Home For Christmas

by Patricia Potter

FAMILIES ARE FOREVER

HOLIDAY HERO?

Through smoke and mayhem, two strong arms and a gentle voice coaxed Julie Farrell and her precious boy to safety. To mom and son, Ryan Murphy was a hero. To everyone else, he was a killer, destined to remain behind bars for life.

Instead, Julie brought him home.

Her lawyer's instinct and woman's intuition screamed that this savior without a memory was a good man, an honorable man…an innocent man. Together, they were the perfect team…and a perfect family. But Julie had been wrong once before, and she only prayed that her heart hadn't led her to invite a murderer home for Christmas….

Happily ever after—with kids!

Genres: Contemporary

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

There was a lot going on this book for a category.

Julie thinks that she and her four year old son Nick are dead when they get into an accident and when she is unable to move, then they are rescued by a man and Julie wakes up in the hospital and when she tries to find out about her saviour is given weird looks, she soon finds why because the man who rescued her and her son has been in jail for ten years for murdering his partner on the force but despite knowing all of that Julie can't stay away and tries to find out more about him and when he wakes up with amnesia toys with the idea of helping him.

Julie doesn't know how good her judgment is after all her deceased husband committed suicide and left her to deal with his debts as well as the knowledge that he was involved in criminal activities and then Julie then with the DA's office found out she had convicted the wrong man, so for the past few years she slowly comes to see she has been hiding out in her new job and only opening up herself to her son. The more she finds out about Ryan the more she wonders why he pleads guilty because the evidence against him was feeble.

She finds out his ex-wife felt he never let her see into his soul, was dedicated and adored his daughter but still cut off contact with her as well asked his wife to seek a divorce, somehow she manages to get him paroled as well as a place to live, in her garage and she often debates the wiseness of her decisions.

For Ryan the world is a place he doesn't recognize, the treatment meted out to him by the prison authorities, the disbelief about his amnesia, even what they tell him he did doesn't seem real and because of Julie he tries to seek answers.

The bond between them grows but Ryan tries to stop it, he has no future no past and has already cost Julie enough and someone seems to want to kill him.

We don't find out the truth until the very endRyan was innocent but took the plea because his daughter and wife had been threatened.

The book had something going on at all times and you feel Ryan's despair and how he has no control over his life and his wish to protect Julie and Nick by distancing himself.

An enjoyable if a bit heavy read.

[airwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primary Subgenre:

🎄 Holiday Romance (Christmas) (festive setting, family themes, seasonal miracles)

Secondary Subgenres/Tags:

⚖️ Romantic Suspense (wrongfully accused hero, hidden danger, lawyer heroine)
👩👦 Single Parent Romance (mom + son, protective instincts)
🖤 Wounded Hero (amnesiac, haunted past, seeking redemption)
💘 Insta-Connection (hero saves them, immediate emotional bond)
🏡 Found Family (unlikely trio, healing together)

Bonus Tropes/Themes:

✔ "Innocent Convict" (hero’s wrongful imprisonment)
✔ "Christmas Miracle" (second chance at life/love)
✔ "Protector Hero" (saves them, then becomes family)
✔ "Is He Dangerous?" (trust vs. fear tension)
✔ Holiday Coziness vs. Suspense

Comparable Books/Authors:

RaeAnne Thayne (Christmas in Snowflake Canyon – wounded hero + holiday healing)
Linda Lael Miller (A Snow Country Christmas – small-town + second chances)
Susan Mallery (The Christmas Wedding Guest – family themes + romance)
Brenda Novak (Whiskey Creek – suspense + emotional depth)*

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patricia Potter is one of my favorite authors; I’ve read almost all of her historical novels but this is a contemporary story. I don’t have much experience with her novels that take place in current times.

The book starts immediately with the wreck of Julie Farrell’s car, with Julie and her (almost 5-year-old) son, Nick, trapped. Suddenly, a man comes from nowhere and pulls the child – and then his mother – from the car, just before it explodes.

The man, Ryan Murphy, is not so lucky. He is still too close to the detonation and is seriously injured. Julie feels beholden to this man and visits him often while he’s in a coma. Slowly, she comes to learn that Ryan is a former cop who apparently killed his partner and is a lifer.

Usually, I’m not impressed with an author’s use of amnesia in a story; however, Potter uses it skillfully and believably. Julie has an interesting back story; Ryan’s history is a mystery – which Julie plans to solve. This novella is certainly a page-turner; I enjoyed it a great deal.

[Maqluba]

Inappropriate Insta-lust drives me nuts so I'm out. sorry!