Review of: “In Places Hidden” by Tracie Peterson

Book description from Amazon.com:

“Some families are filled with so much love they can’t help but drive each other crazy.

Shay Henke has mixed feelings about going to her family’s next reunion. On the one hand, she’ll get to see everyone in her mama’s family–folks she loves unconditionally. On the other hand, she knows there’ll be more drama than you can shake a stick at.

The days leading up to the event bring one surprise after another. First Shay must deal with her sister-in-law’s deep, dark secret. Then she has to contend with the childish ways of her business-mogul twin cousins. And when her high school crush wants to be her date to the reunions . . . well, it may have been a dream come true for Shay’s teen self, but the woman she’s become doesn’t know what to make of this.

Shay’s contentment is challenged, and she’s determined to shake things up a bit. But will she find the excitement she’s looking for, or will Shay realize she prefers her quiet predictable life? One thing is certain: Life in the Bucklin family is never boring.”

304 pages

Gilead Publishing

My Review:

Y’all. I love to read Christian southern fiction, and this book sets a high standard for that category. Having grown up in a small southern town, I feel that Debby Mayne has captured, in an affectionate way, life in a small southern town and the sense of community that exists among the families and friends who reside there.

We learn about the Bucklin family reunion through the first-person viewpoints of some of the family members who will be attending the reunion. The author has done an excellent job of making these first-person accounts smoothly flow together. In these accounts, we also learn of events that have happened during past reunions. By the time I got to the part of the storyline when the reunion took place, I was eagerly anticipating what might happen. I was not disappointed. I am already looking forward to “attending” the next Bucklin reunion.

Love of family, friends, and faith are the strong themes throughout this whole book. I’m happy to recommend this delightful story to you.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review. This is my honest opinion of the book.