Saving Faith

by: Patrick M. Garry

Published by: Inkwater Press

Reviewed by Maria Elmvang

Jack’s life is a lonely one. Having grown up as an orphan and never been adopted, he’s used to being by himself. His job as a repossessor for a used car dealer doesn’t leave room for much friendly human interaction–and he prefers it that way.

One day he accidentally tows the wrong car, and to make amends, offers to be a personal chauffeur for Ev, until he can get his car back. At the courthouse they encounter Irene and Claire, whose passion for keeping alive an unknown comatose patient intrigues them. Thus starts an odd friendship between an orphan, a disgraced journalist, a nurse and a troubled young woman as they spend time together both inside the hospital and out, trying to determine the identity of temporarily named “Faith Powers,” before the powers-that-be decide to pull the plug on her.

Although the story originally focuses around the mystery of Faith Powers, it slowly changes to be more about the four people–thrown together by coincidence–and the impact that having a common cause has on their lives.

I originally picked up Saving Faith because, despite the fact that it was published more than 18 months ago, there was still only one review of it on Amazon. That is highly unusual, and made me curious. After having read it, I understand the lack of reviews, because it’s very difficult to figure out what to say about it.

The premise seemed original, and the plot would probably have been very interesting, if only the characters had managed to win my affection. It wasn’t that I actually disliked the characters, I just discovered that I simply didn’t care about them or their plight at all. This made it difficult to get properly engaged in the story, which is a shame, as it was otherwise very well written, so I don’t know exactly why the characters failed to win my sympathy.

The ending is either a stroke of brilliancy or frustratingly anti-climatic. I haven’t quite figured out which yet, and will leave that verdict up to other readers to decide for yourself.

Armchair Interviews says: A story with possibilities but characters that need some work.