Not safe, but good. That’s how Aslan is described in C.S. Lewis’ ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, and it’s how this book should be described too. It is the heartbreaking account of the Cardy family’s ordeal when their nine year old daughter Jennifer was abducted and murdered in 1981, and how the Lord showed His compassion, justice and power in the thirty years that followed before her killer was convicted.

Patricia Cardy, Jennifer’s mother, was a Christian long before her daughter’s tragic death, but hers is not a story of unshakeable faith against the odds. Pat doubted, struggled and wept as much as we would expect any parent to, but time and time again, the Lord met her in her pain and weakness and gave her comfort. Pat’s story is suffused with Scripture, as she was reminded time and time again of the timeless truths of God. Her experience of Jesus was very personal and intimate, but it was founded on the Biblical truths we can all reach for. And perhaps most movingly, Andrew, Jennifer’s father, comes to faith during their long and harrowing ordeal. If he can find faith in the midst of Satan’s most evil trial, then there is hope for anyone.

I have to be honest, I opened this book with trepidation. Of all the spiritual challenges I may face, I knew that the one I most feared was losing my son. How on earth would I recognise my loving Saviour in such an awful experience? I was burying my head in the sand, but Pat Cardy had no such choice. She, and her family, had to live through this appalling event with eyes and hearts torn open. And my goodness, what a powerful testimony to our God it is, as He brought them through.

Miriam Montgomery, Free Church Books