Not by Sight by Kathy Herman

This is the first is a new series from Herman, the Ozark Mountain Trilogy.

It's been five years since Micah and little Riley Jo went fishing and never came back. The novel centers on how the family members deal with the tragedy. Teen-aged Abby never loses faith in God. Her older brother Hawk is bitter. Her mother Kate has given up her faith in God.

The title of this novel comes from 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We live by faith, not by sight.” That theme was certainly evident in this novel.

Herman has done a good job in exploring how people deal with their faith in God when life is not they way they had anticipated. Abbey's faith and her mom's lack of it form the tension in the story line. This is seen in the following exchange.

Abby: “You have to have faith.”

Kate: “I had faith, Abby. It didn't change anything.”

Abby: “You gave up. That's not faith.” (103)

I live in the Pacific Northwest and it was very interesting to read about the strange mountain people in the Ozarks.

The ending is emotional so be sure to have your tissues handy.

The only detraction in this fine novel was that it was too long. Novels in this genre are usually around 300 pages. The novel could have been that length. I felt the extra suspense in the last hundred pages was unnecessary. Nonetheless, this is a good novel. I do like the way Herman writes and will be looking forward to the next in the series.

Kathy Herman is a best-selling author who has written nineteen novels since retiring from her family's Christian bookstore business. She and her husband have three grown children and live in Tyler, Texas. See more about Kathy Herman at www.facebook.com/kathyherman or www.kathyherman.com.

David C. Cook, 400 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.