The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller

So often I find myself disappointed by Christian fiction. The reasons are many and varied. Thankfully this book avoided most of the pitfalls. I will say that I really liked how this book weaved Christian topics into the story. Instead of just mentioning the characters were people of faith, the book actually touched upon things that we as Christians deal with on a daily basis. It was nice to see the author actually make daily Christian struggles, such as controlling anger and trusting in God even when things look bad, a part of the story.

The story itself was good enough, but not great. The "mystery" part of the book felt like it had been tacked on. It was as if the author realized she needed some type of conflict in the book so she added the mystery of the stolen necklace to create the necessary conflict.

I would have rather seen the author focus more on Carrie's struggles as the factory's only female worker, and her struggles to make her own way. Those two things alone would have created enough conflict for the book. Instead the author started with those struggles and then left them hanging to pursue the issue of the stolen necklace. Unfortunately this left both areas underdeveloped and falling flat.

Regardless, I did enjoy the book. I liked the tone of the book and enjoyed the simplicity of the book. I came to really like Carrie, Josef, Mr. Tobarth, Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Lundgren. The other characters were a bit under developed and one dimensional, but even so they were tolerable.

All things considered, I would recommend this book.