Denise Hildreth Reviews

Added March 13, 2007

Flies on the Butter

Author: Denise Hildreth
Publisher: WestBow Press
Available At: Bookstores everywhere
Publishing Date: February 13, 2007
Genre: Fiction: Christian
Format: Trade paper
Price: $14.99
ISBN-10: 1-5955-4208-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-5955-4208-3
Author Email/Website: http://www.denisehildreth.com/
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Flies on the Butter is savory Southern living, topped off with a dash of spiritual grit. Readers will enjoy this story which is more like a tentative and tenderhearted journey into the soul.

Rose Fletcher walks among the powerful in her position as a DC lobbyist, but the thought of returning to her Southern home makes her weak in the knees. Most of this intriguing novel takes place in her Lexus GS300, where the reader rides along as a passenger, a silent observer of Rose's emotional turmoil as the distance to her past steadily decreases with each mile traveled. Flashbacks from her childhood fill in the gaps, laying the foundation for the story's conflict. The people and places Rose visits on her journey gently expose some of the apprehension and anger she faces at the thought of being among family again. Yet, a surprise twist seals her fate and finally opens her eyes and heart.

With careful attention to characterization, the author turns this story into a spiritual adventure. Slowly, page after page, Rose's life is revealed, giving readers glimpses into her past, which shaped her current condition. Her high-powered lifestyle is contrasted with humble beginnings, posing the question as to what happened along the way. Hints of heartache form a trail that leads unerringly to her home, the very place Rose fears to return. All of this forms an atmosphere of mystery, providing a solid sense of intrigue.

A splendid scattering of humor, some good old-fashioned wisdom and the quiet calmness of Christianity offer a banquet of thoughts for the reader. Flies on the Butter makes life simple again, and that causes this novel to be simply terrific.

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