Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Could not put it down. This story – although it’s actually two stories told alongside each other – gripped me from page one and had me wishing it didn’t end at page 376. I think Lynn Austin left the door open for a sequel here, and if she did I’ll be pre-ordering that one.
Anna Nicholson has been haunted by nightmares since she was a little girl. The dream is always the same and leaves her shaking in fear. It isn’t until she travels from her home in Chicago to a resort in Michigan that the dreams start to make sense. There is more to her story than her adoptive parents have told her.
Geesje de Jonge came to America with her parents to settle in what became Holland, Michigan. Times were hard, the land was wild, and nothing turned out the way she’d hoped. Disappoints followed by tragedies marred her life, but Geesje learned God was still in control. Even in the aftermath of the worst a mother could face, she stayed true to her beliefs.
True history wrapped within the story is always a treasure to find. Set in my home state, I already knew some of it. Learning more was just a bonus.
Following the lives of these two women as the author expertly weaves between the two keeps the reader turning the pages (and up half the night). Timeless themes and questions without answers link the two women in a way neither suspects. Touching and humbling, it will leave the reader in awe of the working of God in our lives.
Pegg Thomas 