Unveiling the Past

March 16, 2020
Vogel’s overwrought and heavy-handed follow-up to Bringing Maggie Home depicts the trials of a devout Christian marriage. Meghan and her husband Sean are partners in the Arkansas Cold Case Investigations Department in Little Rock, Ark., and have come to a crossroads in their three-year marriage. Sean is ready to start a family, but Meghan, burdened by a tumultuous childhood, refuses to discuss the topic. Then Meghan gets a case involving the disappearance of a father and son 20 years ago, and she discovers her own absentee father very conveniently lives in the town where she has come to investigate. Meghan’s father’s attempts at mending his relationship with her mother and the distance from Sean cause Meghan to question her identity as wife, daughter, and believer in God. More than a few readers will be turned off by the strictly traditional roles Sean and Meghan adhere to within their marriage, and Sawyer overfills her otherwise satisfying plot with biblical references. This is an easy one to miss. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, Steve Laube Agency

April 3, 2020

Partners at work as detectives in the Arkansas Cold Case Investigations Department and now at home since getting married, Meghan and Sean are assigned separate cases for the first time. The captain asks Meghan to work with a family friend, Sheila, who has never wanted to believe that her father could have embezzled money from his employer and left his family behind, while Sean continues investigating the unexplained deaths of two young boys. In the midst of this, Sean longs for a wife who will make home-cooked meals and have a baby, but despite her guilt over her "domestic insufficiencies," Meghan is hesitant to start a family after growing up with an absentee dad and a single mom. While pondering the idea of parenthood, Meghan feels it might finally be time to meet her own father, leading to surprising results when her mom and grandma get involved. VERDICT Popular Christian fiction author Sawyer explores earthly and heavenly relationships in this follow-up to Bringing Maggie Home. Those looking for a gentle read that focuses on faith and evangelism may appreciate this, but the tidy ending strains credulity and Sean's traditional views won't resonate with everyone.--Melissa DeWild, Comstock Park, MI

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