What We Found in Hallelujah - by Vanessa Miller (Paperback)

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own. Loved the cover and the title was intriguing, so I wanted to read this book about an African American family based in the fictional small town of Hallelujah, South Carolina. As with many stories about families, there were secrets that were slowly revealed throughout the novel. The three sisters – Hope, Faith and Trinity – haven’t been home for about 20 years, but two of them return at the desperate request of their widowed mother. Both Hope and Faith have difficulties going on in their personal lives, and Trinity has been missing since she was 14, nearly 20 years ago. There are marital issues, health issues, friction between the sisters and their mother, all against the backdrop of an impending hurricane that is predicted to cause major damage. Faith’s teenage daughter and husband arrive in Hallelujah, Hope reconnects with an old boyfriend who has recently returned to the area, and questions about parentage as well as the mystery of missing Trinity plague the family in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Despite the skillful writing, I was frustrated by the mother’s secretive nature, which caused even more problems instead of solving them. The two sisters were over-the-top competitive, and both had strong personalities which also created dilemmas for the family. This is a 3.5 star story of truth and trust, communication and forgiveness. Authentic personal relationships with God were treasured by several family members, and helped to create a realistic contemporary novel.