Coming Home for Christmas

Loved this book very much and with the great ending it was even better!!!

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and read way into the night to finish it.

Any time I see a RaeAnne Thayer book available on BookBub, I buy it. She’s definitely one of my favorite authors. This book certainly does not disappoint. It’s a Christmas book, but not what I expected. It’s a book of love under very difficult circumstances that teaches that what we think we know it not always the true facts. We have to look beyond what we think is true & find where the actual truth lies. Then, we must forgive others & ourselves. Yes, the setting is Christmas, but the underlying theme of this book is LOVE. Buy it, read it, & maybe even read it again. It’s that good.

Luke Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth, disappeared 7 years ago from Haven Point, Idaho. She left him and their 2 children without warning. People had been speculating that Luke had killed her. Elliott is Luke’s former best friend. Elliott is now an FBI agent and engaged to Luke’s sister Megan. For the last 7 years, Elliott had suspected Luke had hurt Elizabeth. A truck driver came forward years after Elizabeth’s disappearance. The driver claimed to have given a ride to a woman fitting Elizabeth’s description, on the night she disappeared. Elliott spent long hours tracking down the lead. And he found her in Oregon! Doing the right thing, Elliott gave the information to Luke who had now known for months that Elizabeth was alive. Things had gotten very serious when the police chief warned Luke the DA planned to arrest him for the disappearance and presumed murder of Elizabeth. Luke had no choice now. He had to go to Oregon to confront her and bring her back to Haven Point. When Luke sees this woman he is shocked, it’s her! But he doesn’t recognize her as Elizabeth. It’s the mystery woman he has seen around Haven Point over the years. But he does recognize her eyes, Elizabeth’s eyes. She has been living under a different name, Sonia Davis. Luke explains how he found her and why she needs to come with him to Haven Point. She can speak to the DA to clear things up and he will fly her back to Oregon. Facing a long drive, Luke makes it clear he isn’t going to make small talk or have anything to do with her. When she asks doesn’t he want to know what happened or why she left, he doesn’t. He only wants her to talk to the DA. Bad weather conditions cause them to find a place to stay the night. Finding one of the last rooms available they stop. As Elizabeth waits for Luke to check them in, she introduces herself to another guest as Sonia Davis. She thinks to herself that is the name she was given 7 years ago. Luke avoids being in the room with her as long as possible. When he goes to the room she is asleep. In the middle of the night Elizabeth is having a bad dream, saying please don’t hurt me. He puts his arms around her and it is like the last 7 years melt away. When she awakens and he asks about the dream she brushes it off. Things are back to being tense. Almost to Haven Point, Elizabeth recognizes the landscape and more memories come to her. As Luke turns on their road she panics She also sees no sign of life. He tells her there’s not much there as he unlocks the door. It’s empty ! No pictures or knickknacks. Very little furniture. She asks where the children are. He says at school until he picks them up and they they’ll be at his home. He won’t let her see or talk to them. More harsh words and he leaves. He will be back in the morning to take her to the DA. Is that going to be it, see the DA tomorrow and fly back to Oregon? There’s much more to the story ........ and well worth your time to read it!

Anticipation over, Luke and Elizabeth’s reunion, although tense and uncertain, was what I have been waiting for in this series. Since most of Haven Point, Idaho, believed Luke murdered Elizabeth, and with the district attorney about to charge him, Luke’s bringing her back was necessary, even though he didn’t want her there. Now he can get divorced, get cleared, and move on with his life and their two children, Cassie, almost 10 and Bridger, almost 8. Missing for seven years, Luke’s friend, FBI agent Elliot Bailey, found Elizabeth living in Oregon, even though she had a different name and life. As the story develops with Elizabeth temporarily living in the house she was in when she left, and with Luke and their children in their own home, the mystery of where she has been and why is revealed. I loved this book. The transformations of Luke, their children, and the whole town are affected by what happened to Elizabeth for such a long period of time. The strength of Elizabeth as she attempts to clear her name and Luke’s made my heart sing. I truly admire her and what she was able to overcome. This author writes with clarity, heart, and leaves no loose ends. My heart is full.