The Perfect Life

Meet Katherine Clarkson, heroine of Christy Award-winning novelist Hatcher's latest enjoyable, if not literarily distinguished, domestic tale. Katherine seems to have, as the title suggests, the perfect life-her two grown daughters are both pregnant, and her devoted and handsome husband Brad has just been named Humanitarian of the Year for his work at In Step, a ministry that rehabilitates houses for low-income people. Then disaster strikes-a beautiful young woman who once worked for Brad publicly accuses him of mishandling the ministry's finances, and of having an affair with her. When Brad denies both accusations, Katherine struggles with whether to believe him. She wrestles, too, with the fact that her church community largely abandons her in the wake of the scandal. Meanwhile, Katherine's two daughters clash over how to respond to their parents' crisis. Hatcher (Whispers from Yesterday) is a dab hand with dialogue, which is one reason her characters are so well drawn: readers will feel empathy with all members of the family. Hatcher also gets kudos for creating, in Katherine's best friend, a sympathetic non-Christian character, something all too rare in faith fiction. This will be a surefire hit with Hatcher's many fans.