The House on Foster Hill
By: Jaime Jo Wright
Rating: 3 of 5
While I am a Christian, I rarely read Christian fiction. Perhaps that is why “The House on Foster Hill” did not resonate as well with me. I was looking for a story with a Christian message (or perhaps just a few references to Scripture) and instead found myself reading a suspense book with a mystery that was, unfortunately, all too easy to solve.
This story is set in two time periods, present and a little over a hundred years in the past. The setting, Foster Hill House, is the same; however, the characters are quite different. In the past, we have Ivy Thorpe who has turned away from God after her beloved brother has passed and she has immersed herself in remembrances of the dead. In the present, there is Kaine Prescott, a young woman who has also pulled back her belief after her husband’s death.
In this, I would have liked to have seen a better redemption spiritually for each. Instead, the story is about solving the physical mysteries surrounding each situation. In and of itself, that would be fine; however, I found the constant back and forth to be very disconcerting while reading. Perhaps it is because there were similar situations for both women in the same location that made it more difficult to follow.
That I was looking for a more Christian message does not make a bearing on my review of the book. I rating is based on the confusion I felt with the format. As a new debut author, I think that Jaime Jo Wright has talent. I think that a more focused plot line and a smaller set of characters with a much tighter edit would be a goal for her in her next book. The suspense was there; it was just hidden under the multiple of plot points that made it hard to find for me.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.
While I am a Christian, I rarely read Christian fiction. Perhaps that is why “The House on Foster Hill” did not resonate as well with me. I was looking for a story with a Christian message (or perhaps just a few references to Scripture) and instead found myself reading a suspense book with a mystery that was, unfortunately, all too easy to solve.