Spellbinding. Terrifying. Unputdownable. “The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond”, Jaime Jo Wright’s newest release from Bethany House, weaves an unforgettable chain of events into a story that encases one mystery inside another – spanning more than a century of deception and intrigue. From the first page, you will be tugged into a world filled with dark secrets and hair-raising encounters, as “Two women, separated by a hundred years, must unravel the mysteries of their own town before it’s too late and they lose their future – or their very souls”.

“The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond” is one of the most engrossing novels I’ve read in a long time. The immersive writing style, interweaving dual-time plots, and fascinating characterization combine to truly make it a masterpiece – albeit a frightening one! While it is undeniably a harrowing and suspenseful story of lies, vengeance, and mistakes, it ultimately flips those condemnations around to reveal truth, forgiveness, and grace that can only come by surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, even with these redeeming qualities, the story includes plenty of content that is inappropriate for younger readers, and in a couple instances I felt too much description was included for any age, at least in the Christian Fiction genre.

In the end, “The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond” is a masterpiece of a novel, and one with themes and characters that will stay with you long after you close the book and put it on the shelf. Of course, depending on your reading preferences, this may be a good thing or a bad thing! Murder, near-death attacks, generational secrets, and other haunting situations occur in the pages of this book – and I do not recommend it for readers unprepared for a story that is, at times, quite disturbing. Now that you have been forewarned, do you still feel that this is a book you could enjoy? If so, I’m certain this remarkable, gripping, compelling story is one that will keep you reading long into the night (with all the lights in the house left on and shining brightly, of course!) and with themes that will compel you to take a candid look at your own perceptions of grace and forgiveness.

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.”