The Cure (2007)

Riley Keep was once a missionary. After a horrible tragedy he turned to alcohol for help, abandoning his wife and daughter. He takes to the streets and befriends a man named Brice, also an alcoholic. Brice is in much worse shape than Riley, though. Riley hears there might be something that can help Brice, so he brings Brice to the small town of Dublin, Maine. There Riley finds a cure for alcoholism, but it could be costly. And Riley will have to confront the secrets of his past.

The writing could have used some extra editing in places. Overall, though, this is an uplifting, hope-filled story by an award winning author. It's somewhat leisurely paced with a character driven plot. Well worth the time spent reading this novel. ( )

This speculative novel is not as good as Dickson's River Rising, but it does tackle an improtant social issue and keep the reader guessing through it's twists and turns. What if someone had a cure for alcoholism? That is the hope that drives Riley Keep to drag his best friend and himself back to his hometown. Fortunately no one--or very few anyway--recognize him in his new persona as a bum. As he revisits his ghosts from the past, he is given a gift that changes his life and could change the lives of countless others. But will he be able to handle this newfound blessing, or will he mess everything up like he did the first time?
This book has two mysteries in it, the mystery of the cure and where it came from, and the mystery of Riley's past life. It moves a bit slow at first while the reader is trying to figure out what is going on and these two mysteries are set up. I also found some of the situations a bit unrealistic. So it wasn't as good as his first, but it still has that sense of mystery and a good message for fans of faith filled fiction. ( )