Katt’s In The Cradle is the third collaboration between authors Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell in the Secrets from Lulu’s Café series about four pastors’ wives from Red River, Ohio.  Each of the wives: Lisa Barton, Felicia Lopez-Morrison, Mimi Plaisance, and Jennifer Shores, faces the same problems as many dysfunctional families, but they also share the unique stresses of being the wife of a pastor who is expected to rise above and be of help and service to their church’s parishioners.

One of the wives has a mother with a lifelong mental illness, another has an alcoholic father who has moved in with her family because he has no place to go, yet he still drinks and is belligerent. One family suffers from estrangement and secrets.  Other dilemmas include pondering expanding families by either adoption or pregnancy, but possibly the most upsetting of all is the church members who have turned against one pastor and his family and now threaten to fire their leader because they don't like the direction in which he is leading the church.

The women meet secretly at Lulu’s Café twice a month.  They share lunch, laughter, tears and frustrations.   As the book progresses from a spring full of disruption, through the emotional upheaval of summer, the ladies learn to open up to each other more and more, and to remember to leave things in the hands of God when they don't know what to do.

Although the book was a bit confusing to me at first due to the number of characters, this was probably because I had not read the first two books.  As the pace picked up about a third of the way through the story, I found it to be engaging and enjoyable.  There were a couple of loose ends left, particularly about a letter received from the birth mother of an adopted one year old.  The letter arrived early in the book, but was barely mentioned again. Perhaps the authors did this intentionally, saving that story for another book.  The writing is very consistent and emotionally charged, with plenty of drama and more than a touch of humor. Katt’s in the Cradle should appeal to most adult women, but also to people who have a modern Christian faith, both men and women alike.  A very enjoyable read!