had a wonderful back story and their characters were interesting and entertaining.  I loved how everything tied in together, bring a balance to the plot.

I thought Jack's heretical craziness was written with clarity and he brought an edge of fear to the story and left the reader shaking their heads as they read how he twisted the scriptures to make his own plight justified in his own head.  I loved how Ed and Geoff handled his character and brought the story to its finality. 

I wished to have had a bit more back story from Leslie and Coach, if I had to find fault it would be with these two characters.  There wasn't enough reason for them to be there other than to add filler and allow for Jack to reign his torment upon.  A better tie in of the two would have made this story fantastic.  I understood why they were there, just found their reasons lacking.

I would give this four and a half stars out of five, while it is almost perfect in nature, there are a few issues that I had problems with, such as Leslie and Coach's involvement and I found the story to be predictable.  However, this is an excellent story that I am sure you will enjoy, it is filled with warmth, heart, fear and the determination to do what is correct in the eyes of our Lord.

SYNOPSIS:
Then a scandalous lie cost her husband a pastoral career. Now the two work side-by-side running a bakery, serving coffee, and baking fresh bread. But the hurt still pulls at Audrey.

Driving early one morning to the bakery, Audrey's car strikes something-or someone-at a fog-shrouded intersection. She finds a motor scooter belonging to a local teacher. Blood is everywhere, but there's no trace of a body.

Both the scooter and the blood belong to detective Jack Mansfield's wife, and he's certain that Audrey is behind Julie's disappearance.

 

 ** Disclosure: I did not accept any compensation from the sponsors other than review copies, my views are my own, reviewed by me..as I see it~!! **