Thursday, September 16, 2021

The Letter Keeper by Charles Martin ~ Book Review

In the continuing story of Murphy Shepard, Murphy is still living by his life principle of leaving the 99 to go after the 1.  It has been the compass for his whole adult life.  After the devastating personal news he received in the previous book "The Water Keeper", how will he ever be able to trust his partner again?  But their work must continue so Murphy has to come to some kind of terms with his broken heart.  As Murphy and Summer try to keep their personal lives on an even keel the call of the one in trouble still pulls at Murphy and with Summer's support he will still go to find the person in need of rescuing from the sex slave trade.  When their compound is infiltrated and Summer and his daughter along with two other teens go missing, the mission has become much more personal and Murphy will stop at nothing to find them.  With no clues turning up and Murphy seemingly taking one wrong step after another, everything is stripped from Murphy except his love for his family to drive him on.

This is the 2nd installment of the Murphy Shepard series about the human sex trade slavery.  It is a page turner for sure with lots of action and mystery.  But it also has so many moments of humanity and themes of love and self-sacrifice and healing.  The reader goes back and forth between lots of heart pumping action and moments of tenderness and soul searching and heart wrenching times.  Not only do we get to know Murphy better but we get to know one of the girls he rescued and the details of the immense work it takes to heal body and soul from being involved in the sex trade.  I liked this part 2 much better than the 1st book.  It continues Murphy's story and goes more into how he got involved in rescuing those caught in the sex trade and how their ranch for those healing and hiding came to be.  Get ready for your emotions to swing from one end to the other.  There were lots of characters but each is integral to the story.  Occasionally it was quite descriptive of land areas which I find kinda bogs me down.  I loved the little hidden Easter egg referring to my favorite book from this author "Water From My Heart".   Can't wait to see how the story wraps up in the next installment coming in June of 2022.

I gave this a 9.5/10.
Reading Goal Challenge met:  Read Your Shelf Challenge for August:  A book in a series
                                                        A book purchased in 2019 - 2021




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4 comments:

  1. nikkipolani3:31 PM, September 16, 2021

    You know, I'd had The Water Keeper in my to-be-listened pile for ages but never got past the first 30 minutes. I don't mind undefined relationships and vague references to draw the reader/listener into the first chapter or so, but it felt like it went on forever. And I lost interest.

    Appreciate your review of the second installment and peek at the highs and lows to be expected. I think Water From My Heart was my fave, too.

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  2. Deb J. in Utah3:55 PM, September 16, 2021

    I know you really like this author. The books sounds good. I will have to see if the library has it. Thanks for the review!

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  3. Karen6:29 PM, September 16, 2021

    I need to add this author to my TBR list. I read a couple of his books ages ago and really liked them. I wasn't sure how to reply to your comment on Goodreads about the Jefferson's Daughters book. It's really good, but it's nonfiction, so moves a bit slow. One I read that I just loved is America's First Daughter. It's about Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter and was coauthored by a novelist and a historian. SO good!

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  4. Karen6:31 PM, September 16, 2021

    Ach! My comment disappeared. I enjoy your reviews about CM's books. I read a couple by him ages ago and really enjoyed them. Need to put him on my TBR list. Also, about Jefferson's Daughters. It's really good, but it is nonfiction, so reads a bit slow. One that I really loved is coauthored by a novelist and historian -- both women -- and it's called America's First Daughter. Very good.

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