Shadows in the Mind’s Eye Book Review
About the Book
Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on–responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who’s come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam’s experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand–but that everyone is learning to fear.
Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn’t the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts?
Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she’s terrified he’s going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam’s mental wounds–or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life?
Debut novelist Janyre Tromp delivers a deliciously eerie, Hitchcockian story filled with love and suspense. Readers of psychological thrillers and historical fiction by Jaime Jo Wright and Sarah Sundin will add Tromp to their favorite authors list.
My Thoughts
Suspense is not normally my genre of choice, but seeing as this one includes a post World War II historical setting, I easily took the bait and grabbed a copy to read.
The story is set in Hot Springs, AR which is intriguing enough for me seeing as how it’s only one state over from where I live, and a wonderful place to visit if you ever get the chance. The language that Sam and Annie both use is so authentic to the old South that I even though my grammar is much better, I had no trouble following along with the story they told. (Ie. frequent uses of “ain’t” or incorrect verb tenses are peppered throughout.)
Sam knows something is amiss as soon as he comes home, but no one believes him. Annie wants to believe him, but with so many reports of men battling mental health issues after the war, she struggles to separate truth from fiction. This aspect of the book is handled so well to show the reader how easily one’s mind can betray them. The reality of Sam’s situation is more than it appears to be thanks to a great twist toward the end I didn’t see coming.
I highly recommend listening to the audio version if you have the opportunity. The story is narrated by a male and female giving Sam and Annie good, fleshed-out personas. The narrator for Annie made her Southern “belle-like” personality shine through.
All in all, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is a wonderful novel from this new-to-me author, and I can’t wait to read more!
4 Stars
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**Last but not least – I do have a couple of ideas for jewelry for this novel! Stay tuned for more!
