What Follows After by Dan Walsh

In 1962, life was simple, the world made sense, and all families were happy.
And when they weren't, everyone knew you were supposed to pretend.
For the past year, Scott and Gina Harrison have been living a lie. While they show up at family get-togethers in the same car, they've actually been separated for over a year. To keep up the charade, they've even instructed their sons, Colt and Timmy, to lie--to their grandparents, their teachers, and their friends.

Colt, for one, has had enough, so he hatches a plan. He and his little brother will run away from their Florida home, head for their aunt's house in Georgia, and refuse to come home until their parents get back together. But when things go terribly, terribly wrong, Scott and Gina must come to grips with years of neglect and mistrust in order to recover their beloved sons, their love for one another, and their marriage.

In this emotional story, bestselling author Dan Walsh takes you on a journey to rediscover the things that matter most in life--love, truth, and family. With profound insight into the heart of a hurting child, he reminds us that a time will come to look back on hard times and smile, because we'll know that what follows after . . . is not what we expected at all.

My review:
   I don't read a lot of fiction that falls outside of the suspense/mystery genre', but Dan Walsh is one author I read who does not write that genre', and has quickly risen to become one of my favorite authors. I always know it is going to be quality reading, and extremely enjoyable also.

 This book is a bit different from his others, as it does have some suspense and mystery in it, and enough that my sister who doesn't like that genre' didn't like this book, but she said it is because she has three boys and the book scared her with the possibility of it happening to one of her boys.

  I however, loved it. Even though the mystery and suspense was something new for Dan, though there was some of it also in the Discovery, it was still obviously a Dan Walsh book.

  The book is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, something I don't know a lot about, but it served as the backdrop for  the book and I found that aspect of the book fascinating, as it gave an idea of what it was like here in the US when that as going on.

  As with any of Dan's books. there is a lesson in this one. The couple in the book is trying to fake that all is well in their lives, when it is not. Lying and forcing their sons to lie, causes something to happen that shows it is better to just be honest and open. Lying and covering up always hurts, and thought it doesn't always end in a near tragedy, no one knows the effects it will have.

  Some are saying this is Dan's best book so far. I loved it, but I still lean towards The Discovery as his best, and am really loving the series he is doing, so it is hard for me to say which is the best. He has become one of those authors who always writes a great book that does not disappoint. And as with any of his books, this is one I highly recommend, 5 stars for sure.

About the author:

Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of several books, including The Dance and The Promise with Gary Smalley, as well as The Unfinished Gift, The Discovery, and The Reunion. He has won three Carol Awards, and two of his novels were finalists for RT Book Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year for 2011 and 2012. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for twenty-five years. He lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. Visit www.danwalshbooks.com for more.


What Follows After is available from Revell Publishing, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Thanks to Revell for the review copy.