River Readers

Reese is living out on a lake across from his brother-in-law, Charlie, and trying to forget the past. Seven year old Annie is selling lemonade in front of the hardware store where her aunt works. Reese notices a scar on Annie's chest and the girl's enthusiasm in selling her lemonade. Through a series of events, these two lives become entwined as a search for a new heart for Annie begins.

Hepworth (The Family Next Door, 2018) turns up the tension in her latest Australian-set domestic-suspense novel. Lucy's ties with her husband's mother, Diana, have always been fraught with tension, especially disappointing because Lucy had delighted at the prospect of a mother figure in her life after her own passed away. Lucy and Diana were never on the same page, and so it's with mixed feelings that Lucy receives the news of Diana's sudden death.

Samuel's brother, Edward, shows up out of nowhere with a little girl claiming that she is Samuel's daughter. Edward is recently out of the penitentiary, and volatile. Samuel's wife, Julia, would like to believe that he has been faithful to her, but the facts are stacked against him. This is all set during the Depression in the Midwest on a couple of neighboring farms. A neighbor has lost his wife, and Julia and Samuel are doing their best to help raise his kids along with their own. The little girl, Katie, just wants a family to call her own.

After a horrible explosion, Eli and his family are led to an underground compound to wait 15 years until the radiation has died out to make it safe to go above ground again. Eli's twin brother and grandmother did not make it. After six years, Eli starts to realize that something isn't right and starts to investigate their situation. Eli's wealthy father has a lot of secrets to explain.

Survival. A Hebrew girl first tasted it when she escaped death nearly seventy years ago as the Babylonians ransacked Jerusalem and took their finest as captives. She thought she'd perfected in the many years amongst the Magoi and the idol worshippers, pretending with all the others in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. Now, as Daniel's wife and a septuagenarian matriarch, Belili thinks she's safe and she can live out her days in Babylon without fear--until the night Daniel is escorted to Belshazzar's palace to interpret mysterious handwriting on a wall.

King Solomon has many wives that he has married to bring peace to his land thru agreements with neighboring countries, but he longs for true love and a stable inner peace. Arielah is a shepherdess that is promised as a treaty bride to Solomon to bring unity to the tribes of Israel. Arielah threatens to upend Solomon's entire life with her unconditional love and willingness to forgive.

Iris and Lark are identical twins whose differing personalities and styles fit together perfectly. Iris is practical, logical, and outspoken. Lark is a dreamer, artistic, and shy. Their inseparable status is threatened, however, when they are assigned to different fifth-grade classrooms. Iris is sure it's a mistake, but the girls' parents and principal are resolute that separating Iris and Lark will help them grow as individuals.

Rain's family is reeling after the death of her older brother. Her mom tries to keep busy to forget the pain and initiates the family moving to a big city away from their past. Her dad is so depressed that he can hardly get out of bed. And Rain blames herself for her brother's death.

The new neighborhood and school are a challenge because Rain is the only one with her skin color and she is afraid to open up to anyone about her family. Thru running and required community service, Rain realizes that she is not alone.

What to do with a life where everything he's worked for is shattered?

What feels shaky in your world? Are you overwhelmed by the problems you're facing or the pain you're feeling?

Maybe you feel hurt by the past. Disappointed by the present. Worried about the future. If so, you are not alone, but there is hope. You can live with security and purpose.

Daniel has long been an honorary part of the McKinley family in Chapel Springs. When Jade McKinley returns after a year gone in Chicago chasing her musical dreams, Daniel's love for her only intensifies as he becomes her confidante. She's pregnant, looking for a father to raise her new family with, and Daniel knows just the guy for the job. Too bad she sees him as a big brother. This book reminds us that we need to trust God to take care of us and send us the right people to share in our lives. We may think we have it all figured out, but God knows best. I enjoyed it.

Award-winning Harris (Hidden Agenda, 2015) launches a new series featuring Nikki Boyd, who, after her sister disappeared, became a detective on the Tennessee Missing Person Task Force so she could help other families find the closure she never had. One day, hiking in the Smoky Mountains, she is called in to work on a case that begins to feel awfully familiar. Could it be that after 10 years Nikki is on the trail of her sister's abductor once again? Harris draws her readers into the fear and excitement generated by a mission to catch a madman.