Review: The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

The marriage of Eli and Noelle Hueston has been going steadily downhill since the death of their teenage daughter in a store shooting.  Eli blames himself for her death, and has since retired from his job as Sheriff, and spends his time either fishing or helping out Lee Nelson, who lost her husband in the same shooting. Noelle is barely surviving, and spends her time volunteering, but has made the decision that she is going to live again. A twist of fate finds her caught up in another shore shooting, but while she does not die, she loses all memory of the last 25 years. As Noelle starts to get to know her husband and two sons again, Eli realises that he has to get to know Noelle again.

I really enjoyed The Shadow of Your Smile, more so than I expected based on the plot summary.  As well as the main plot, there is a very sweet romantic sub-plot involving Eli and Noelle’s oldest son, Kyle, now a deputy in Deep Haven.  As always, Susan May Warren has delivered a book that satisfies on many levels, with likeable characters, a nice romance, a bit of suspense, and some thought-provoking plot lines. 

While the Deep Haven novels are all happy-ever-after romances (well, what do you expect from a series where the first book is titled ‘Happily Ever After’?), above all, each book is a story of the power of God to heal our pain.  The Shadow of Your Smile is no exception.  This is the fifth Deep Haven book, and hopefully won’t be the last.  It features cameo appearances from many characters in the earlier books, including Liza Beaumont, the local potter.  I’m still anxiously waiting for Susan May Warren to tell us Liza’s story.  Perhaps she will meet a good-looking Nashville music producer?

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.