Never Let You Go
Erin Healy
Thomas Nelson

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Erin Healy’s ""Never Let You Go"" introduces us to Lexi Solomon who has immersed herself in her 9 year old daughter Molly for some seven years.

The narrative begins at the back of the red Rocks Bar and Grill on an icy March evening as Lexi closed the restaurant as she did every Monday, Thursday and Friday. The trek down the alley to her car was always fraught with a bit of fear that single light illuminating the corridor would quit in mid step, it did. But, thankfully it came back to life, but with it came an unwelcome denizen from her past.

And, from that beginning the reader moves with Lexi into a frightening situation taking her from the day to day struggle she has faced since her beloved sister Tara was murdered, her druggie husband left and an acquaintance Lexi from her past, an acquaintance she had hoped not to see again reappears. Warden’s reappearing is followed quickly by that of Grant, her husband, gone but not divorced, also unexpected, also not welcomed. Not only that, Norman Von Ruden, the man who murdered her sister is now up for parole.

The seven years of anger, feelings of being deserted, estrangement from her own mother and need to protect her child have not been easy for Lexi. Lexi does have a roommate, Gina, and her daughter Molly to help cheer the time, but the struggle to just keep herself and her child clothed, fed and housed is beginning to take its toll.

As re-stirred memories of occurrences along with people from the past again enter Lexi’s life Lexi must face them. Slowly Lexi comes to understand that choices made, whether our own or those of those in our lives have impact upon us, shape our own outcome and cannot be ignored.

Learning to accept the past as that, past, forgive what needs to be forgiven, and move on; must be done in that order, was difficult for Lexi to accept. However as Lexi began to understand that she could not continue to nurture the hurts of the past if she were to enter the hope of the future she is more able to come to grips with that past and to face a more hopeful future. In time Lexi begins her journey of self-examining, leading to her beginning to understand the healing of forgiveness.

I found writer Healy’s characters to be well detailed, the rogues are really iniquitous while the others tend to be very real, on the whole likeable and people we feel we can identify. As do we all; Healy’s characters make both good and poor choices and frequently discover the consequences are not always to their liking.

As the tale weaves back and forth from the present to the past Lexi’s determination for survival grows stronger. Because this work is listed as a Christian thriller, writer Healy does weave a good bit of God’s working in lives into the narrative. For those having a religious background Biblical reference and theological rhetoric are understandable and clear, for those without religious background some of the Christian theme may seem less understandable and less necessary.

As a Christian novel the reader can expect to find a good versus evil theme running throughout. Again, those with religious background will find the theme acceptable and understandable, others may not accept it quite so well.

I enjoyed the read, writer Healy has crafted a nicely ground, well written work, because she is billed as a Christian writer and "Never Let You Go" is billed as a Christian Suspense; I find the Biblical

reference, and Christian themes to be fundamental to narrative and essential to the work.

Happy to recommend Erin Healy’s "Never Let You Go".