Breathes with the grace of God: My review of "Inescapable" by Nancy Mehl

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lizzie Engel is used to running away. At eighteen, she left her Mennonite hometown, Kingdom, Kansas, with plans never to return.

But five years later, the new life she built is falling apart. Lizzie knows she's being followed, and she's certain the same mysterious stranger is behind the threatening letters she's received. Realizing she'll have to run again, the only escape Lizzie can manage is a return to the last place she wants to go.

Once she arrives in Kingdom, Lizzie is confident she'll be safe until she comes up with a new plan. In reacquainting herself with the town and its people--especially her old friend, Noah Housler--she wonders if she judged her hometown and her Mennonite faith too harshly. However, just as she begins to come to terms with her roots, Lizzie is horrified to discover the danger she ran from is closer than ever.

No longer sure who to trust and fearful for her life and the lives of those around her, Lizzie finds she has only one place left to run--to the Father whose love is inescapable.

MY REVIEW

If you are needing a reminder of the power of grace and of God's incredible love for you, all packaged up into an entertaining read, then plan on picking up a copy of "Inescapable" by Nancy Mehl. The book is well-written, and Lizzie is a character who you are sure to like and find yourself rooting for. Her journey is an interesting and heart-breaking one, having grown up in a conservative Mennonite town steeped in the dangers of religious legalism and being treated harshly by her own father growing up. However, her experience of running away from the community and then finding her way back, and discovering the grace that was waiting for her all along, provides a beautiful picture of God's forgiveness and the freedom he offers to us all in moving away from rules to a relationship. I not only enjoyed the unfolding of some well-deserved romance in Lizzie's life, but I loved watching her experience some reconciliation in her relationship with her father as well. Although classified as "romantic suspense", I personally found much of the book to be light on suspense, although the end does contain some tense scenes. However, it is an enjoyable read, and I am quite certain that readers who are drawn to reading contemporary Amish fiction will enjoy this first installment of the "Road to Kingdom" series which takes place in a similar type of community to the Amish. I strongly recommend this book and award it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy Mehl, the author of 12 books, received an ACFW Carol Award in 2009 for her novel For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls. She has a background in social work and is a member of ACFW and RWA. She writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their puggle, Watson. Visit her website at www.nancymehl.com.