Book Review: "The Crossing"

I took a risk and requested the book "The Crossing" by Serita Jakes to read & review as part of the Blogging for Books program... I like to switch it up and not order the same type books all the time, and this once look interesting: It's about several residents in a small town that are still dealing with the emotional effects of a murder of a school teacher 10 years previously. The trauma & grief have continued especially because the murderer was never caught.

It was a risk because I honestly didn't know if the book would be an interesting & fast-paced crime novel or if it would just be a sad, depressing relational novel. After getting only chapters into it, I realized it was much more along the lines of an NCIS or other law enforcement kind of book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is not a happy-go-lucky book where all the characters have a huge party in the end... but it does portray the various aspects of dealing with a crime, investigating a crime, and especially shows how different people handle memories and grief in different ways. It does a great job of showing healthy healing: addressing grief, working through emotions, loving someone during the hard times, etc... while also showing how not everyone handles their emotions or grief in a good way. Most importantly, it weaves the theme of how God is our Healer & Redeemer throughout the book in realistic ways.

If you like mystery/crime-solving books, you would probably enjoy this one. I would recommend it, although since it's a mystery, I probably wouldn't read it again because I know the ending! :-)

* I received a copy of this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review as part of their "Blogging for Books" program.