Wildwood Creek is an intriguing tale by Lisa Wingate set in both 1861 and the present. While it is difficult to weave together two different stories in one book without losing the reader, Wingate expertly does so while keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
Bonnie Rose is ready to start a new life at Wildwood Creek in the hills of Texas. Orphaned with her young sister, Maggie May, Bonnie is trying to leave behind the past of their family’s torture and massacre. Confident that no one could ever love a woman with her scars, Bonnie has accepted a position as the schoolteacher in the small, Western town.
When she arrives in the small, Western town, Bonnie soon realizes that everyone and everything there is controlled by Mr. Delevan and his mother, both of whom have evil in their hearts. When people start going missing shortly after her arrival, rumors begin to circulate that Bonnie Rose is the cause. Evil lurks everywhere, and Bonnie Rose longs to escape. But will she lose her life if she attempts to leave? And why are all these people going missing?
Over a century later, the questions are still left unanswered when Allie Kirkland obtains a position on the crew of a docudrama recreating the lives of the people in Wildwood. But soon after being hired as a production assistant, Allie is cast in the lead role as Bonnie Rose, with whom she feels an instant kinship. But what happened to Bonnie Rose? And why does it feel as though the evil is still lurking in the Texan hills?
As Allie begins to take on the role of Bonnie Rose, she meets Blake Fulton, a mysterious cowboy with secrets of his own. When mysterious events begin to happen on set, Allie starts to wonder if she should be falling for the handsome cowboy.
Will Allie find the answers she needs, or will she disappear like Bonnie Rose?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I am usually skeptical about books that weave the past with the present because they can be difficult to follow. But I found myself immersed into the life of Bonnie Rose one minute and then just as equally immersed in the life of Allie Kirkland.
While at first I thought this would be a Christian book, there is not a lot about God in the story. There are certainly moments when you can see that Allie is searching for Him, and Bonnie Rose appears to believe in Him, but I wouldn’t call it a Christian book necessarily. Still, the story was solid, and there were no questionable elements throughout the stories. I would definitely recommend this book!
*This book was provided to me for my honest opinion by Bethany House Publishers.
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