First, I have not read the first book in this series, but I wasn't lost, the author did a wonderful job of keeping me informed.

This is a tough subject, but what a need, which has becomes more evident in the past few years with the news reports and headlines, sick individuals and a fallen world.

Murphy Shepherd is awesome, what a heart, and I loved he would leave the 99 to find the 1, yes!

There is some sweet romance here, but mostly your heart goes out to those who had been trafficked, the healing if possible, I can't even imagine. Maybe this should be a required reading book?

There is another book to come, and we hope for a good out come, there is a bombshell dropped at the end of this read!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thanks NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Charles Martin for an ARC to review.
The second book in a series which I haven't recognised when I first picked the book, you would easily though follow since lots of explanation of the first book is narrated.
The writing style is excellent and despite the dark theme the book discusses _ human trafficking _ , it's full of uplifting stories of hope and New beginnings.
I absolutely loved it.

It has taken me a couple of days to figure out how to word my review. When I finished the book I was totally and utterly speechless, crying like a crazy woman and couldn't possibly write a worthy review of this book. I still don't feel like I can adequately put into words a review that will give glory to this book and to the amazing author that Charles Martin is.

The Letter Keeper is a sequel to The Water Keeper. Both books tackle the tough and painful subject of human trafficking, but with the most delicate of hands. The main character, Murphy Shephard and his coworkers have made a living of saving the un-savable. They find them, no matter how hard it is, no matter how dangerous it is, no matter the costs and they bring them back to life, heal them, protect them, help make them whole again. Remind you of anyone? They leave the 99 to go after the one. Just as Jesus goes after his one sheep who is lost, who needs Him, so do they. Charles Martin does a perfect job of putting into words, into a beautiful story a way to show Jesus' love for us. It doesn't matter how many times we need rescuing, how far we've gone, His love shows up. Always. And in that same fierce and relentless way, Murphy goes after all of the kids who are taken and lost.

This story really moved me emotionally. So many times in this book I felt like God was reaching back for me again. He was leaving the 99 to come for me. And that's what is so awesome about Charles Martin and his writing. He took the gift God gave him and has amplified it to God's glory. It's beautiful, it's heart wrenching, it gives you hope, it's a reminder that there are people fighting evil everyday and will show up.

I honestly cannot recommend Charles Martin's books enough to the world. I will read anything and everything he writes, every book has inspired and touched me in a different way. He is hands down my favorite author. I encourage you to read one of his books, I promise you will get hooked.

And 2022 cannot come fast enough for me. Book 3 on Murphy!!! I'm dying to know what happens next!!!!

My thanks to Charles Martin, Thomas Nelson Publishing and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Letter Keeper
Murphy Shepherd #2
By Charles Martin

A Richly Told and Riveting Story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Murphy Shepherd finds girls and women who are victims of human trafficking. His mission in life is to help these women not only find their freedom but he goes the extra mile by helping them recover from the ordeal. When his new wife and daughters are kidnapped, Murphy shifts into high gear racing across the country to find them. One dead-end leads to another and he and his canine partner Gunner find themselves racing back across the country yet again to find the men responsible and make them pay.


REVIEW
The Letter Keeper Is a richly told and riveting story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s both a heart-wrenching and action-packed tale, with a protagonist that will leave you speechless.

Murphy Shepherd also known as David Bishop will stop at nothing to save women in trouble. He’s a priest of sorts who is bold, fearless, and determined. The characters in The Letter Keeper are the pillars of the story from Murphy to his new wife Summer, their daughters, his mentor Bones, and his friend Clay all coalesce to form a perfectly well-rounded cast of characters. Once again Gunner, takes the prize for the best partner/dog ever! I hesitate to even call them characters because they feel so real. You can’t help but feel the intensity and heartache and wonder if it’s a true story.

One of life’s pleasures is a book that sweeps you off your feet, a poignant book that you can’t put down until the last page is turned. This is that book. This is the second in a series and while you can certainly read THE LETTER KEEPER as a standalone, why would you want to miss the emergence of the intrepid Murphy Shepherd in THE WATER KEEPER. Besides, there will be a third book, and who doesn’t love a good series.

Charles Martin is one of my favorite authors of all time. His writing is beautiful and descriptive. His novels before this series include Send Down the Rain, Long Way Gone, and The Mountain Between Us, which was made into a major motion picture all of his books are a pleasure to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Publisher Thomas Nelson
Published June 8, 2021
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

This book deals with a very uncomfortable topic of human trafficking. I thought I could get through it, but it has too much detail. I know this is a problem of our world, and we all need to be made aware of it. But I read for entertainment and not to be saddened.

