Empire of Wild

I thought this book was pretty good. My understanding is thsi author has also written some YA, and there was something YA-ish about this (the adult protagonist and some fleeting sexual references notwithstanding.) I liked the set-up of the central mystery: Joan's husband has disappeared, and 11 months she finds him - or someone who looks just like him - leading a traveling Christian revival group. I thought the writing was really good. The characters were great, including the supporting characters of Joan's family and community. The relationship between Joan and her 12-year old nephew is really sweet, and in many ways is more convincing and has more depth than Joan's relationship with her missing husband; this is in part why the book feels like it leans YA. What makes me give it fewer than 5 stars is that, in spite of the intriguiing set-up for the story, the solution to the mystery seems like it is revealed too quickly (and, frankly, felt a litlte thin) and the overall plot felt slighlty over-simplified to feel fully engaging. I think this book is still appealing, and would recommend it to people who like YA.