Shadows in the Mind's Eye, by Janyre Tromp {a book review} and giveaway


About the book

Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on--responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who's come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam's experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand--but that everyone is learning to fear.

Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn't the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts?

Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she's terrified he's going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam's mental wounds--or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life?

Debut novelist Janyre Tromp delivers a deliciously eerie, Hitchcockian story filled with love and suspense. Readers of psychological thrillers and historical fiction by Jaime Jo Wright and Sarah Sundin will add Tromp to their favorite authors list.

What I thought about the book

If you've been reading my reviews for long, you know that historical novels are among my favorites. And, frankly, World War II is probably my most favorite era.

From reading the summary for this book, I wasn't sure if I was "up for it." But it surprised me, and really drew me in.

Janyre Tromp rather boldly walks in the discussing combat fatigue (what we now call PTSD), mental health and healing, and how this affects both the person suffering PTSD and his/her loved ones.

Both the dialogue and descriptions of scenery make it easy to picture the setting in my mind's eye. It's easy to feel the love Sam and Annie have for each other, and their little girl, Annie. I enjoyed Dovie May's bits of wisdom, scattered throughout. For example: "Joy...it sneaks in all around where things is broke, sticks it all together, and finds a way to make you whole. It's where things is broke that the joy shows through." 

I must say, this is definitely a book you don't want to miss.

About the author

Janyre Tromp is a historical novelist whose loves spinning tales that, at their core, hunt for beauty, even when it isn’t pretty. She’s the author of Shadows in the Mind’s Eye and coauthor of It’s a Wonderful Christmas.

She’s also a book editor, published children’s book author, and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her family, two crazy cats, and a slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog. And if you ever meet in person, you pronounce that first name Jan-ear.

You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and her website, www.JanyreTromp.com (where you can grab a free copy of her novella Wide Open).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to give you my honest opinion.

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