While this book is well written, it was not for me. A lot of the story is told from the main character telling it instead of the reader witnessing the action. For me, it seemed to be a very slow read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest opinion.

This was my first book by Charles Martin. I don't know where to begin. I love this authors voice, he inspires me. What an incredible storytelling. After the first few lines, I was hooked. My only disappointment, the book was to long and I could not read it in one setting.
Human trafficking is not a subject I usually choose to read about, so I was at first a little hesitant. Mr. Martin painted an adequate picture to show us the nightmare that the victims are going through but he didn't leave us there. He has a special way of drawing hope out of the darkness.
This book has it all, self-less love, drama, hope, laughter and lots of tears and so much more that I can't put into words.
Here is just one quote from David Bishop/Murphy Shepherd, there are many more I find myself ruminating over.
“We are really good at taking the pain of our past and projecting it into our future because it's what we know, and yet our past has almost nothing to do with our future other than being connected by seconds. That's it. So we face a choice. Either shine a light on yesterday and expose it, or forfeit the joy of now and the hope of tomorrow.
…......fear is a liar. Always has been.”

This was a story that kept me guessing until the end. And left me wanting more.
I thank Thomas Nelson through NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Again, a good story, but a tough subject to read! Still love the characters. However, the reasons for only 4 stars are these: some of the first book is repeated in this one, and parts of it are a bit unbelievable--one man can only get hurt so much!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.

Wow!!!! This book is incredible! The stories of the lives of the girls who have been rescued. The strength of Bones and Bishop. The heartbreak and joy. Man, don’t miss this one!

Murphy has made a life of saving others, especially women, from human traffickers. He's finally found happiness with a wife, her daughter, and two girls he rescued in the first book (it does help to have read it) but now, someone's taken them. This sets off a chase with lots of drama. It also opens Murphy's back story. That's not his birth name and his exploits, well, no spoilers from me. This thriller has a strong faith message, good characters, and. page turning plot. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Martin's fans with be pleased with this.

After reading The Water Keeper, I knew I wanted to read this one. Whew, what a ride! We get a glimpse into the backstory of Murphy Shepherd in a tale woven with love, hope, and redemption. Mr. Martin develops characters so well, when I close the covers of the book, I feel like people are missing from my actual life. Anticipating what he might write next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a well written book that hooks you on the first page and doesn't let go. It's a roller coaster ride of emotions and is full of action, suspense and drama. Loved it and can't wait for the next book in this series. Thank you Thomas Nelson--FICTION via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Okay. Once upon a time, I would've said that Charles Martin is one of my favorite authors - beautiful prose, engaging plot. Blunt - just like me. *halo* Thing is...I wouldn't quite say so anymore. *Deep breath* So. Let's dive in, shall we?

Mmkay, so, let me say what I didn't like (and try not to turn this into a rant), and get that part over with.

For one...the prose. The first couple of books I read by Martin (When Crickets Cry and The Dead Don't Dance) were absolutely amazing. But then I read books that he published in recent years (Send Down the Rain and The Water Keeper)...and they've only disappointed me. I couldn't put my finger on why, though...so I picked up The Water Keeper from the library and requested The Letter Keeper from Netgalley.

I've figured it out. The 'prose,' to me, isn't really prose anymore. The meaty parts of the story, the parts where the plot really began to pick up and get going, were either short bits between the slow parts, or were broken up by rabbit trails of deep thinking.

Don't get me wrong; y'all know I love books that make me think deeply. But in the middle of a suspenseful sequence is not, in my opinion, a good time to insert "There are times in a man's life when..." *deep thinking that takes up an entire page and interrupts the plot* It seemed like there wasn't enough plot to go around, so hey, let's throw in an insane amount of internal dialogue that you have to force yourself not to skim over, but make the rest of the book interesting enough that you want to keep reading and find out how it ends!

Okay. I think my rant is over. Sorry. *cough*

What else didn't I like? Some of the scenes between Murph and Summer made me downright uncomfortable. Like, it wasn't too bad, it was just...lots of different places. Until that one scene right after the wedding (not gonna say whose wedding, to avoid potential spoilers). I understand that this is supposed to be authentic and real but like...y'all. I've got a vivid imagination. Whenever I read something in a book, I picture it in my mind. And this...this is not something I wanted to picture in my mind. (I suppose I should've learned my lesson from the first Shepherd book. But I didn't, unfortunately.)

The unfortunate thing is, even though the book ended on a cliffhanger, I'm not even sure that I want to read the next one. Which sadly brings the book down from "It was pretty good!" to "It...was good...I think?"

But. What did I like?

