Winter Haven by Athol Dickson

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Winter Haven
(Bethany House April 1, 2008)
by
Athol Dickson


ABOUT THE BOOK

Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked...on the most remote of islands off the coast of Maine, history haunts the present and Vera Gamble wrestles with a past that will not yield. Will she find refuge there, or will her ghosts prevail on...Winter Haven

Eleven years ago, Vera Gamble's brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found...washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body...and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother hasn't aged a day since last she saw him.

Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Haven's murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth.



MY REVIEW:

Winter Haven is a fictional island off the coast of Maine. It is an island that holds unsolved mysteries that will terrify anyone and everyone that stumbles blindly upon them – unable or unwilling to seek the truth that lies beneath.

Athol Dickson’s latest novel, Winter Haven weaves a tale that takes your heart and mind to the very edge of sanity. Vera Gamble leaves her orderly accounting job in Dallas and heads to the gulf of Maine to identify her brother’s body. Little does she know that she is beginning a quest for truth that spans more than a decade of unanswered questions. Vera has spent years lost in the fog of suffering and mental anguish, because she had been convinced by her grieving but well-meaning father that God would not tolerate the human weakness of doubt.

When Vera reaches Maine’s beautiful seaside village of Winter Haven, she finds herself once again facing the doubts and fears from her childhood. The tale that awaits her in this village is one that will simultaneously terrify and beckon to you as you wind your way deeper and deeper into its mysterious events. The sights, sounds and smells of Winter Haven will wrap around you like a cool mist, and you will be unable to withdraw from it until you reach the final page!

Like any good suspense tale, not everything ends with clarity. However, Athol Dickson makes one thing very clear to all his readers, and that is the truth of God working in every event of our life to bring us to the deep and abiding peace found in understanding His sovereign grace at work all around us. This book will terrify you, bring tears to your eyes and even draw out warm laughter. I have never read such a hauntingly beautiful tale of redemption. This is a book I HIGHLY recommend! You DON’T want to miss this one! Visit Athol Dickson’s website here to find out about his other award winning fiction!