Hope In The Dark

Night Falls On Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright is a marvellous Christian dual timeline novel that completely consumed me.

The action alternates between 1901 and present day. It is written in the first and third person, mainly from two alternating points of view, and also of ‘her’ – whom we need to guess the identity of.

Stories in both time periods run parallel. They are similar but different. Both have sisters in them, are haunted by events, and there is a necessity to find the perpetrator of evil acts.

Within both time periods, there is fear. “Fear is a lack of hope.” Different characters fear different things. They need to let go, and let God guide their lives. A glimpse of hope in the dark is all that is needed for lives to change.

We see that grief paralyses. “She had barely learned to survive.” Grief keeps us rooted in the past. “The notion that time healed and lessoned pain was a myth. Time merely mocked the absence.” We cannot live in the past, we need to move forwards and learn to live again. “Don’t be afraid to live… I’m not afraid to die.” When we know God, death is no longer a foreign country to fear.

Faith requires us to trust an unfailing God. Sometimes even with faith, God seems far away. “When Naomi died, the idea of faith seemed so distant.” We need to hold on to hope and trust that God is good, even when circumstances aren’t.

Prayer is important. “I’ve prayed… Why won’t God answer?” God hears and He acts but not always in the ways we want Him too. God says, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘wait’, or something else.

All the characters were well drawn and believable. Even the house, number 322 Predicament Avenue felt like a character in its own right.

Jaime Jo Wright created a fabulous plotline, employing technics from the Gothic tradition that were more than a little creepy at times.

Night Falls On Predicament Avenue was very engaging and entertaining, and I loved it.

I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

JULIA WILSON