Shadows in the Mind’s Eye by Janyre Tromp | Review

Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is Janyre Tromp’s debut novel and, oh my word, it’s amazing.

Check out this back cover copy, followed by my review.

Back Cover

Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on–responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who’s come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam’s experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand–but that everyone is learning to fear.

Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn’t the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts?

Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she’s terrified he’s going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam’s mental wounds–or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life?

Debut novelist Janyre Tromp delivers a deliciously eerie, Hitchcockian story filled with love and suspense. Readers of psychological thrillers and historical fiction by Jaime Jo Wright and Sarah Sundin will add Tromp to their favorite authors list.

My Review

Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is a story of a broken soldier returning from war to a society nearly as broken as he was … To a wife who’d long awaited the return of her husband—only to barely recognize him when he did. In every way.

This novel is a turn pager at its best. I can usually see twists coming, but Tromp left me guessing, surprising me on so many turns.

I love first person point-of-view novels, and this one is one of my new favorites. It also has so many other things I love in stories: mystery, suspense (and lots of it!), intrigue, awesome and well-developed characters, action, history, a love story, and so much redemption.

If you love clean and redemptive historical fiction novels that set you on the edge of your seat, you have to read Shadows in the Mind’s Eye. It releases April 19th, 2022.

5+ stars from me. I can’t wait until Janyre Tromp’s next release!

You can get your copy on amazon.ca (for Canadians like me!) or amazon.com. Baker Book House also has an amazing pre-order price, so check that out!

About the Author

Janyre Tromp is a developmental book editor who has worked in the publishing industry for more than twenty years, spending time in both marketing and editorial. When she isn’t writing, she’s a Bible study leader, writers conference speaker, ACFW member, wife, and mom of two kids and their menagerie of slightly eccentric pets. Visit her at janyretromp.com.