The Memory House by Rachel Hauck

The Memory House

I enjoy Rachel’s original approach to her novels. Let’s take a look at her latest one. 

The summary: 

Embracing the future means remembering the past . . . 

When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile a mysterious letter arrives informing her she’s inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent who fondly recalls the connection they shared as teenagers. But Beck doesn’t remember that either. 

Decades earlier, widow Everleigh Applegate lives a steady, uneventful life with her widowed mother after a tornado ripped through Waco, Texas, and destroyed her new, young married life. When she runs into old high school friend Don Callahan, she begins to yearn for change. Yet no matter how much she longs to love again, she is hindered by a secret she can never share. 

Fifty years separate the women but through the power of love and miracle of faith, they each find healing in a beautiful Victorian known affectionately as the Memory House. 

And now, my review: 

The hero’s world is all about football, and the author knew the ins and outs of sports agenting activities and lingo. Great research. 

The heroine is a cop with a complication. Sometimes she came across like an officer, sometimes she didn’t. 

As usual with Rachel’s novels, we have the time slip element, which I love. And it’s always fun to find Jesus in the story. Her descriptions of prayer and God’s presence are delicious and so relatable. I’m glad she includes them! It’s rare to see that element in fiction. 

One of the themes that captured my attention was that of enjoying gifts we feel unworthy of. Such a humbling activity—receiving. Another theme was the advice to “stop believing in the words of broken, wounded” people. The main theme, though, is memory. Memories lost. Memories desired. Making them. Living with them. Righting them. Readers will look at their own memories in a new way. 

I recommend this out-of-the-box story.