FIve Miles Souht of Peculiar - REVIEWED

About the Book:  (from Simon and Schuster)

If these three sisters don’t change direction, they’ll end up where they’re going.

Darlene Caldwell has spent a lifetime tending Sycamores, an estate located five miles south of a small town called Peculiar. She raised a family in the spacious home that was her grandfather’s legacy, and she enjoys being a pillar of the community. Sycamores is the kingdom where she reigns as queen . . . until her limelight-stealing twin sister unexpectedly returns.

Carlene Caldwell, veteran of the Broadway stage, is devastated when she realizes that an unsuccessful throat surgery has spelled the end of her musical career. Searching for a new purpose in life, she retreats to Sycamores, her childhood home. She may not be able to sing, but she hopes to use her knowledge and experience to fashion a new life in Peculiar, the little town she left behind.

Haunted by a tragic romance, Magnolia Caldwell is the youngest of the Caldwell girls. Nolie has never wanted to live anywhere but Sycamores. She spends her days caring for her dogs and the magnificent gardens she’s created on the estate, but when she meets a man haunted by his own tragedy, she must find the courage to either deny her heart or cut the apron strings that tie her to a dear and familiar place.

Can these sisters discover who they are meant to be when life takes an unforeseen detour? In a season of destiny, three unique women reunite and take unexpected journeys of the heart.

My Thoughts:

“We have a lot of catchin’ up to do.”  (p340)

While I’m not wild about the context within which these word are couched in the story, the thought is a good summation of the situation in Peculiar, Florida.  Like any family, Darlenc, Carlene and Nolie have secret dreams, unfulfilled hopes and, in five years, a generational home that will be turned over to the county. Yes, it’s peculiar all right.

I hope you stop and stay a while with Angela Hunt as she tells this very endearing, very human, very moving story of discovery, forgiveness, and new doors of opportunity to go forward with God.  This is a story to be savored.  You will find a wealth of truth, human frailty and hidden strength among its pages. The characters have a very unexpected opportunity to step out of the past and into a new future.  Their journey of decision…well it’s a familiar path in all of our lives.  Whether we choose to follow in faith and leave the angst and bitterness behind…well, it’s a choice we must make daily.

I hope you will read this story and enjoy all of the characters in Peculiar.  I know it is a town that will call me back again and again.  This is a keeper for so many reasons! I pray you will jump into this story and find all of its treasures.

About the Author:

With nearly four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including The Tale of Three Trees, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Her nonfiction book, Don’t Bet Against Me, written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela frequently teaches writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers’ national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida