Misery Loves Company

Misery Loves Company by Rene Gutteridge was my "surprise book" so far this year. I knew the author was good and the synopsis of the book sounded right up my alley of suspense fiction.  As I started reading it, I wasn't sure that I had made the right decision, then...  I hit the part of the book that was the hooker and kept me reading, trying to figure out who and just what was happening.  

The main character, Jules is mourning the death of her police officer husband and rarely leaves her house.  She loves to write reviews on her blog and has a large following.  That seems to satisfy her since she feels she cannot write a book with the talent she feels she is lacking.  She is at the grocery store and sees her favorite author, Patrick Reagan who is also a recluse.  She has read all his books but has not favorably reviewed his last three.  Plot shifts, Jules finds herself in a strange room with a splitting headache and realizes she has been kidnapped, but by whom and why.  As she looks up, on the ceiling of the room are the words-Don't tell me it's terrifying.  Terrify me.  Those were not just any words, they were the words she had written on her blog. She is being held captive by Patrick for a reason which he will not tell her and he even tells her that her husband's death was not an accident.  Jules is terrified, but does she have a reason to be? That is what keeps you reading and guessing.  She and Patrick share lots of things, especially about God.  Loved this part when she is talking to Patrick. My husband told me that God is invisible so we won't search for Him with out eyes.  So we'll depend less on what seems concrete and more on the faith it takes to see without our eyes. And then when we see Him, we'll know we've been seen"

The storyline is strong with chapters going back and forth from Jules and Patrick to those trying to find out where she is before it's too late. Loved learning more about how authors observe their world,  and how their heads put it all together for the reader.

As I said in the beginning, this was a great surprise and one book I will reread to highlight the "nuggets" that the author dispersed throughout the book.  Please pick this up to read--you will be surprised by it also.
Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for this free copy just for my honest opinion.