Review SAVING GRACE By Debbie Babitt

After my last literary suspense review, I knew I needed to add more of this genre to my repertoire. Debbie Babitt’s compelling literary debut reads like a seasoned pro, with language you get lost in, only to be ripped back into reality by the shocking twists and turns.

In 1995, in the conservative, religious town of Repentance, Arkansas, young Mary Grace’s best friend goes missing. Shortly thereafter, another sixth grader disappears. While the majority of the town has decided on the killer—black eighteen-year-old Darryl Stokes—others question if there is more of a connection to the missing girls than who took them, and why. Despite the town trying to play judge and jury, Stokes has an alibi.

Fast forward to present day and Mary Grace is now the sheriff of Repentance. Long after Stokes had been cleared and disappeared, there’s word around town that he has returned after a lengthy absence. He is shunned by most locals and shortly after his reappearance another sixth grader goes missing. Now forced to dig into Repentance’s residents’ vast secrets, Mary Grace gets more than she bargains for when she uncovers the truth about those closest to her, forcing herself to reconcile with the sins of her own childhood. Blood isn’t necessarily thicker than water. And the water in her town is already bloodstained.

A gripping look into a religious small town’s closeness and hypocrisies, this alternates between slow burn and racing page-turner, both which will cause you to hold your breath in anticipation. The jaw-dropping ending will have every reader begging for forgiveness.

Review SAVING GRACE by Debbie Babitt

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