I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Way Home
by
Cindy Gerard
romantic suspense in Hardcover edition that was published by Gallery Books on October 29, 2013 and has 336 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Deadly Promises, Show No Mercy, Take No Prisoners, Whisper No Lies, Feel the Heat, Risk No Secrets, With No Remorse, Last Man Standing, To the Edge, To the Limit, To the Brink, Over the Line, Under the Wire, Killing Time, Running Blind, Taking Fire
Second in the One-Eyed Jacks romantic suspense series, and it’s been 18 months since Killing Time, 1, when Jess Albert first met Ty Brown.
You may want to re-read Killing Time before reading The Way Home. I spent a good chunk of the start trying to reconcile events in this story with those in Killing Time, even though Gerard does include references to it. You don’t have to have read it initially, but a re-read helps if you have. If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the three series that tie into each other on my website.
My Take
Wow, what a twist. The end does turn out the way you expect, but Gerard maintains some suspense to the end. It’s all quite convenient.
That said, Gerard will make you ache and want to cry. To wonder at how the greed for power will drive men to commit such horrors. The Way Home switches between terrors: the horrible and the fearful. One is a terror of torture and death as Jeff’s memories come back while the other is the more welcome kind. That of a woman wondering about love, falling in love, and not wanting to love another man who loved the danger of being a warrior.
Part of me hated the chapters that took me back to Jeff’s situation even though I desperately wanted to read of his escape. For both Jeff and Jess, it’s a time of introspection, realizing what they really meant to each other.
“And there she would be alone, surrounded by family and friends.”
Rabia and her father are the best examples of a Muslim. The kind who truly follows the dictates of their religion. Their beliefs and their moral code cause them to risk their lives to aid a soldier being sought by the Taliban.
It’s Jess and Ty’s story that is the standard romance with Jeff being the twist. Have faith, and you’ll enjoy a happily ever after.
The Story
Ty tried. He tried hard but can’t forget Jess Albert, her trust. And he goes back to Lake Kabetogama, to woo the woman he can’t forget.
Fate intervenes, however, and Ty grieves over the woman he’s losing.
It’ll be weeks before they finally confess to each other, brutally honest, finally friends.
The Characters
Jess Albert, a former ER trauma nurse, runs the Crossroads General Store in Lake Kabetogama where the men in Killing Time picked up what they needed to stage a rescue. Bear is her twelve-week-old Labrador. J.R. is the gung-ho husband who lived for Special Ops and was killed in Afghanistan three-and-a-half years ago.
Tyler Brown was one of the warriors in Killing Time. He runs an air cargo business in Key West. Maya is the woman with whom Ty tried to forget Jess.
Medical Sergeant Jeffrey Albert was thought to have been killed in an IED attack. Rabia is a Muslim woman in Afghanistan who adheres, as does her father, to the truth of the Qu’ran. She’s also quite active in the women’s movement, teaching at a girls school. A possibility at last now that the Taliban have fallen from power. Too bad they haven’t all died out! Her father is Wakdar Kahn Kakar. He is the malik, village representative who speaks for the people to the village council, the shura. Rabia’s husband, Rahim, was a policeman in Kabul before he was killed four years ago by a Taliban.
The men in Jeff’s unit
Fisher, Pat, Simmons, and Blanco were part of Jeff’s unit.
A patrol in Khandahar
Private First Class Danny Gleason is just putting in his time. Lieutenant Alex Court is in command. Sergeant Winters who will relieve Gleason.
International Threat Analysis and Prevention is…
…based in Langley and is Mike Brown‘s baby (Mike’s wife is Eva; he’s Ty’s brother). It’s a front for a covert rapid-response team the DoD wants kept quiet. Peter Davis is the operations manager. Jamie Cooper, Bobbie Taggart, Brett Carlyle, Enrique Santos, and Josh Waldrop are all part of the team. Nate Black and his team will be participating. The BOIs include Johnny Reed, Gabe Jones, Rafe Mendoza, Luke Coulter, and Joe Green. Crystal Reed and B.J. Mendoza will be running the air show from Kandahar AFB.
Dr. Jasper is the doctor tending to Jeff.
Lake Kabetogama (Kabby)
Kayla Burke is Jess’ summer help. Blake, Lane, and Hailey come in as needed. Boots England is a flirt whose activities don’t worry his wife, Marcia. Shelly and Darrin Lutzy are Jess’ friends and own Whispering Pines Resort. Albert’s Guide Service is owned by Brad Albert, J.R.’s possessive brother. Mr. Latimer was the football coach who got J.R. enthusiastic about the military. Wade Cummings flies fishermen to fishing camps.
The Cover and Title
The cover is gorgeous in that snow-filled night as a man walks up the snowy driveway toward a well-lit log cabin nestled amongst the trees. A Christmas wreath adorns the porch overhang and an American flag flies in a salute.
The title is how Ty feels about Jess, that she’s shown him The Way Home. It’s not exclusive to Ty, though.
