Wedged and trapped by painful secrets of her past, Althea Carter determines to make two positive changes.
One is to focus on changing her lucrative career to one of passion, and the second is to pull away from a family friend whom she suspects has captured her heart.
Blinded by hurt and guilt, Althea overlooks the very answer to her heart's longing and unwittingly befriends a homicidal sociapath.
Once she recognizes her mistake, it is too late.
Will she survive the terrorization of a trusted friend? Will she resist the sanctimonious attitude that has heretofore cloaked the way of wisdom? Can she bring herself to acknowledge her true feelings for her best friend after years of simply being his sidekick?
REVIEW BY RAWSISTAZ BOOK CLUB
Reviewed: Jul 11, 2005
Path of Thorns
By Annetta P. Lee
Mount Blue, August 2005
269 Pages, Paperback, $9.95
ISBN: 1585711454
Genre:
RAW Rating: 4.5
Getting past the thorns
Althea (Thea) Carter is living with the painful memories of a past that threatens to weaken her spiritually. She has been living with the torment that she somehow was responsible for her parents’ untimely death and is being punished for it. Their accident left Thea emotionally as well as physically battered and, at age sixteen, she comes to live with her aunt and uncle, the Morrows. She develops a major crush on her uncle’s partner in his dental practice and, after nine years, she wants him to see her as more than just a child.
Walter (Mac) Hollings, at twenty-three, was completing his undergraduate work in dentistry under Will Morrow when he met the Morrows' grief-stricken teenaged niece. Mac decided to stay with Will in his practice and help them out with Thea. Somewhere along the way, Mac began to realize that Thea was no longer the troubled child he had sworn to protect. Now, it will take a higher power to help him navigate all the conflicting emotions and messages that he has been receiving.
During a morning jog, Thea happens upon a drug deal about to go down. Just as things are about to get a little hairy for her, she takes an injurious tumble away from the scene, but ostensibly out of harm's way. Mac, also jogging in the area, witnesses her fall and comes to the rescue. Everyone is relieved that Thea escapes a potentially bad situation with a few minor scrapes. That is, until a body is discovered and it’s apparent that the killer has targeted Thea. Realizing the possible danger that Thea faces, Mac automatically assumes the role of her protector. With their feelings for one another near eruption and a maniac on the loose, both Mac and Thea seek divine intervention.
PATH OF THORNS by Annetta P. Lee is a book I found spiritually uplifting, emotionally griping and delightfully entertaining. Ms. Lee adeptly weaves a story about two people being guided spiritually to love one another against the backdrop of a huge web of deception tainted with criminal activity. This she laces nicely with biblical messages of strength, healing and love. The characters all seem to come alive within the pages. Even the criminal element evoked emotions within me that had me wanting to join the chase for the suspect. The underlying message, as well as the title, could be summed up in one quote from the book, “One can never experience the pleasures of perfection without first going through the pain that guards them.” You learn to appreciate things more when you have gone through a few thorns to get to them.
Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
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Brenda M. Lisbon is an avid reader and a big supporter of school-sponsored reading activities for children in her community. She and her son reside in Bishopville, SC.
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