‘Promise Me’ good holiday reading

The holidays are a time for believing in the impossible, and in Richard Paul Evans' unusual but highly entertaining new holiday offering, “Promise Me,” one man confronts impossibilities as he struggles to keep a promise made years ago.

After a rough two years in which her husband had been caught cheating and then died of cancer, and her daughter Charlotte was battling an unknown disease, Beth Cardall is ready for life to look a little brighter. When a handsome stranger she encounters at the neighborhood 7-Eleven on Christmas Day tells her to have the doctors check her daughter for celiac disease, and he turns out to be right, Beth wonders how this man seems to know so much about her and her family.

Soon her wariness turns to trust, and she finds herself falling in love with the personable and genuinely nice Matthew. But in the back of her mind she continues to wonder if he is too good to be true.

For Matthew, courting Beth is easy — the young widow is beautiful and loving, and her daughter just the same. But Matthew has other reasons for wanting to watch out for the Cardall women, and he must keep this secret to himself or risk breaking their hearts.

Of course, the truth always comes out, and when it does, Matthew and Beth’s relationship will be sorely tested. Only faith, trust and love will see them through the rocky crisis.

Well-known for his holiday-inspired books “The Christmas Box,” “Finding Noel,” “Grace” and “The Gift,” Evans is the rare author whose work can be counted on to be heartwarming, touching and full of Christmas joy. “Promise Me” is no exception.

Evans' gift for storytelling will keep the reader enthralled to the very surprising end of this charming tale full of unexpected twists and turns. “Promise Me” will certainly join the ranks of the rest of Evans' best-selling tomes as some of the best holiday reading to be found.