The Forgiving Hour (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

I wasn’t planning to read a Kindle book, but I had nothing much to do while waiting for some friends recently, and discovered that my phone’s Kindle app had some of my downloaded books available without me being online. I decided to try Robin Lee Hatcher’s novel ‘The Forgiving Hour’, which I picked up when it was on a free special offer three years ago. I read some of her books over a decade ago and thought she was one of the better American Christian writers, with some good storylines and not too much overt preaching. 

The book opens in quite a dramatic way. Claire is at home, obsessively cleaning and ensuring that the meal she has preferred is absolutely perfect. The reason, we learn, is that she’s about to meet her son’s fiancee Sara. Her son, Dakota, is in his twenties and she hasn’t yet met Sara, who she knows is eight years older than he is. Claire is not just nervous, she has a sense of foreboding. Yet what could possibly go wrong…?

Claire has a strange feeling that she’s met Sara somewhere before, when they finally arrive. And then Sara spots a photo taken when Dakota was much younger, in a different place. She asks where they lived… and then she and Claire both realise that there’s a shocking coincidence… something that makes Claire insist that Sara leave immediately. 

The story then goes back many years to Dakota’s childhood, when Claire and her husband Dave were - mostly - fairly content. We learn that they married rather young, as Claire was pregnant - and that after their son was born, she was unable to have any other children. He’s a bit of a chauvinist, and she’s pretty sure he had an affair in the past, but she’s managed to forgive him and hold the marriage together. But now he’s become moody again and she’s pretty sure he’s seeing someone else…

Claire’s viewpoint chapters alternate with Sara’s; she’s just 18 and embarking on life as a student. Because the reader knows from the first chapter what’s going to happen, it’s quite tense in places, but the author manages to give Sara’s perspective as well as Claire’s. Sara is not blameless in what happens, but she’s quite a well-written character whose viewpoint makes sense, even if one doesn’t agree with it. 

I liked Claire, who’s a strong person, albeit a bit insecure in herself. But when she’s left alone she finds work, and does everything she can to bring her son up as a well-rounded person. She doesn’t much like it when he becomes a Christian, and there’s a tad too much overt discussion about his faith (and I speak as a believer) but it’s fairly realistic; he’s been a moody teenager, albeit very fond of his mother, and gradually becomes more mature. 

I found the subject matter a bit surprising in a Christian novel; infidelity, adultery and other such topics are not normally covered quite so explicitly in a book of this nature. The author doesn't go into gratuitous detail and the novel is free of bad language, but someone who had read one of her more innocent books might find this shocking. It’s certainly not a book I’d want to give to a young teenager, as it covers so many adult situations. 

I also found the amount of Christianese rather overwhelming towards the end.  Clearly, given the title, there has to be some forgiveness, and it’s true that lack of forgiveness only really hurts the person who’s feeling bitter. But there’s a huge amount of introspection, and I found the last few chapters of the book rather cliched with pat answers and somewhat unlikely changes of mind. I’m all for a happy ending, and certainly believe that miracles happen; but the writing felt somewhat forced.

I found the story quite compelling, particularly when the flashback section moved to the present, and the story continued from the place where the prologue stopped. But it’s not one I am likely to read again, and it’s not one I’d recommend. I understand that the author wrote this in part based on personal experience, but Robin Lee Hatcher has written some much better books, in my view. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Ribbon of Years (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

Some years ago, I read and liked some of the novels by Robin Lee Hatcher. She’s an American Christian writer. I find many books in the US Christian fiction genre to be rather trite, but on the whole I thought this author’s books were well-written. Some of them cover rather deeper topics than is typical.

So I was pleased when I saw ‘Ribbon of Years’ available to download free for my Kindle. I started reading it on a flight to the UK, and finished it on the return flight a week later. The story is mainly about a woman called Miriam. We meet her first as a headstrong teenager in 1936, and then follow her through her remarkably difficult life until she turns eighty.

The book begins well. It opens in 2001 and introduces us to Julianna, a woman in her forties who is looking for a house to buy. She acknowledges that she’s rather bored, and wishes things could be different. She starts looking over a house, and comes across a box of mementoes. Then she meets an elderly man, who evidently knows the former owner of the house. He talks about Miriam, and then the next section of the book takes us back to 1936 where we meet her as a restless teenager.

It’s a good device to begin the book, but unfortunately it doesn’t really work for the rest of it. Every so often we’re whizzed back to 2001, and another item is taken out of the box, then after a page or two the action returns (albeit with a leap forward in Miriam’s life) to the 20th century. Julianna isn’t developed as a person, and by the final section, I’d forgotten who the other people in her life were.

However, the vast majority of the story is about Miriam, her relationships and family and working life. Inevitably she’s caught up in the war, with friends and relatives going abroad to fight in Europe, not all of them returning. She falls in love and is happy, but dogged by a problem… she’s just about accepted it when something unexpected occurs, followed by a terrible tragedy.

As this is Christian fiction, I wasn’t surprised at the Scripture references, and discussions about finding Jesus - but I found the sheer number of them rather excessive. I don’t know who the intended audience is: for someone who is already a believer, these sections are somewhat superfluous. For someone who is not, they would probably put them off altogether.

At the start of the book, there are some people with a real faith and others whose beliefs are rather nominal, but as the story progresses there are more and more discussions about personal relationships to God and surviving the storms of life - and poor Miriam suffers considerably more than anyone I’ve known, despite her faithfulness.

The later part of the book covers some serious issues; it would be a spoiler to say what they are, but I felt that on the whole they were handled sensitively and in a positive way, although I suspect that some of what Miriam says would be criticised by many.

I didn’t find any of the characters particularly believable. The writing is good, but I found it all rather depressing, on the whole. I kept reading, but it’s not a novel I would want to read again.

