I was drawn into Driven by Sara Davison immediately. Holden and his wife Christina had a crisis on the first few pages and this event colors the rest of the story.
My Review of Driven
Table of Contents
When Holden, Jax, and Mikayla travel to Chicago to get a glimpse of a child they thought had been abducted years earlier, someone knows their plans and watches them.
The Characters in Driven
There were so many emotions in this book that I came away almost feeling like I knew the characters. I wanted them to find healing on their journeys. I wanted them to wrestle with God and get to the place where their faith was stronger.
Mikayla had some trauma in her past which made her scared to let anyone in. She was afraid that if she did, she’d lose them and experience pain. Because of her past, she was also felt she needed to know how something would turn out before she attempted it. Mikayla had to learn that sometimes she’ll be asked to do something or to go somewhere without knowing the outcome and it all boiled down to trust. She had to trust the person taking her there even if she didn’t know where she was going.
I found this lesson profound. As Christians, we’re sometimes tentative to try new things or fearful of the future, but we need to trust God. We need to trust that He wants what’s best for us and won’t lead us into danger.
Holden and Christina were grieving a loss and Ms. Davison does a fabulous job of walking through the stages of grief. Christina and Holden’s grieved in different ways and it impacted their relationship with God, each other, and the people around them. It was interesting to see how they each worked through their grief and found themselves back to God and each other.
Jax was an interesting character. On the surface he appeared to be a smooth Don Juan, but he had surprising depths as Mikayla would find out. There was some romantic interplay between him and Mikayla, but she held herself back for a number of reasons. It was great to see these two characters work through their issues until they got to a place where they were able to consider starting a relationship.
The Themes in Driven
One of the major themes in Driven was the presence of God: specifically, where is God when bad things happen and is He still good because He allows those bad things to happen? This is something I have struggled with and I know many Christians have too. I love this explanation that was offered by Mikayla,
“God isn’t good because of what he does, or what he allows for reasons we can’t understand. He’s good because of who he is. He can’t be anything else or he would no longer be God.”
Isn’t that just the perfect response? There were so many bytes of truth in this book that I know it’s one I’m going to want to read again to get inspiration.
Final Thoughts on Driven
I have mixed feelings about how the major plot point was resolved. In some ways, I feel as though the “bad guys” gave up too easily but at the same time, I get it. I understand why it would play out the way it did because the reason was totally believable (I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers.)
I love that Ms. Davison spent some time working through each character’s story after the mystery was wrapped up. This gave me a feeling of resolution and hope. I knew the characters were going to be all right and look forward to what happens next.
Driven is the third book in the Night Guardians series but I was able to follow the storyline easily. Of course, now I want to go back and read all the other ones…
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the author; a positive review was not required. Purchase: Driven on Amazon | Barnes & Noble
About Driven
Children aren’t the only ones who can disappear…
Driven by ongoing grief and relentless dreams, Holden Kelly is determined to track down the child his brother Gage abducted eight years earlier. The rescue that might have saved Matthew Gibson’s life had cost Gage his. Proving his brother hadn’t sacrificed his life for nothing might be the only way Holden can start fully living his again. And it could be the last chance he has to find his way back to the wife he loves but who is also mired in grief and a crisis of faith.
Mikayla Grant has nightmares of her own. A road trip with private investigator Jax Rodriguez—a man she is strongly drawn to even though his primary goal seems to be to drive her crazy—can’t be the way to heal from a terrible loss. Can it?
As Holden, Mikayla, and Jax follow the missing child’s trail from Toronto to Chicago, their mission is not as secret as they thought. Someone knows they are coming and will stop at nothing to prevent them from finding the child Gage rescued.
And to make sure that no one ever hears from the three of them again.
About Sara Davison
Sara Davison is the author of the romantic suspense novel, The Watcher, and the romantic suspense series, The Seven Trilogy. She has been a finalist for eight national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol Award, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. Sara has a degree in English Literature from Queen’s University. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children, all of whom she (literally) looks up to.
Her favourite way to spend the days (and nights) is drinking coffee and making stuff up. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.
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