READ: Review, THEY ALMOST ALWAYS COME HOME by Cynthia Ruchti

Posted by Marti on June 8, 2010 in Cynthia Ruchti, Read, They Almost Always Come Home | 5 comments

A review–and a drawing to win this exciting new book!

Fear. Stark, gripping fear.

They Almost Always Comes Home opens with a fear that closes in on Libby Holden as she realizes her husband, Greg, is missing. Alone on what he intended as his dream trip through the Canadian wilderness, he hasn’t returned. Not yet. And maybe not ever.

Libby’s fears compound as the search begins. They magnify as she confronts her true feelings about her failing marriage, her missed opportunities, and her own failures. As she, her best friend, and her irascible but wilderness-savvy father-in-law embark on a journey to find her husband, Libby doesn’t realize she’s on a journey to discover much more.

As I read this debut novel, I found myself turning the pages and drinking in great gulps of story as though someone might snatch it away before I quenched my thirst. Ruchti’s plot captured me. Her characters moved me. And her gifts of language and imagery left me in awe.

Every great novel has the goal of story and the result of inner change. They Almost Always Come Home tells a compelling tale that moved me to reexamine myself and my own often-selfish approach to life and relationships. As it moves back and forth between fear and faith, the book leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction—and a longing for more.

I’ve decided to give a little background for the authors I know personally. I won’t review a book I can’t recommend, but I think it’s appropriate to tell you when my acquaintance goes beyond Facebook or hearsay.

Cynthia and I had corresponded through an online writers’ group but became instant friends this spring when we served on faculty together at the Quad-Cities Christian Writers’ Conference. My only regret about our connection is that many miles separate us. Cynthia lives in Wisconsin where she makes potato corn chowder for her husband of 37 years, loves on her three kids and five grandchildren, writes and produces a daily radio broadcast called The Heartbeat of the Home, edits and writes for the radio ministry magazine Backyard Friends, writes devotionals for TheChristianPulse.com, and serves as the current president of the 2,000-member American Christian Fiction Writers. Read more about Cynthia and her stories of hope that glows in the dark at www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Sound like a book you’d love to read? Leave a comment here (or through the “contact” form on my website–click “contact” to the right of this post) and I’ll enter you to win an autographed copy of They Almost Always Come Home. I’ll announce the winner on Friday, June 11, so leave your comment before midnight Eastern Time on the 10th. Make sure to include your email address and a few words about your interest in this book.