A thrilling and heartwarming Christmas story from the New York Times bestselling author Romantic Times calls “a true master of romantic suspense”.

When Jess Albert learned the devastating  news that her husband, Jeff, was killed in action in Afghanistan,  a painful void entered her life. The more time passed, the more acutely she felt that emptiness. But four years later, when Tyler Brown, former military hero and all-around alpha male, shows up, Jess gradually begins to realise there is one thing that can make her feel whole again—love.

As they’re planning their wedding and new life together, Jess receives a shocking revelation: her husband is alive, under the care of a young Afghani woman who’s hiding him from the Taliban.  Though Ty knows Jeff’s return will mean the end for him and Jess, he joins the One Eyed Jacks and Black Ops, Inc. teams in a daring and dangerous rescue mission to bring a hero home.

Jeff is broken physically and emotionally, his memory of their life together lost, yet he and Jess desperately try to find their way back to each other—until an unexpected development helps them see the true way home, to the people they love.

The Way Home by Cindy Gerard

What a brilliant book this is.

Cindy Gerard is one of my favourite authors, but I was uncertain whether I would read this one or not, as I’m not caught up with her series. There’re some characters who make some appearances in this book whose books I’ve not yet read, but in the end, when you have your hands on a free copy, you read it!

I’m glad I did, as this was an original, emotional, fantastically-researched novel. It is part romance, part military suspense. We’re taken from rural USA to Afghanistan and back again. While the cover and release date imply this is a wintry Christmas book, it only becomes one at the very end.

There’re a lot of ‘what ifs’ in this story. What happens when you finally allow yourself to move on after your husband’s death, only to discover he is actually alive? What do you do when you feel an obligation to this brutally damaged soldier when you’ve been in the process of building a new life with another man?

The thing that makes Gerard’s books so much better than pretty much all other writers in the genre is that her characters seem real. They speak and joke and act like regular people. They’re not clichés. The dialogue is believable and the situations (even considering the ‘suspense’ genre) seem realistic.

Something else that really stands out in this book is the research. The only other author who I would consider being on the same level in this respect (in this genre) is Kaylea Cross. It’s unbelievable, how much effort has gone into making the military aspects of the story accurate.

It’s a good thing I caved and decided to read this out of order for the series, as The Way Home is going on my list of best reads of 2013.

Review copy provided by NetGalley.