BOOK BY: Sarah Loudin Thomas
Hedda Schlagel is living a comfortable life in Germany as a piano teacher with the woman who was once destined to be her mother-in-law. Fifteen years after WW1, Hedda still wonders whatever happened to the man she was engaged to – who was captured and kept at a camp in North Carolina, USA. When she sees a news article with her dead fiancé’s name in it, she knows she must go to America to bring his body home.
Deputy Garland Jones is tasked with aiding Hedda to recover the body of her dead fiancé. When the grave is opened, neither one expects what they find.
This story takes place during Hitler’s rise in Germany, which will eventually cause problems for Hedda’s return.
There are rich, historical details sprinkled throughout the entire story bringing the characters to life. The setting is easily pictured as the author takes care to anchor readers in the time and place of the Blue Mountains.
It’s an interesting premise, though I didn’t connect with Hedda. The conflict near the end of the story for Hedda was totally avoidable since she KNEW her time in America was limited. As for Garland’s part in helping her overcome the conflict, I’m not convinced an officer of the law would have done what he did. This particular conflict is built up and then the story abruptly ends. An epilogue follows, where the characters have overcome the conflict. I was expecting more as the situation seemed pretty impossible to resolve (I wanted to “witness” how it was resolved).
I received a copy of the book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.