Hallowed Halls
by Hannah Alexander
Description
When Dr. Joy Gilbert is fired by a grieving boss who wants more from her than she's willing to give, she returns to her tiny hometown of Juliet, MO to find her ex-fiance still single, her once-strong and independent mother struggling in every way. Before she can make a move, however, the back door of her car bursts open and Tressa, her former employer's fifteen-year-old daughter, clambers out, refusing to return home to either of her divorced, embittered parents.
Zack Tyler, director of Juliet Hospital's ER, is stunned to see the woman he still loves has returned to town, apparently unbroken by the rejection of her former employer. That same employer, Weston Cline, told Zack last year that Joy wanted to spread her wings and take the job Weston offered her in a suburb of Kansas City. Zack would have expected to see her heartbroken, in tears, but all she's worried about is her mother's health and Tressa's rebellion.
To help her financially, Zack hires her to work in the ER, but the minute he does that, he knows he's in for another wild ride of the heart.
When Tressa first begins having blackouts, she's relieved that they take place when she's alone. If she's not careful, she's afraid Joy will feel the need to tell her parents, who will insist she return home. But more and more often, the blackouts hit, and she's in grave danger before Joy and Zack can discover what is causing them, and what caused the deaths of her brother, her father's baby brother, a great grandfather...how many unexplained deaths will her family have to endure?
Purchase at the following locations:
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http://www.deepershopping.com/ - Best price!
Biography
HANNAH ALEXANDER is the pen name for the writing collaboration of Cheryl and Mel
Hodde.
They chose the name "Hannah Alexander" to incorporate their two names into one.
They have read that Hannah means "her hope is in the Lord," and Alexander means, "servant of mankind."
"YOU'RE A DOCTOR?" Cheryl leaned toward Mel and raised her voice to be heard over the din of Mazzio diners. "You could help me paralyze someone, then, couldn't you?"
Mel stared at her with some trepidation. This was the "nice young lady" his pastor, Brother Ron, wanted him to meet? "Um . . . well . . . what, exactly, did you--"
"I'd better explain myself," she said with a smile. "I write novels. I'm doing research on book number thirteen, and I need one of my characters to be paralyzed through part of the story. Any idea how I could do that without damaging him permanently?"
With relief and sudden interest, Mel gave her all the information she needed. Actually, she received more than she needed, in detail. He couldn't understand why she only ate half a slice of pizza the whole evening.
Thus was Cheryl's introduction into the world of an emergency room physician. It was Mel's introduction into fiction. They were both fascinated. A year and a half later, they were married.
The fascination grew as Mel shared more of his world and Cheryl's imagination took over. Together they generated ideas for a story. With Mel's medical input, encouragement and help with plotting, and Cheryl's writing skills, they developed their first novel together, and called it Sacred Trust. Bethany House published it in 1999. Eight months later came the sequel. Solemn Oath. To end the three-book series, Silent Pledge was published in December 0f 2000.
Both Mel and Cheryl Hodde (pronounced Hoddee) dreamed of their chosen professions since they were children. Mel remembers the decision he made when he was ten years old to become a physician. At the time his dream was to be an old-time country doctor who knew all his patients as well as he knew his own family, prayed for them, and sometimes even accepted chickens for payment. Although his career didn't develop in the way he expected, he can't imagine anything more rewarding, especially now that he is able to incorporate his knowledge into novels with his wife.
Cheryl remembers composing songs and stories before she knew her ABC's. When she wrote her first romance novel in 1985 she realized that no romance, and no life, can be right without Christ at the center, and so that was how she wrote—with Christ at the center. After she and Mel got married in 1995, they worked together on rewrites of her previous manuscripts. This time, when she marketed them, they began to gain notice from publishers. Three of her first novels, entitled The Healing Promise, Ozark Sunrise, and A Living Soul have now been published by Heartsong Presents under the name of Hannah Alexander.
"I hope this is just the beginning," Cheryl says. "Mel and I have a lot of stories yet to write."
http://www.hannahalexander.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.HannahAlexander
My Review ~
Underlying plots are interwoven between the lines and characters through Hallowed Halls. Dr. Joy Gilbert is working in a clinic that is not her first choice as a specialty, but her boss has manipulated her into his employment through less than honest strategies. Joy is summoned to her hometown in order to supervise her mother's health problems, where the past and broken promises threaten to overcome her.
Hannah Alexander is a new author for me, and I enjoyed the medical components that accompanied relationship issues throughout this book. Faith and hope are strong currents, and the characters are well defined and believable. The plot remained unpredictable, and there were numerous unexpected events that kept my interest. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but began to get a bit nervous as the end of the book appeared and many issues were unresolved. Satisfied at not being left hanging from a cliff, this story will have a sequel, which I'm looking forward to reading! I recommend this excellent novel for its variety in themes and characters.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Book Fun For Readers Only program in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
