Christian Retailing

Bonus Web Review: Things Left Unspoken Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Monday, 25 May 2009 01:00 AM America/New_York
altThings Left Unspoken
Eva Marie Everson
Revell (Baker Publishing Group)
softcover, 384 pages, $13.99
978-0-800-73273-8

Raised in the South, Everson recalls well its charm as well as its segregated past in Things Left Unspoken. Written in the voice of Jo-Lynn Hunter, the book begins with the funeral of her Great-Uncle Jim, in Cottonwood, Ga.
After Jim's passing, his wife, Stella, asks Jo-Lynn, a designer by profession, to direct the makeover of the century-old house into a museum that will be the centerpiece of the town, which is being restored by an outside agency.

Feeling the need to leave a legacy, Jo-Lynn dives into the project despite the fact that she will have to live apart from her Atlanta-based husband. In time, she learns that the big house holds secrets, and a criminal element lets her know that she is not welcome to uncover them.

Some readers may be surprised that what starts out as the story of a mid-life crisis becomes something of a murder mystery. As time progresses, Jo-Lynn finds that Cottonwood has become “home”—one of the book's themes—and she and Evan start on the path toward saving their marriage. All along, Jo-Lynn thinks she is renovating a house, but learns that, in fact, God is renovating her.