2019, 272p, Clean Historical Mystery/Suspense
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way
Loss is inevitable, as Evie Hampton knows all too well. But despite losing her mother to cancer and her older brother to a war, she knows she’s one of the lucky ones. After all, she still has her father, a distinguished professor of medieval history. And she has Gary Redhawk, the man she loves despite the emotional scars he carries from the Second World War—and despite her father’s opposition to their relationship.
When a freak accident sends Evie’s car careening off the road, she chalks it up to poor maintenance, or sheer bad luck making another appearance in her life. Little does she know a host of hardships is just beginning—the car was her father’s, and the brake lines were deliberately cut. Someone wants them dead—but why? All fingers point to Gary, a man with a troubled past and no solid alibi, but Evie is unwilling to believe he’s involved. Determined to uncover the truth, she begins to piece together a startling picture of deception and vice. But as she closes in on the truth, it is clear that someone is determined to silence her—and the next attempt on her life may be a deadly success.
I have loved every book I've read by A.L. Sowards and this one did not disappoint! It's different than her other books but every bit as good. It's set in 1948. Evie lives with her father, after having lost her mother to cancer and her brother, Clive, to the war. Evie and Clive had a strained relationship growing up, and each chapter starts with snippets of their letters to each other as they were healing their relationship. I loved how those letters tied into the story.
Evie's father doesn't approve of her relationship with Gary Redhawk, a Seneca Indian that she's been dating for the past eighteen months. Gary deals with trauma from his past. She is aware of some of it and learns about more as the story progresses. When there's more tragedy, Gary becomes an easy suspect but Evie believes in his innocence. Gary is likable and easy to fall in love with, so it wasn't difficult to see why their relationship works.
After I had read about fifty pages, I was telling my daughter about this book, and so much had already happened. I still had a lot of book left to read so I was excited to finish it! I loved everything about it. It's got mystery, suspense, romance, loss, secrets, interesting characters, and of course, I love that it's clean. This is a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys clean, historical mystery/suspense!
While growing up, A.L. Sowards devoured her parents' collection of murder mysteries. Most of them weren't historical...but some of them were old enough that they felt like it to a teenager. Perhaps it was inevitable that she would eventually write a historical mystery of her own.
A.L. Sowards grew up in Moses Lake, Washington, then came to Utah to attend BYU and ended up staying. Now she's a busy mom, with three young children and a head full of story ideas. She enjoys reading, writing, learning about history, and eating chocolate, sometimes all at once. As an author, she is known for heart-pounding action, memorable characters, careful historical research, and clean love stories. Her novels include a Whitney Award-winner and several Whitney Award finalists.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
