(From Goodreads) Ten years ago, Grace saw something that would forever change the course of history. When evil in its purest form is unleashed on the world, she and others from their religious community are already hidden deep in the hills of Tennessee, abiding by every rule that will keep them safe, pure–and alive. As long as they stay there, behind the red perimeter.

Both Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker have a way of crating the kind of story premises that immediately intrigue me, and The Girl Behind the Rope was no exception. I was easily drawn into the mysteries of the isolated Haven Valley community as well as a curiosity as to the truth behind the feared Furies and what exists beyond Haven Valley’s borders. Getting those answers (or at least confirmation of my suspicions) kept me engaged through the end of the book.

I also really enjoyed the flow of the writing—while there were parts that I may have found unnecessary, the pace of the story moved very quickly. There were no parts that I felt dragged at all from beginning to end, making the story of Grace and Haven Valley a fairly fast read.

The concept of the Furies was definitely one of the most interesting factors for me in The Girl Behind the Red Rope. There was so much mystery behind them and the danger that they supposedly presented outside the safety of Haven Valley. The authors did a great job of maintaining the mystery until near the end while providing small clues as to their existence and nature. However, I felt that the reveal fell short of expectations where the Furies were concerned.

First I feel the need to say that I think I would have gotten more of what I wanted out of this book if I weren’t so familiar with Ted Dekker’s previous work. The concept was there and the plot and writing were definitely enjoyable—but with my experience of Ted Dekker novels, it was fairly easy to pick out the allegorical elements and see where the story was heading with its message. Unfortunately, this made The Girl Behind the Red Rope predictable to me, when I was looking forward to someone more unexpected and unique.

One of the other main downfalls for me was the main character’s lack of initiative or action until well into the story. I understand that this was part of the point of story—that the fears of Grace and Haven Valley’s other residents were keeping them trapped—but it became frustrating that the only reason her story existed was because other people dragged her into things. I think the story might have been more interesting if the focus had been on someone who was willing to question the Haven Valley leaders, for example, Grace’s brother.

Another element that didn’t make sense to me in this book is that the members of this community, did not have an issue with the things that were being told to them. In particular the leaders of what was supposedly a group of believers listened to certain voices who told them things that were in contradiction to God’s Word—and more poor decisions based on this. Again, religion vs. faith was a key part of The Girl Behind the Red Rope, but this neglect on the part of Haven City was frustrating at times.

Finally, the focus on the women’s role in Haven Valley being to marry (the person that the community’s leaders selected for them) and have children seemed like an odd and unnecessary element that took up a lot of time early in the book. I know it was meant to show the downsides of Haven Valley from Grace’s perspective, but it didn’t really further the plot and became grating at times.

• Christian allegory
• Supernatural mystery
• Dystopian communities
• Books with a message

I received this book as part of the Revell Reads program in order to write a review. The statements of the review are entirely my own, honest opinion of the book.