Review by Sue F copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews

The victory club (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

I very much enjoyed some of Robin Lee Hatcher's novels which I read about a year ago. So I was pleased to see her latest book in a Christian library I was visiting.

'The victory club' is the story of four American women during World War II. They work at the same place and see each other on the bus each morning.

Lucy was married just before her husband enlisted for the war, and she is afraid that he may never return. In her loneliness she is seriously tempted to become over-friendly with an older neighbour.

Dottie is engaged to another man who is also away in the war. Unfortunately, before he left, they did something which will have lasting consequences, and she is scared.

Margo, Dottie's mother, is strict and legalistic. She has a dark secret of her own from the past, but rather than being more sympathetic as a result, she finds it impossible to relax or to allow her children to 'fail' in any way. She is afraid for her son Clark, who is also away in the war.

The fourth woman is Penelope, whose husband stuart is unable to enlist, or even work, due to back injuries. Penelope is resentful and bored.

The four form a club to help other friends, and to support and pray for each other and their loved ones. The story follows them all over a few months.

I thought the novel interesting from a historical perspective. For one thing, I had not realised that the USA had some food rationing, albeit nowhere near as stringent as that in Europe. It was well-written too - Robin Lee Hatcher has an interesting style, and makes the characters come alive.

On the other hand, I felt that there was far too much introspection and overtly Christian conversation, none of which seemed realistic. I didn't disagree with what was said, but found the style of discussion rather off-putting and unbelievable, which was a pity in an otherwise believable setting.

Quite a good light read, although I felt the lack of an overall plot or single main character.

Speak to me of Love (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

'Speak to me of Love' is the fourth Christian novel I've read by Robin Lee Hatcher. But while I found the others quite moving, I didn't really enjoy this one as much as the others.

As I understand it, it's a standard 'Heartquest' plot. An actress with two young children has to leave her travelling troupe to tend to her sick daughter. She is in a fairly dead-end town, and the only job she can find is that of housekeeper to a bad-tempered man. He is something of a caricature with a patch over his eye, a scar on his face, and an unhappy past.

Having said that, there are some nice touches in the book. There is a macho cow-girl who falls in love and needs help to start looking like a woman. The children are nicely portrayed too. But the plot is rather like that of 'Jane Eyre', and the Christian input seems a bit forced at times.

Still, 'Speak to me of love' is well-written and probably gives an accurate picture of the life in small-town America in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, I didn't find either of the main characters particularly memorable.

Nonetheless, it made a pleasant light read for about three hours, and was more believable than many of this genre.

Catching Katie (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

'Catching Katie' is a historical Christian novel set in the early 1900s in USA, by Robin Lee Hatcher. It's about Katie, an idealistic and strong-minded young woman. She is a passionate advocate of women's suffrage, in days when homes tended to be traditional and only men were allowed to vote in many States.

Katie returns to her home town for a few months, after studying and working elsewhere, and meets Ben, her best friend from childhood. As they get to know each other again, her heart struggles to determine the best path for her future.

There are some very good characterisations in this novel. They include not just Katie and Ben, but an angry schoolteacher, Katie's parents, Ben's sister, and many other more minor characters. Their interactions feel real, and Katie's decisions resounded well with the way I would have thought, at times. Katie sometimes does something a little rash because of condescending advice against it!

The Christian message in the book is low-key, not pushed in a preachy or cringeworthy way. Some difficult questions (such as a woman's place in a marriage) are examined in a fair and balanced way without any authorial comment about either extreme.

All in all, I thought this a good read which I would recommend to anyone interested in historical novels.

Beyond the Shadows (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

'Beyond the Shadows' is a novel set in America in the 1950s, by Robin Lee Hatcher. The book opens rather dramatically at Deborah's young husband's funeral, where she first meets Gideon. He's an old friend of her late husband, and offers to do some odd jobs around the house.

As events move forward slowly, we pick up on the reason why Deborah's husband died, and also get to know both her and Gideon as they slowly get to know each other. Not surprisingly, romance starts to blossom, and indeed, Gideon does seem to be a charming young man. It's not until later that his past begins to emerge in a way that causes serious problems.

Sensitively written, probably eye-opening to some, I found this a very moving novel. My only slight regret is that I read the blurb on the back before starting, as it gave away rather more of the plot than I would have wished. Still, it didn't really matter, and by the time I was half-way through the book I could hardly bear to put it down.

Definitely recommended.

Firstborn (by Robin Lee Hatcher)

(Amazon UK link)

I'd never heard of Robin Lee Hatcher until I saw some of her books for sale on the MV Doulos, at very good prices. American Christian fiction can be variable in style and quality, so I bought just one of her books at first, not sure what to expect.

'Firstborn' turns out to be an excellent book about family relationships. Steve and Erika seem to have the perfect marriage, and happy family life with their loving and bright son Ethan, who is 17. Erika is a little insecure - her father is rather harsh, her mother died when she was quite young, and she was unable to have any more children after Ethan. Nevertheless her life seems to be idyllic and people hold her marriage up as one to admire and emulate.

Then she receives a letter which brings to light a secret she has kept for 20 years. Unfortunately the blurb on the back of the book says what this is, which could rather spoil the first part of the story. But it happens relatively early in the book and is hinted at before. This secret threatens to disrupt all she holds dear.

It's a Christian book without being trite or preachy. The people seemed very believable, in particular Steve as he struggles to accept that his wife has kept something from him for so long. All the characters have to face up to their flaws and difficulties, and they all felt realistic to me.

It was hard to put this book down once I had started. When I finished, I rushed back to the book exhibition to buy the other three books available by this author!

Highly recommended.