The Mill House

by Paul McCusker

They found her by the dilapidated country chapel clutching shards of colored glass from the old stained glass windows, desperately clinging to the fragments of a shattered past. England. Shrouded in the heartache of a fifty-year-old secret, Elaine Arthur suddenly slips into a deep depression and gives up on life. Lainey, her granddaughter, is desperate to save her---and certain that uncovering the secret will bring healing and hope. America. Nicholas, the grandson of a powerful publishing mogul, discovers a box from his grandfather's English past---including unopened letters that reveal a love once lost. Nicholas believes those letters may explain his grandfather's hardheartedness, and the writer may hold the key that could open the door to redemption. As Lainey and Nicholas search for answers, their paths cross and, together, they move into a deep mystery and discover that love---and forgiveness---can show up in the most unlikely places. From the pain of the past emerges a tender story of lost love, betrayal, reconciliation, and renewed hope that spans a half-century and thousands of miles.

Genres: Fiction, Christian

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2004

About the author

Paul McCusker is a writer of many different kinds of things. You may know him from Adventures In Odyssey and Focus On The Family Radio Theatre. Or the Father Gilbert Mysteries. Or the Augustine Institute audio dramas Brother Francis: The Barefoot Saint of Assisi and The Trials of Saint Patrick. Or plays like The First Church of Pete's Garage and Catacombs. Or C.S. Lewis projects like The Chronicles of Narnia audio dramas or The Annotated Screwtape Letters. Or the film Beyond The Mask. Or lots of other dramas, novels, scripts and lyrics. He simply can't make up his mind what he likes to write.

Reviews

[Lynette]

GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD. Not only did this book turn out to be a lot of Christian hogwash, it was boring AF and poorly written. The author's favorite word was any form of "quicken." The big secret made me roll my eyes. "Teach me how to be a Christian!" made me want to vomit. Then I read the back and discover the author is involved with Focus on Family. Ugh. This book was a complete waste of time.

[Lucinda Vinoski]

A nice Christian read! A modern young couple finds that the problems of love are not any different today than in their grandparent's day. Love and intimacy often bring a child into the picture. It is always best if the couple keeps communications open and work to provide for the child that their love has created. Abortion, this couple from yesteryear discovered, left lasting emotional scars.

[Alisan]

After two months of this book lying on the bedside table and only getting halfway through, I finally called it quits. "Meh" is the only word I can think of to describe it. It wasn't boring but it wasn't engaging either. I liked the main characters and the plot seemed promising; however, the supporting characters were simply annoying and detracted from the progression of the story.

[Barb Friedrich]

Nice love story, with a happy ending, reminded me of a Hallmark movie.

[Elizabeth]

This is the story of a young girl and boy who meet at the site of a bombed out chapel in Sussex, England in WWII. The girl wants to collect all the shattered stained glass to rebuild a window. She is from a wealthy family, he is from a working class family in London who is being sheltered in Sussex because of the Blitz. Over the years of the war and after the two fall in love but their relationship is sabotaged by her family. Fast forward 50 years, the boy is living in the U.S., is a wealthy publisher who is bitter at life. She is a widow still living in Essex, where she enters a deep depression after learning something from the past. The man's grandson, an Anglican seminarian, and the woman's granddaughter, a proofreader become a team to help the woman battle her depression. It is a story of the power of secrets and the healing of forgiveness.

[Kiersten]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was definitely an interesting plot, but I felt it moved too fast in places, for the sakes of both realism and my personal taste. I didn't get to know the characters as well as i would've liked. Also - and this might sound kind of ridiculous since one of the main characters is studying to be a priest - but the God-related aspect of the story wasn't as deep as I'd hoped for. There are a few good lessons in here if you catch them, though: a shout-out for abstinence and general honesty. Overall a good story, and one worth reading, but not one of my favorites.

[Jenni]

This book was very good. Maybe not quite as good as other books by this author. But I like how Paul McCusker writes very believably. He writes very authentic characters, and is not afraid to get a little gritty sometimes.

The story is about misunderstanding, bitterness, and forgiveness.
Very good.

[Elaine]

It took me quite awhile to read this one. It's okay enough. Some parts of the story were particularly contrived, enough so to be humorous. It was very predictable. I liked the message on forgiveness. My favorite character: Father Gilbert.

[Tammy]

Great love story!

[Julie Burchardt]

selected by Cathy

[Pauline]

Excellent. Read it! I couldn't put it down. It's late, I will write more later, but the blending of two generations and two stories was well-done.

[Mireille]

enigszins voorspelbaar verhaal dat wel makkelijk wegleest.

[Julie]

This book was very predictable from the beginning. That being said, it was a cute story and I enjoyed the journey it took me on.