The plot was fantastic. Granted, the first half of the book was slow and I was trying to find out exactly where the back cover blurb fit into the whole picture. But then the second half hit and bang, we finally caught some of the action that Murphy Shepherd is known for! (did I just end a sentence with a preposition? Yes. Yes, I did. *bows* forgive me.) Like, that one scene full of InJUrY and pAIn and DEaTh!

"You came after us!"
"I said I would, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but...you actually did." (Might not be exact wording, but super close, anyway)
These words, uttered from a heart so broken that she dared not believe they were true until she saw it put into action in the most sacrificial way possible, sum up my favorite part in the entire book. Someone who didn't see herself as worthy of love...found herself being treated as a most precious treasure (find a parallel in here somewhere?). And I adored it.

I also really loved Casey's character arc. It wasn't the straight-road-to-recovery-with-a-couple-setbacks. No, it was more like we-thought-we-were-recovering-but-then-everything-was-almost-completely-lost-but-it'll-all-turn-out-okay-in-the-end. (I guess I have a thing for hyphens. *shrug*) Like...I really, really loved the entire Casey aspect (including that last scene with her?? IT WAS SOOO GOOD.)

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher from Netgalley for promotional purposes. All thoughts are my own.

Wow. I just finished Charles Martin’s The Letter Keeper and I have to say this author just gets better and better with every single book. David Bishop/Murphy Shepherd is a priest who also rescues kids from human traffickers. This is book#2. I loved this one as much as I loved book#1 The Water Keeper. We get a lot more of his background in this story. I love that the author gives us a lot of action and then he gives us a moment to catch our breaths by giving us some background story before we are off again to more action packed scenes. I love the main characters in this series. I was not prepared for the ending at all. I cannot wait for his next book! I highly recommend reading The Water Keeper first. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Murphy Shepherd’s life mission is to save children from human traffickers. He’s been shot at, burned by exploding bombs and put in other extremely critical situations. He is also clearly a haunted, broken man.

With an arsenal of weapons and the coolest, most faithful dog ever by his side, he kicks butt along with his mentor, Bones who plucked him out of college to lead covert operations. These two characters are amazingly portrayed and I felt fully absorbed in their lives. Martin has a gift for writing, expert at creating atmosphere, strong characters and powerful emotional moments.

Trigger warning: human trafficking, including the dark web sex trade.
A dark topic but very well written: A man on a mission to rescue the damaged and abused--children and young women kidnapped and trafficked via any means to a highly organized underground sex trade. Despite being well written fiction, this book takes guts to read and to stick with until the end. I know this awful 'trade' is real and ancient as it is despicable so wouldn't it be great if this book was actually based on real rescue groups? If possible, read the previous book in this series (featuring this character) before reading this one so you have all the backstory; it'not critical but it is helpful. Although I really appreciated this newest book by a favorite author, I definitely need a gentle read or two for my next book.

I’ve read several of this author’s book and really enjoyed them all. This one doesn’t have quite as much action as the first one in this series. Seems like it’s more in Murphy’s head. Murphy is like MacGyver with nine lives and he’s half way through those.
I enjoyed the story and look forward to seeing where this series goes next
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early

I enjoyed The Water Keeper very much, so I was excited to receive an advance copy of The Letter Keeper. First of all, it is important to read The Water Keeper first or much of this story will not make sense. I am having a difficult time determining how I feel about the book now that I’ve finished it. I enjoyed the sections where we learn more about Murphy’s life and the development of his friendship with Bones, but I felt all of the action scenes were rushed and disjointed. I’ve learned that I enjoy Charles Martin’s ability to describe people and relationships far more than his action sequences. While I did want to read the whole book and I will definitely pick up the next book (because the ending implies another book is coming,) this was not one of my favorites from this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an inspirational read for me. CM took a realistic and sensitive topic and rendered a wonderful story from it. The characters were very well developed and interesting.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is the follow up to The Water Keeper by Charles Martin. Charles has long been one of my favorite authors and his new books are no exception. The Letter Keeper picks up with Murph where the Water Keeper left off. We get to find out more about what makes him tick and where he came from. I am deeply invested in this character and devoured this book from the start. This is an emotional fiction work that deep dives into to human trafficking travesty that currently exists. The only complaint I have about this book is that it ended with a definite cliffhanger and now I am mad I have to wait for Charles to write the next one. Highly recommend this read to anyone but definitely recommend taking the time to read the Water Keeper first.

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was the sequel to The Water Keeper, a book I loved. This continues the story of Murphy Shepherd and gives more back story about who him. I found it interesting but not quite as page turning as The Water Keeper, until the second half of the book. Then I couldn't read fast enough! The writing is beautiful while Charles Martin continues to tackle human trafficking issues. The ending was stunning and certainly leaves the reader hoping there will be another book in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for my ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.