The Baker's Wife

By: Erin Healy

Narrated by: Nan Gurley

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

If what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, why is Audrey growing weaker by the day? When her husband Geoff, a pastor, lost his job after a scandal rocked their congregation, Audrey's never lost faith. They decide to resurrect a failing bakery as a way to heal family wounds and restore their place in the community.

Running late to the bakery one foggy morning, Audrey strikes a vehicle. Emerging from her car into the fog, she discovers she hit a motor scooter. But there’s no rider in sight. Just blood. The absence of the driver is a mystery, especially to Sergeant Jack Mansfield, the detective and church member responsible for firing Geoff from his pulpit. The scooter belongs to Jack’s wife, Julie, a teacher at the local high school, who has vanished… like morning fog.

Though there is no evidence to support Jack’s growing suspicion that Audrey and Geoff were involved in Julie’s disappearance, the detective is convinced of their guilt. When he takes the tiny bakery and its patron’s hostage, Audrey must unravel the secret of Julie’s disappearance and her own mysterious suffering before Jack hits his breaking point.

©2011 Thomas Nelson, Inc. (P)2011 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Divides the Wheat from the Chaff

The Baker's Wife is one of the best books I've listened to in a long time. I love Christian fiction, and this one is exceptional on many levels. It's a crime drama (one of my favorite), and it also tells the story of two very different families, who profess to be Christians. Jack, police officer and deacon in the church, wears his "Christianity" like a cloak of righteousness, quipping out Bible verses like weapons against everyone he meets. He led the deacons and church to dismiss their pastor, Geoff for allegedly coercing Jack and Julie's daughter, Miralee into having an abortion. Now the pastor and his wife have opened a bakery together, and continue to serve the Lord. Geoff's wife, Audrey (The Baker's Wife) hits a motor scooter in dense fog one morning . . . but the rider is nowhere to be found. The story that unfolds is harrowing . . . and amazing.

Predictable

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

It was very focused on Christian themes

What was most disappointing about Erin Healy’s story?

predictable story

What about Nan Gurley’s performance did you like?

Reader was very strong

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Loved the descriptions of baking bread.

Interesting

From the beginning, this book begins by crafting a strange and puzzling mystery. We learn about a woman recently released from prison, returning to her hometown to right a wrong. At the same time, due to foggy conditions, a collision occurs, resulting in a possible injury. When the driver steps out of her car, discovering who or what she’d accidentally plowed over; to her surprise, there isn’t anything there. Where a body should have been; there was none. Instead, she finds a scooter (small motorbike) and a pool of spilled blood. Slowly, the writer weaves life paths crisscrossed by the characters; telling a story in a way that intersects these paths, and explains the missing body. We’re also told about a conflict that occurred some months ago, involving two families. This ignites, sparking a catalyst. Due to a teen pregnancy, resulting in an abortion; each family experiences difficult life changing choices. Decision that will forever affect their world.

I found this book to be interesting, on more than one level and I wanted to listen to it all the way to the end. However, the readers performance lacked dramatic flair. At every turn, I felt like I was a small child in a classroom, listening to my fourth grade teacher, reading her students a story. In the beginning, I noted a slight effort on the readers part, to vary her voice for each character however, this didn’t last long. Her reading made a potentially good book fall short. In many instances, as the listener, I was left to wonder, which character was speaking. Without the book in front of me, I had to take a stab at it and simply guess and that shouldn’t happen when listening to audiobooks. On a few occasions, I wanted to give up listening because another reader could have made all the difference in the world.

So, if you are a frequent audiobook listener, I would caution you before buying this book. Prepare yourself not to be dazzled by a dramatic performance because in this area; the reader does not deliver.

Captiving Read

The premise of this book is actually very intriguing; a woman hits a scooter on a foggy morning, and exits the car to check on the rider... Only to find no one is there. The "victim" of the crash can't be found. This book is a good mystery.

I enjoyed the author's writing. She's a very good storyteller. The only issue (and it doesn't detract from the book's quality) I had with the story is something you hear in the beginning of the book, that Audrey senses things and can feel people's hurts like they were her own. In a Christian book, I find myself not entirely comfortable with it. Even though the author clearly makes the character a Christian, and that is completely clear through the book, it seems a little too occult for me to believe to be true.

Another great thing about this book is the narrator. Nan Gurley's voice is wonderful with inflection and spirit. Sometimes the inflection didn't always fit with what the character was saying, but she did a great job.

A Book Worth Reading

This novel tells the story of God's power revealed through the frail actions of imperfect people. The characters in Erin Healy's book, The Baker's Wife, are portraits of depth and complexity. The plot is intricate and full of surprises. This is a book worth reading.

Great

I'm speechless. Just an overall great story. Refreshing story. Felt good not to read a rerun of the same boring storyline.

Held my attention

This book held my attention the entire time. It was a pretty good story, with really good narration. A good look at how quickly and easily we get off track when we focus on self rather than others.

Must Have

Loved it!
You should definitely give it a try! Love Erin Healy's books. Great Author. Give it a listen and see for yourself.

The Baker's Wife

This is one of these stories that you can't stop listening to. What a great author and the narrator was very good.
I plan on listening to another book by Erin Healy.

Not so much!

I enjoy Christian based books but this one was a bit much. The story of good but it was so dramatic that I could not finish it. I got 90 percent through it and could not finish it, just too boring. First time that has happened. Usually I am so vested I plow through but no can do on this one. The narrator was good but the story was not a hit with me.