Lady Jasmine by Victoria Christopher Murray
***Note, I consider this a great book with a church setting, moreso than an inspirational novel.
Juicy Jasmine Larson Bush is at it again — battling her past in order to save her future.
With her own lies, she nearly destroyed her marriage to Pastor Hosea Bush. Why, Jasmine was forced to reveal every secret she’d ever kept from her husband, right down to her real age, weight, and shoe size! She thought she had told Hosea everything.
But when Jasmine is blackmailed with a terrible truth from her past that she “forgot” to tell Hosea, more than just her marriage is in jeopardy.
Surprisingly, her first instinct is to tell the truth. Jasmine knows, however, that this is one part of her life that can never be exposed. Determined to keep the life she fought so hard to save, Jasmine is willing to commit any sin — even murder — to leave her past behind her. No one can know the truth about the First Lady of City of Lights at Riverside Church. No one can know that beneath the veneer of a redeemed Christian wife, there lies a sinner — especially not her trusting husband.
When Jasmine Cox Larson’s past comes back to haunt her, in the form of anonymous letters, she wonders what’ll happen to her marriage. Will Pastor Hosea stay married to her when he discovers that she used to be a stripper? When her father-in-law is shot, Jasmine’s husband, Hosea, steps up into the pulpit to fulfill his role as pastor. However, there are those who want Hosea out of the pulpit for various reasons and Jasmine finds herself on a mission, trying to figure out who’s trying to blackmail her and why they’re trying to do it. In the meantime, she’s enjoying her role as First Lady and wants all of the congregation to address her as Lady Jasmine.
I enjoyed this book and like most of Victoria’s novels, this one was a page-turner. My only problem with it was that I wanted to shake Jasmine and get her to stop lying so much! I wished she’d learn to stop lying all the time to cover herself! The characterization of Jasmine is very effective because she’s been through several novels – this is something I don’t see authors do very often, use the same character – as the main character – for several books. Usually when I see the same person in several books, they’re only the main character in one book and then they may be a secondary character in other novels. Having the same main character in several books shows that the person is very well-developed and you feel as if you know them well. Great job in effective characterization.
If you like edgy books in a church setting, then this one is for you.