Kindle Edition Amazon Amazon Category:  Literary Fiction Publisher: Prism Book Group ISBN-10:  1940099331 Type: Fiction Pages: 324 Copyright: January 6, 2014 ISBN-13: 9781940099330 Price: $0.99 (eBook) Hope, love, and loss meld two polar opposite personalities. How long can they keep passion for their ministry and each other after the wedding?  Medical missionary and avowed bachelor Merit Campbell is wounded during a skirmish at his Mideast clinic and sent home to recover. Restlessness propels him to explore the happier moments of his childhood in Illinois where he meets Amalia Kennedy, owner of The Last Detail, who enjoys helping people prepare for their final years. Merit ushers in new life; Amalia ushers it out. Love? Obviously. Marriage? Check. Dealing with the family closet? Step back… Amalia enjoys her predictable life in a quiet little Illinois town—until long-time intended, Hudson, finally proposes in a way that shows her boring and old are coming way too fast. When a mutual friend introduces Merit and Amalia, the spark of attraction makes Merit reconsider his bachelorhood. When he can’t return to the mission, he accepts a call as pastor to Amalia’s church. As the two grow closer they weather constant interruptions from ministry, business, and family, even at their wedding and beyond. When tragedy strikes, they must learn to rely on each other in ways they couldn’t have prepared for.

Entertaining and Enlightening
I chose a 5 star rating because I enjoyed the book. The characters remind me of real life people, including me, who strive with decisions and difficult life issues. A Christian doesn't have all the answers, nor do they constantly behave properly. Merit and company struggle with a sense of calling. He can't make decisions about where to go, and he doesn't know if he should love Amalia and marry her. Merit has a strong longing toward missions, and this book hits the nail on the head with the trials of mission work. I have several family members who serve on mission fields. They have faced many of the trials Merit met in the book. The first half of the book was good, but the second half was even better with a major surprise. I thought I had it all figured out, but Ms. Lickel threw in one new twist after another. I love the title and the idea of The Last Detail. When a loved one dies, it is comforting to have someone help with specifics. There is a lot of Christian teaching in the book, and I like that. If one is looking for a read void of any kind of theology, then don't read this book. However, if you want to read and learn, this book is for you.

Wonderful Love Story
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this love story. The realistic characters faced genuine obstacles and worked through them in believable ways. Yes, Merit and Amelia find each other attractive, but there is so much more to marriage--and those thorny issues are incorporated into the story. There is a great supporting cast of appealing charcters, some I'd like to be friends with, and one who's a total loser. Those personalities enriched "The Last Detail" and made it altogether well worth reading. Besides being an entertaining read, this story contains lots of wisdom regarding acceptance of God's plans over ours. This is a book I would recommend to anyone of any age. Don't miss it!