The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright

Someone knows everything about Gossamer Grove. Everything.

And not just where you can get the best burger, or all the tourist attractions, or the best place to stay the night. Someone knows all Gossamer Grove's secrets. Everything that the residents have tried to keep hidden.

And they are punishing accordingly.

The message of this book surprised me, and the creativity used to bring out the message even more. Sure, it may look like a dark suspense novel. But it's actually a story about grace--and what grace is not. In its own unique way, The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond gives us both.

The characters and their weaknesses (particularly the women) might be annoying to some. I found their weaknesses realistic, but not overpowering. And the fact that they can overpower their weaknesses when needed solves that.

The novel goes back and forth between past secrets and present secrets. The connections between the two plots, between the two main characters are intriguing. But when it comes to endings, the past takes the prize. There just didn't seem to be a lot of evidence leading up to the present ending, whereas with the past scenario I could look back and go, "Oh, now I see it."

While the past gets the ending, what it did not get was the romantic interest. I'm really not huge on romantic interests anyway, but I actually found the romantic interest in this book a little on the weird and creepy side. (Not creepy as in evil creepy, just creepy as in ack creepy.)

With all that in mind, a visit to Gossamer Grove might not be a terrible idea after all.