Lauraine Reads: Sadie's Secret

I love Spring when so many perennials are blooming: roses, peonies, irises, snow ball bush, candytuft and poppies, just to name a few. But this year I have something new, not in the garden growing but growing right now in our repurposed dog crate. I have four baby chicks, Buff Orpingtons, one month old as of today. With their combination of fluff and feathers, they are looking pretty ratty but Henry, Mabel, Maude and Mildred are getting tamer all the time and provide ongoing entertainment. Our basset Winston is enthralled by them. I’m a bit concerned when he licks his chops but there will always be a fence between them. I have wanted chickens again for years and now I have them. Next stage–building them a house and fenced-in pen. I post pictures of them on Facebook if you are interested.

None of that, of course, has anything to do with my book review this month but I love sharing news about my babies. I have been on a reading binge, something like priming a pump, I hope. A friend of mine, Kathleen Y’Barbo, received an award for this title. I hadn’t read any of her books for some time but I’m sure glad I did. Kathleen writes in the Christian romance field, always with verve and a dash of humor. Her heroines are gutsy, wildly imperfect and always able to raise a few chuckles and possibly a tear or two.

Although Sadie’s Secret is book three in the Secret Lives of Will Tucker series, it reads very much as a standalone and can be read separately. I did not read the first two but will probably go back and do so. I did read a short novella, Miss Merriweather’s Marriage, a free e-book that serves as a teaser for the series.

Sadie is a Pinkerton Detective who takes her job very seriously. Her life would be far easier if her rather domineering mother and four brothers would not insist on protecting her, for she is quite capable of that herself. Being an independent woman in the late 1800’s South is not only frowned upon but must be a secret, just one of the many she keeps.

The hero, Jefferson Tucker, employed by Scotland Yard, London’s version of Pinkerton, also has secrets, including a twin who lives on the other side of the law. This leads to all kinds of confusions and excitement.

The convolutions of all the secrets made for an intriguing and highly entertaining read. As you can guess, I am glad to recommend not only this book but others by Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner. She has lived her own version of a romance novel the last couple of years.

Readers are raving about Harvest of Hope, book two in my Songs of Blessing series. Book three, Streams of Mercy, is in galley form right here on my desk, with a release date in October. My next contemporary, Someday Home, will be in stores in early July and we are hard at work planning the launch parties and a tour in MN and ND in July. Never a dull moment around here. I hope some of you are taking time to write your family stories for your next generation. I recently received a much used church cookbook and some family letters from a reader, what a treasure of history is contained in those pages, as well as more story ideas. Blessings to all and happy reading and writing.