Review: Misery Loves Company by Rene Gutteridge

July 10, 2013

Title: Misery Loves Company
Author: Rene Gutteridge
Publisher: Tyndale
Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-1-4143-4933-6
Release Date: August 2013

Synopsis: 

Don’t tell me it’s terrifying. Terrify me.

Filled with grief, Jules Belleno rarely leaves the house since her husband’s death while on duty as a police officer. Other than the reviews Jules writes on her blog, she has little contact with the outside world.

But one day when she ventures out to the local grocery store, Jules bumps into a fellow customer . . . and recognizes him as her favorite author, Patrick Reagan. Jules gushes and thoroughly embarrasses herself before Regan graciously talks with her.

And that’s the last thing she remembers—until she wakes up in a strange room with a splitting headache. She’s been kidnapped. And what she discovers will change everything she believed about her husband’s death,  her career,  and her faith.


Review:

Misery Loves Company by Rene Gutteridge did not go where I thought it would go! After reading the synopsis, I thought, OK, I have an idea. Nope, I was wrong. The story kept me guessing, then when I got comfortable in the story, there was a little shift and moved it another way. I loved that! Even with my horrible habit of reading the last page or two right after I start reading, I couldn't figure it out.

The two main elements of this book were well done. Writing and criminal investigation. I love both and they were portrayed very well. The first half of the book focused more on the writing aspect, while the last half focused on the criminal investigation. It was a good balance.

The characters in the book were developed well. Jules Belleno, you just want to reach through the book and give her a hug. She deals with the biggest fear any first responder or military family hopes they never have to go through, a loved one killed in the line of duty. She turns her grief inward and becomes almost reclusive. There are times in the story, you can feel the pain of loss. She is so set on order and predictability and she finds out that routine, is not the safest thing as an adult when someone wants you.

Patrick Reagan, he is a very complicated character, it is interesting to dig into his life through the eyes of Jules. What he wants from Jules is not what you think. He is complicated and in his mind, he knows what he is doing, and he does it well.

The twists and turns of the story kept me hooked and had me up late trying to see what all happened.

I will say one small thing about the cover, I'm not a huge fan of "book art", but it is very fitting for the this book. I can't imagine any other cover.

Too Read!
4 out of 5




Rene Gutteridge is the author of eighteen novels, including Listen, the Storm series (Tyndale House Publishers) and Never the Bride, the Boo series, and the Occupational Hazards series from WaterBrook Press. She also released My Life as a Doormat and The Ultimate Gift: The Novelization with Thomas Nelson. Rene is also known for her Christian comedy sketches. She studied screenwriting while earning a mass communications degree, graduating magna cum laude from Oklahoma City University and earning the Excellence in Mass Communication Award. She served as the full-time director of drama for First United Methodist Church for five years before leaving to stay home and write. She enjoys instructing at writers conferences and in college classrooms. She lives with her husband, Sean, a musician, and their children in Oklahoma City. Visit her Web site at www.renegutteridge.com


Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers, I received a copy of this book for free for an honest review.

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by. Leave a word, leave a line, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Latest Instagrams

© The Shelf Life. Design by FCD.