The Lost Manuscript By Mollie Rushmeyer

The Lost Manuscript

by Mollie Rushmeyer

Publisher: Love Inspired

ISBN: 978-1335508423

After reading Mollie's debut novel, The Bookshop of Secrets, I couldn't wait for The Lost Manuscript to make its appearance. I was incredibly happy to make her launch team. I received the ebook ARC for review.

Summary:

It’s not just Ellora Lockwood’s home that’s being emptied as she prepares to sell—her heart seems to be empty too. Since the mysterious disappearance of her beloved Grandma June and separating from her husband, Alex, Ellora has felt adrift. Then comes an invitation from Alex to teach history at a summer program at Alnwick Castle in England. He’s even found information about the location of a medieval manuscript that was her grandmother’s obsession before she vanished.

Warily, Ellora accepts Alex’s offer. Surrounded by lush English countryside and captivating history, she pieces together clues about the manuscript’s whereabouts—and uncovers new questions. Could someone have been sabotaging her grandmother’s work? Anonymous threats lead Ellora to suspect she too may be in danger, but as she and Alex work together, she’s finding strength, new purpose and the courage to see this quest through, wherever it may lead…

My Review:

If you enjoy stories in the vein of National Treasure, then you're going to enjoy The Lost Manuscript! There's mystery, intrigue, and fun history lessons throughout. On top of that, a marriage that's falling apart while the main characters try to figure out if it's worth saving.

Who can resist a story based around finding a manuscript written centuries ago, by a woman no less, and Grandma June missing while trying to find it? Oh, and let's top it off with a thread of Vikings mixed in.

Ellora and her best friend, Lanae, head to England for two different reasons. Ellie to see if she can find her missing grandma and Lanae for work at Alnwick in their "study abroad" program. The problem with this trip, aside from her missing grandma, is her estranged husband. There's a lot of history between those two, and we learn more and more as we go deeper into the story. THEY even learn more about each other as the story goes on.

I really had such a heart for Ellie. She's been through so much in her life and things don't seem to be getting easier. Her husband, Alex, has also had some hardships, which has hardened his heart to certain things that relate to Ellie. On a positive note, their quest to find out what happened to Grandma June and to see if the illuminated manuscript actually exists forces them to work together. Even with their growing chasm they still love each other.

In the meantime, I suspect nearly everyone being involved in June's disappearance. Ellie and her band of treasure hunters find clues along the way to help them move forward. Sometimes those clues were a little confusing to me. The team was able to piece each one together so I never would've been able to help them.

It was hard to be on the outside looking in when it came to Ellie and Alex. I could see both of their perspectives in each circumstance that arose, and if it was hard for me to reconcile it all, I could understand why it was even harder for them. I appreciated that the author used Scripture to move their hearts and minds towards each other as well as helping them be more introspective of their thoughts and emotions.

This is a pretty fast-paced story and if you like adventure, you'll like this one!

About the Author:

Mollie writes Contemporary Fiction with a Heart for History, a blend of modern settings and fascinating historical elements woven throughout.

A born and bred Midwestern gal, Mollie Rushmeyer, makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband and two beautiful daughters. She is not only a bibliophile (the dustier the better, in her opinion), she’s a true Britophile at heart. Tea and coffee fuel her travels, by Google maps at least, and her passion for the written word.