An Angel Watching Over
A Question Of Loyalty by Gillian Poucher is a powerful contemporary Christian suspense that totally consumed me from the start.
Gillian Poucher has created a set of very realistic characters who are easy to relate to and empathise with. We see characters who are struggling with various aspects of life that are relevant to us all today. The characters have realistic flaws making them believable.
We see the light of Jesus shining through a character. No matter that life has been tough for him, he still looks out for others. Sometimes angels are just humans in clothes with kind hearts and Jesus living in them and through them.
God sends people across our paths for a reason. “The retired priest was convinced that individuals come into our lives for a reason.” God knows just who we need, where and when.
The attitude to a homeless man by various characters speaks volumes about the hearts of others. “’How do you know his name?’ ‘I asked him’… ‘Well it’s one thing giving them spare change but isn’t it a bit … familiar to find out their names?’ ‘They are people.’ For too many, the homeless are invisible. It warms the heart to see characters look beyond the outward appearance to the man underneath. It reminds the reader that Jesus is far more interested with the state of our hearts than the labels in our clothes. God created us rich and poor alike. He knows each and everyone of us and He always calls us by name.
A character believes herself to be agnostic. As the novel progresses it is beautiful to see her beginning to question and to open up to the possibility that God might just exist.
There are the difficult themes of attempted suicide and mental health. These are sensitively portrayed by Gillian Poucher.
A Question Of Loyalty is a novel of two halves – we see ordinary everyday lives but there is also a sinister undertone. We question what is real and what may be imagined. We sense that there are good and evil existing side by side. As the moral compass of a character spirals downwards we see that Gillian Poucher employs the device of pathetic fallacy, as the weather turns very dark and atmospheric. As the rain beats down, our heart rate ramps up.
A Question Of Loyalty is a powerful read. It is only the second book by Gillian Poucher, and the first one I had read but I am hoping for more, more, more please Gillian Poucher. This is not an airy fairy Christian novel, this is one with gritty, realistic characters and situations that are easy to relate to. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
