"Unspoken" by Dee Henderson

Charlotte Graham is at the center of the most famous kidnapping in Chicago history. She’s never said a word about what happened. Eighteen years later, she’s still the only one who knows the truth. But, even now, can she risk sharing it?

As a kid I preferred to read books that were part of a series because most books ended long before I was ready to part ways with the characters in them.

So when I picked up Unspoken, Dee Henderson's newest offering, I really hoped I'd like it - because while it's not exactly part of a series, it is a hefty novel, and I knew I'd be spending some series time with the people inside its pages.

Fortunately, the only problem I had was being unable to put it down.  After reading the first few chapters in the car, I was quite frustrated with the darkening sky and subsequently stayed up waaayyyy too late to finish it after getting home.

Why?

Charlotte Graham is a fascinating character with a really tough question:  how do you trust a God who will forgive people who have hurt you in unspeakable ways?  Put her strength and intrigue, along with her secretive baggage, alongside Bryce Bishop, who must be one of the most patient and wise men on the planet, and you have a suspense-filled journey.

I really enjoyed seeing how Bishop tried to answer Graham's questions about faith throughout the first part of the story and about how a marriage might work between them in the second part.  Bishop's ultimate answer is the same as my husband's:  "we have time.  We don't have to be perfect today.  We'll work it out," and I think that many marriages would benefit from that same response.

Like Henderson's other novels in recent history, Unspoken shares characters from her other books and features law officers working to solve a long-cold case.  Bishop and Graham take center stage as the main players in this book, but the added depth from the wide cast of characters makes the story even more interesting - and if you've read Henderson's other books, it's fun to find out what those characters are now doing.

Woven between the dramatic, emotional scenes that Henderson writes are the suspenseful action scenes that move along the crime drama inherent in the story.  This perfect blend creates a story that is not just blood and gore nor weeping and wailing but instead a gently-paced, hold-your-breath page turner - and turn them I did.  This story tops out at well over 300 pages, but I finished the whole thing in one day because I couldn't sleep without knowing what happened to Graham and Bishop.

It's that good.

I received a free copy of Unspoken from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.