As Andy's mother struggles to reconnect with him, his Uncle Rip returns transformed from a stint in prison and wants to be a mentor to the reclusive boy, doing everything he can to help end Andy's pain. When Andy begins hearing strange music through his iPod and making near-prophetic announcements, Rip is convinced that what Andy is hearing is the voice of God.
Elsewhere, police officer Heather Gerisch responds to a late-night breaking and entering in one of the poorest homes in town. She soon realizes that the masked prowler has left thousands of dollars in gift cards from a local grocery store.
As the bizarre break-ins continue and Heather pursues the elusive "Summer Santa," Andy and Rip discover an enormous and well-kept garden of wildflowers that seems to have grown overnight at an abandoned steel mill.
Soon, they realize who the gardener is, and a spree of miracles transfigures this small town from a place of hopelessness into a place of healing and beauty.
My review:
This is one of those books that has some supernatural elements that wouldn't normally happen, yet is entertaining and makes the reader think what could be possible if we had faith and stepped out of the way to let do what He wants.
The book is definitely entertaining. There is a teenaged boy going around spouting prophetic statements about people that he hears on his iPod, and a masked guy breaking into people's homes and doing good. The book has its suspenseful moments, though it isn't what I'd call a suspenseful novel.
I thought the plot and characters were great, and there was a lot of conversation between the characters that was more deep than the average Christian novel. The book showed how people can change, and how God may sometimes use methods and means we don't understand to accomplish His will.
The author did a great job on keeping the identity of the masked do-gooder secret. I was truly surprised when that was revealed.
I really enjoyed the book, though it didn't have the ending I was hoping for, and instead of the happy ending I was hoping for, it had a bittersweet ending that still left me glad I read the book.
Meet William Sirls:
Once a senior vice president in a large investment firm, he was incarcerated in 2007 for wire fraud and money laundering. Life lessons involving faith, grace, and forgiveness are evident in his writing. The Sinners’ Garden is his second novel. William is celebrating the book's release with an iPad giveaway.
One winner will receive:
- A brand new iPad Mini
- The Sinners' Garden by William Sirls
1 comments:
Thank you so much for the kind words, Mark!
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