The Story Keeper

Title: THE STORY KEEPER

Author: Lisa Wingate

Publisher: Tyndale

August 2014

ISBN: 978-1414386898

Genre: Women’s fiction

“She’d noticed immediately that I understood the lure of a good story. Sometimes a world that doesn’t exist is the only escape from one that does.”

Successful New York editor, Jen Gibbs, is at the top of her game with her new position at Vida House Publishing -- until a mysterious manuscript from an old slush pile appears on her desk. Turning the pages, Jen finds herself drawn into the life of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in the turn of the century Appalachia. A risky hunch may lead to The Story Keeper's hidden origins and its unknown author, but when the trail turns toward the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place Jen thought she'd left behind forever, the price of a blockbuster next book deal may be higher than she's willing to pay. 

THE STORY KEEPER is pure Lisa Wingate. Within pages of starting the book I was fully connected with Jen—and then when she started reading the old slush pile manuscript, I couldn’t help but feel for Sarra.

My daughter, reading over my shoulder while I waited in line somewhere, commented, there’s a lot of bad grammar in this book. I told her that Ms. Wingate writes the way the character talks, thinks. Pure point of view.

Both storylines are written in first person, which doesn’t bother me but may detour some readers. If you like women’s fiction, you will absolutely love THE STORY KEEPER. Highly recommended. 449 pages. Available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, audio, and MP3.