Troubled Waters [Paperback]

Rene Gutteridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003

From the Author of the Acclaimed Ghost Writer

Her Unexpected Homecoming Has Conjured Up Memories and Images She Longed to Forget

Coming home to Kansas after years of being away, Macey finds herself beginning to unravel on the inside. She came simply to bury her father, then return immediately to her big-city career. The past would have to remain where it was--behind her, deeply buried. But once she arrives again in the old farmhouse, a roiling current of memories carries her back to the reasons she left in the first place.

Rene Gutteridge’s deft touch makes memorable her lifelike portrait of characters struggling with issues universal to the human experience. A story of love, healing and renewal, with secrets aplenty simmering just beneath the surface, Troubled Waters explores with insight and verve the challenges of faith and of doubt.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Ghost Writer offers a competent if familiar tale that evangelical Christian readers will likely enjoy. On the surface, comely Dallas anchorwoman Macey Steigel seems to have it all together. She's zooming to the top of her profession, and the future looks promising. However, Macey is on her third relationship with a man in a year, and she's been estranged from her parents for nearly two decades. She's also shelved her faith in God along with her Mom and Dad. But when Macey's father dies, she returns to Kansas and gets more than she bargained for. Living next to her mother's farm is the sassy, pony-tailed widower, Noah Kauffman, a famous artist and the father of two six-year-old girls. Soon, Macey must choose between keeping an old secret and pursuing her career dreams, or finding lasting love, faith in God and forgiveness. Although the pacing is slow and the narrative occasionally bogs down, the characters are interesting, and Gutteridge paints a particularly nice portrait of Macey's mother and the challenges she faces after her husband's death. The plot line of "smalltown girl leaves for big city then returns home to find romance in the sticks" is familiar ground for CBA novels. Some readers may question Macey's need for forgiveness from an old boyfriend, but many will identify with the pain of families torn apart by the past.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"I read all 392 pages in one sitting. Great characters, excellent plot. You won’t be disappointed." -- Romance Fiction at About.com

"expert job of characterization... digs into the mind of a troubled woman, bringing her to life in a realistic way." -- thewordonromance.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764226444
• ISBN-13: 978-0764226441
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,983,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rene Gutteridge is the author of several novels, including The Boo Series, The Storm Series, and My Life as a Doormat, a Women of Faith selecton for 2006. She has a degree in screenwriting and ten years of experience writing, directing and publishing church comedy sketches. She writes in both comedy and suspense genres, and enjoys meeting other writers and teaching at writers conferences. She is married to Sean, a musician, and lives in Oklahoma City, where she raises her children and works as a full-time novelist.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very intense, satisfying read!, August 27, 2003

By 

Christian Bookshelf "Christian Bookworm Reviews" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Troubled Waters (Paperback)

Macey Stiegel has a successful anchor job at a Dallas television station. Things are really looking up as a major network contacts her for an interview. Out of the blue, Macey receives news that her father has died. Unfortunately, Macey has not been home in eighteen years. The main reason why she left her hometown in Kansas was to escape her father's wrath. Now she must put her life and career on hold to help her distraught mother. The longer she stays with her mother, the closer she must face the circumstances surrounding her rapid departure and the emptiness inside of her.

Rene Gutteridge's first novel, Ghost Writer was highly acclaimed. While I'm not familiar with her first book, Troubled Waters is a testament to her talents as a writer. From the first chapter, Gutteridge wheels the reader inside Macey's world. She is an ambitous woman, but at the same time she remains mysterious throughout a large majority of the novel. Readers will move forward in ernest seeking answers to Macey's void and her mother's desperate need to connect her daughter back with her deceased father.

--- reviewed by Tyora Moody for Christian Bookshelf

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Story With Message Important For All Of Us, April 25, 2003

By 

Christian Observer (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Troubled Waters (Paperback)

Macey Steigel had an excellent job as a news anchor in Dallas, a position she had worked hard to earn. A call from her home town telling of her father's death brought a host of memories back. For 17 years she had shut out all thoughts of home, especially thoughts of her father. Going home to Kansas was something she did not want to do but thinking of her mother she decided to take a few days off from work and attend the funeral.

Marcey's mother welcomed her without any reproach for the years when she had not communicated with the family. Marcey did a great deal of thinking and met a neighbor who lived in a house which had special memories form her. Finally Marcey accepted what had happened in the past and was ready to face a new life free from the old grief and misunderstanding. The story is a good one but the message it carries is important for all of us.