"Wrapped in Rain" by Charles Martin

Tucker Mason and his brother Matthew didn't have it easy.  The sons of an alcoholic millionaire who sought total power, he fought back with both words and fists when life didn't go his way.  Housekeeper and nanny Ella Rain softened the edges where she could, however, and tried to teach them about the One who really has control.  By the time the boys were independent - Tucker an internationally known photographer, his brother in an institution for mental illness - their father had lost both his fortune and his mind and they had inherited only the ostentatious and unwanted  mansion of their youth.  When Matthew disappears from the institution and Tucker takes him home, can they find the root of Matthew's distress and Tucker's bitterness?  Will they learn Miss Ella's most important life lesson - that only love and forgiveness can truly give them the home and future they crave?

The beginning of this book was not easy reading.  Though interesting, the story picked up in present day and filled in the backstory through flashbacks and memories.  Because the story was being told from different points of view, this meant bouncing around in time and viewpoint among at least four perspectives, which was difficult to sort out in the beginning.  After settling in and getting the gist of the action, I began to enjoy this story much, much more.  By the middle I couldn't put it down and I couldn't wait to find out how Martin would bring everyone's issues to resolution.

This story is not a lighthearted read, as the issues are deep:  mental illness, child abuse, neglect, alcoholism, promiscuity, racial tensions; but Martin deals with each in a realistic and yet kind way.  Tucker grabs your heart and makes you want to cheer him on to happiness as he reconciles with his difficult past.

With characters like Tucker, I'm definitely going to seek out Martin's other books.

I was given a free copy of this book by BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.