A Casual Reader's Blog: Blog Tour- The Baker's Wife Review

Welcome to the blog tour for The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy!

To save her husband and son, Audrey Bofinger must rescue her enemy.

The Bofinger family has lost their church ministry in a scandal exposed by Officer Jack Mansfield. Hoping to heal and to restore their reputation, Audrey, Geoff, and their son Ed take over a failing bakery in the small community.

Driving to the bakery one morning, blinded by fog, Audrey hits a motor scooter owned by Jack’s wife, Julie. The mangled scooter is crushed and bloody. But Julie is nowhere to be found. Her disappearance coincides with a sudden illness that nearly cripples Audrey.

Jack believes the Bofingers have hurt Julie to take revenge on him, but the evidence dries up and her trail goes cold. At a breaking point, Jack takes the tiny bakery and its patrons hostage, issuing only one demand: Audrey has six hours to return Julie to him, or lose Geoff and Ed forever.

With only an excruciating and intuitive gift, an ex-con, and Julie’s estranged daughter to help search for clues, Audrey starts the search of her life for a woman who has vanished like the fog.

Read an excerpt here.

Well-known to critics and reviewers, Erin Healy has established herself as an award-winning editor and a best-selling co-author with Ted Dekker. Healy received wide acclaim for her two debut novels Never Let You Go and The Promises She Keeps. Her work focuses on the psychological and spiritual, driven by high moral stakes. She lives and writes in Colorado with her family.

For more information please visit www.erinhealy.com.

Buy the book here!

REVIEW:

Audrey was the pastor's wife, and after a scandal she is adjusting to her new life as a baker's wife. After an car accident, Audrey is left in a bizarre situation. There is tons of blood but no body. The scooter Audrey hit also happens to belong to the wife of the man who got Audrey's husband removed from the parsonage, Jack Mansfield. When Jack determines to take things in his own hands, he takes everyone in the bakery hostage until Audrey can produce his wife. Audrey will have to rely on her special connection with people to try and figure out what happened to Julie Mansfield and save her loved ones.

Oh wow, this book was amazing. There were so many twists and turns, some of which I guessed and some of which kept me guessing. More than that though, it was just an amazing story. Audrey struggles with her ability to feel what others are feeling in a very literal sense. There were so many wonderful threads involving compassion, consequences, and second chances. The author was able to paint an amazing sense of atmosphere. I could feel the tension, and I think my heart even began to race at times because I was nervous for the characters.

I did find Miralee to be a bit difficult to sympathize with. However, she did show enough growth that I almost liked her in the end. All the other characters (with the obvious exception of Jack) showed a wonderful balance in their personalities. Another thing I really enjoyed were the two different perspectives of religion. It was used to help people by some, and twisted into something horrible to justify their actions by others. Overall, I would say this is a must read! I did not want to stop reading, and I highly recommend this book.

Book provided for review.

Let the flour fly! Beginning October 24th, Erin's celebrating the release of her latest page turner, The Baker's Wife, with an outstanding KitchenAid baking prize package giveaway that includes a brand new KitchenAid Mixer, cook books, and all you need to whip up some fabulous bread or sweets! Then and on November 10th she'll be wrapping up the release of The Baker's Wife with an Author Book Chat Party on Facebook! Don't miss a minute of the fun!

One grand prize winner will receive:

Empire Red 4.5 QT Ultra Power KitchenAid Stand Mixer
Black & White Kitschy Apron
Black Silicone Oven Mitt
Black OXO Rolling Pin
Wilton 9X5 loaf pan
At My Grandmother's Knee Cookbook by Faye Porter
Second Helpings with Johnnie Gabriel Cookbook
The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 9th. Winner will be announced at The Baker's Wife Author Book Chat Facebok Party. Erin will be wrapping up the The Baker's Wife celebration with a book club chat and giving away a bunch of "sweet treats"! So grab your copy of The Baker's Wife (it's okay if you don't have one yet- you might win one!) and join Erin on the evening of November 10th for a book chat, some "baking" trivia and lots of "sweet" giveaways (books, and Amazon, iTunes & Starbucks gift certificates)!