"The Shack"

Part 1: Chapters 1-4

I told Adriane last night that I guess even though I posted the synopsis, I didn't really read what the book was about. Or I did and it didn't even comprehend what it was because as I kept reading, I never saw what happened coming! This has been an easy read, one that I didn't want to stop reading but because I am a faithful book club member, did...but it was hard not to move on!

Anyways, with that said the story begins with Mack taking his family on a vacation to the outdoors without his wife, Nan as she has to work. So he takes his 3 kids, 2 girls and a boy and they camp for the week, and they are having a fantastic time. Meet new friends and Mack has what I see as a revelation with God as he prays that his life is so good. His kids have found friends, he has met people that are really good people and they all are really enjoying themselves. Until the last day when the two older ones want to take the canoe out, just one last time and something goes wrong...the canoe tips and he has to leave his younger daughter in the campsite coloring while he uses his old lifeguard skills to save his older son and daughter from drowning. In the meantime after things relax, and everyone is OK he goes back to the campsite to find his daughter Missy, missing. Thinking she just wondered off with her new friends or went to the bathrooms panic sets in but he is still in the mindset of finding his daughter. Then the reality starts to set in as she is nowhere to be found and her friend is found at the showers without her. They continue their search and get the Park Ranger, and Police involved.

They split up and start searching, start talking to other campers until they find someone who saw Missy or someone who resembled her in a green truck, the person pushed her down and now they know that she has been kidnapped. With this new knowledge they go back to the campsite to find her shoe, and a lady bug stickpin with five dots on it. Now with a kidnapping of a child the FBI get involved. Unfortunately the FBI has no good news, this is the MO of a serial killer that has been out of the news. He stalks for children who are left unattended and then he kills them, but they never find the bodies or any evidence and other than the serial number on the lady bug that is left as well as now there were 5 dots which means that this is his fifth body.

Nan comes down to the site and finds Mack not only physically exhausted, but mentally and to my surprise is that he oddly calm and collective. So the search expands, they find evidence of the truck and come to a shack which the FBI and Police go into first, what they find is that of a pool of blood of the little girl who unfortunately is thought for dead, and once again no evidence other than hers. It sad to see, a Father have to go through such a horrendous ordeal and a family be torn apart by a monster. This is where the story begins, a family planning a memorial and almost 4 years later getting a letter from Papa or God as we all know him, but he is not sure if it's for real or if someone is toying with his emotions but it's something that he has to find out for himself....and the story continues, will he go by himself or have the police look into it??

So many questions, and now you can see why it was so hard to stop at that particular spot!

Until our next stop....

Happy Reading!