Paperback, 384 Pages

Adult - Mystery/Thriller

Review Copy/ TLC Book Tour

Warning: Violence, mild sexuality

4.5/5 Stars (Recommended to Adult readers)

Family secrets can bind and destroy.

Kate is ready to put her nomadic, city-dwelling past behind her when she marries Joe Krause and moves with him to the Iowa farm that has been in his family for more than 140 years. But life on the farm isn’t quite as idyllic as she’d hoped. It’s filled with chores, judgmental neighbors, and her mother-in-law, who—unbeknownst to Kate until after the wedding—will be living with them.

As Kate struggles to find her place in the small farming community, she begins to realize that her husband and his family are not who she thought they were. According to town gossip, the Krause family harbors a long-kept secret about a mysterious death that haunts Kate as a dangerous, unexplainable chain of events begins.

Thoughts

The Krause family are no strangers to town gossip, nor are the Krause men strangers to hard work, but for the women who marry them a life a struggle, disappointment and judgement usually follows. This is where we find our main characters Kate and Hannah- both women married to a Krause man, one in the 1890's and one in present day. The tale flows through both characters voice and alternates chapter by chapter weaving a story of murder, gossip and secrets.

From page one this alluring story cast its spell on me, the writing and tone of the novel set a great atmosphere for a Gothic read, although this book falls into the contemporary-mystery genre, McConkey did an outstanding job blending modern day and the late 1800's into a creepy mystery, one that at times actually gave me the creeps......one that had me thinking after the lights went out. The book is by no means scary, but scary in the sense of what gossip and hate can do to a family and sad at how some stay forever trapped in the past. From both women's perspective we see the issue of abuse, fierce parental love (good and bad) and secrets that destroy families and while I very much connected with Hannah, the stronger character of the two, I admired the growth in Kate and came to appreciate and understand the choices she made.

The ending was tremendous bringing both stories together and shedding light on the true mystery surrounding the Krause clan, boiling down to one hauntingly fun read and for sure worth the wait getting there.

I would highly recommend The Widows of Braxton County to contemporary, thriller, mystery and Gothic ghost story lovers. For sure the sleeper hit of the summer, don't miss it.

Jess McConkey, aka Shirley Damsgaard, is an award-winning writer of short fiction and the author of the Ophelia and Abby mysteries and Love Lies Bleeding. She lives in a small Iowa town, where she served as postmaster for more than twenty years.