Anne Reviews ~ Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson

 Happy Release Day, Melanie Dobson!!!

Paperback

Published May 9th 2017 by Tyndale House Publishers 

 About the Book

What happened to Brigitte Berthold?

That question has haunted Daniel Knight since he was thirteen, when he and eleven-year-old Brigitte escaped the Gestapo agents who arrested both their parents. They survived a harrowing journey from Germany to England, only to be separated upon their arrival. Daniel vowed to find Brigitte after the war, a promise he has fought to fulfill for more than seventy years.

Now a wealthy old man, Daniel's final hope in finding Brigitte rests with Quenby Vaughn, an American journalist working in London. He believes Quenby's tenacity to find missing people and her personal investment in a related WWII espionage story will help her succeed where previous investigators have failed. Though Quenby is wrestling her own demons--and wary at the idea of teaming up with Daniel's lawyer, Lucas Hough--the lure of Brigitte's story is too much to resist. Together, Quenby and Lucas delve deep into the past, following a trail of deception, sacrifice, and healing that could change all of their futures.

About the Author 

Writing novels is a fun excuse for Melanie to explore ghost towns and old houses, travel to unusual places, and spend hours reading dusty books and journals. She writes both contemporary and historical fiction with threads of romance and suspense.

Melanie is the award-winning author of sixteen historical romance, suspense, and contemporary novels including Catching the Wind, Beneath a Golden Veil, and The Silent Order. Three of her novels including Chateau of Secrets have won Carol Awards, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana.

Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with Jon's work, the Dobsons have finally settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to travel and hike in both the mountains and the cliffs above the Pacific. When Melanie isn't writing or researching, she enjoys line dancing, biking, and making up stories with her kids.

More information about her and her books is available on her website at www.melaniedobson.com.   

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 My Review

5 STARS!!!

A beautifully written novel that left this reader in stunned silence, Catching the Wind holds within its pages a captivating story of an enduring love that lasted a lifetime.  Brimming with intrigue, mystery, and drama, along with poignant moments of hope, this will be a story that lives on in my heart for a long time. 

I particularly found a few passages stood out to me, probably because of the deep grief I still feel as the fifth anniversary of my daughter’s passing approaches this weekend. 

                He’d thought he built a castle big enough for space to breathe, but on days like this, when the memories returned, even the windowed walls up here, with their sweeping views of the sea, seemed to close in on him. On these days, it felt as if he were being attacked from the inside.

                The tower of the castle—the keep—was the final refuge in an attack from the enemy, but no fortress of stone could protect from the enemy who crept up from memories, moving stealthily through the entire body, raiding the refuge of one’s mind.

                He needed to clear the adversary from his head before it took hold. 
(Daniel Knight, pg 94, 95)

All I could think of when I read that passage was Yes! This is how I feel. And then I read this…

He breathed in rain as he hobbled toward the front gate, the moisture coating his lungs. Rain clung to the cold wind and splashed his face. He loved the thrust of power to stir the sea. Shake trees. Carry the voice of a child crying for help.

                Here in the storm, tears could fall freely down his cheeks, mixing with the torrent of God’s grief falling from the sky. (Daniel Knight, pg 95/96)

Oh boy, did the tears fall then?! I have stood at the edge of the ocean many times since my daughter’s step into Heaven, imagining I could hear her cry, and my tears overflow like a wave crashing to the shore.

And even though not a direct correlation to my particular grief, this passage gripped my heart too.

                If she truly forgave her mother, would God take away her pain even if her memories remained? Perhaps that was the superpower she needed most. The power to let go. The power to love again. (Quenby Vaughn, pg 334)

I highly recommend Catching the Wind to everyone! Seriously. This story has it all. It encompasses complicated relationships, crafty and cunning characters, and a gentle and beloved faith in God that will lead to forgiveness and reconciliation. And the mystery. Oh, the mystery is the best!

Grab a cup of coffee, like I did, and sit down to savor this delightful and moving story! 
 

Image belongs to: Anne Payne :-)

Dobson has once again shown incredible ability to weave past and present fluidly while creating an exciting plot and memorable characters that stirred my emotions. By the second chapter, I was fully invested in their lives and didn’t want to put the book down. By far, this is the best yet in Melanie’s repertoire of historical-contemporary hybrid novels.

I was gifted an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher and author for promotional purposes only, with no expectation of a review. No compensation has been received. 

~Happy Reading~