"Anchor in the Storm"
by Sarah Sundin
by Sarah Sundin
Lillian Avery has suffered many personal challenges, but she is not going to let them stop her or slow her down. When she finally gets a job as a pharmacist in Boston, she believes that she can prove to everyone once and for all just how strong she really is. After a few days on the job she begins to see several prescriptions with large dosages of nerve medication being filled. When she questions her boss, he tells her just to let it go. Her dedication and morals will not let her do that, so she begins to track down the reason for these high prescriptions. While she is investigating the “The Affair of the Pharmaceutical Forger” (the name she gives her mysterious case), she soon learns that there is a lot more involved than just high prescriptions. When she finds herself danger, she isn’t sure who she can trust and depend on.
Ensign Archer Vandenberg has worked really hard to gain his commission in the Navy, and he will do whatever it takes to keep it. However, he is suffering from combat fatigue after surviving a harrowing experience when the ship he was on was sunk and destroyed by the Germans. Now he and his friend, Jim Avery, have been assigned to a new destroyer. They are assigned to patrol the seas and destroy German U-boats. This task seems to be in vain because the German submarines are sinking the American ships faster than the Americans can put more ships into action. While on duty one night, Arch notices that he is not the only man suffering from nerves and fatigue. Arch believes that this could cause some serious problems while at sea, so he goes to the ship’s doctor to find out if there is anything that can be done to help with the combat fatigue. The doctor tells him that there is some medication that can be prescribed, but it is very addicting and has many side effects that could be much worse than the combat fatigue itself. Arch decides that he will try to live with his problem, but when he sees that some of the men on the ship seem drunk and are drowsy all of the time, he realizes that they have begun to take the dangerous medication. Arch begins to question where they may have obtained the medicine, but is not having any luck. When he learns that Lillian Avery has been filling large prescriptions for the medication, Arch begins to wonder if this is related to the problem with his men.
Arch suggests to Lillian that they work together to try to figure out what is really going on. Lillian believes that Arch is a snob and wants to refuse his offer of them working together, but she realizes that something must be done to stop the misuse of the medication. Lillian agrees to work with Arch, but the more time they spend together working on the case, the more they both realize that they are attracted to each other. No matter how hard they try to fight the attraction between them, they soon realize that they have misjudged each other and that maybe they might have a future together. But then when someone from Arch’s past tells him lies about Lillian, everything begins to come crashing down. Now that Arch and Lillian are both on their own again, they realize that instead of relying on each other they should have been relying on God.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************** Sarah Sundin has hit another grand slam with her latest book “Anchors in the Storm”. From the very first page of the story until the end, she held me captive with this beautiful story. So much so, that I was sad when the story was over. I wanted to keep reading about Arch and Lillian. We are also reacquainted with Jim Avery and Mary Stirling from “Through Waters Deep”. (Book one in this series) I enjoyed catching up with them and continuing on their journey as well. Arch and Lillian’s story was so beautifully and wonderfully written. Sarah Sundin made them come to life, and I felt like I was right there with them throughout the story. I was also reminded that God is with me no matter what. As Lillian and Arch learned, God is our Anchor. He is the One that we should be trusting in and clinging to, not our own strength or the strength of those around us. I found the title of the book “Anchor in the Storm” to be a great comfort to me as well once I realized the deeper meaning of the title - God is the Anchor during the storms of life. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. If you are looking for a book filled with suspense, adventure, and romance, then this is a book for you. However, I would suggest reading this book because of the wonderful reminder about God’s strength and love for us.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest review.