Waylaid by Jerusha Agen Review

 

Waylaid by Jerusha Agen is a wonderful start to her new Windy City Westons series. The main Weston sibling in this story is Spring Weston. She had a promising career in pro cycling ahead of her until she was struck by a vehicle and left paralyzed. Though a Christian, she wishes she had just died instead of being forced to live such a life. And it appears there is someone who would be willing to fulfil her wish of being dead, someone who has been sending her threatening text messages, warning her to be quiet and not tell anyone what she remembers. The confusing problem is. . . she doesn't think she knows anything worth being threatened over. Yet, there is one thing that may have caused someone or someones to be trying to eliminate her, but would they really resort to such tactics. So, she is now living in fear, as well as depression over her situation. 

Police officer Torin Cotter has been put on her case to try to figure out who ran her over. Was it just an accident as it had been determined, or was there more to it? When he learns some of what may have been involved, he begins to wonder if the reason Spring isn't sharing details is because she herself is involved in something illegal. Of  course, as we get to see both of their points of view, we know what her involvement truly is. And there are things from Torin's past that are affecting the situation which make Spring unsure of his feelings. 

As events unfold, the author adds in some twists that truly took me by surprise. Both of the main characters had a lot to work through while dealing with an unknown villain and then an obvious villain who brings danger to multiple people. Yet, all is still not quite as it seems. Who is working behind the scenes? The final reveal was quite shocking. I love the way the author wrapped everything up and brought it together in the end. Thankfully the book did not end in a cliff hangar. I'm looking forward to reading more stories based on the Weston siblings, all of whom we met in this story. 

I really appreciated that faith was a central part of this story. Spring was dealing with quite a bit of anger and depression, wishing multiple times in the story that her life would just end as she couldn't see living her life paralyzed. She wrestled quite a bit with not feeling worth loving. And Torin was dealing with his own demons. However, the Gospel message is shared along with the importance of truly putting one's trust in Jesus. 

An awesome book and one I highly recommend.

I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.