Book Spotlight: Reviving The Hawthorn Sisters by Emily Carpenter

Today the spotlight is on Reviving The Hawthorn Sisters by Emily Carpenter!

It’s been a while since I’ve ventured into historical fiction and mystery so I was excited to read this. Thank you to the publisher and Sabrina Dax for a review copy. The book is out now!

Here’s the synopsis and my review:

Publication Date: 20 October 2020
Page Count: 331 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Author: Emily Carpenter
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Synopsis:

Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove’s death, Eve has maintained Dove’s charitable foundation—and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove’s darkest secret: murder…

Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made.

Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove’s friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?

Review:

Reviving The Hawthorn Sisters is a haunting historical fiction/contemporary mystery about family secrets, faith and lost love. The dual timelines takes place in the 1930s and in the present. The story deals with gender disparity, abusive relationships, and the lengths a person will go to protect themself.

I thought Dove’s story is beautiful and heartbreaking. I loved her friendship with her friend, Bruna, as they became the famous Hawthorn Sisters. She is strong and independent, yet warm and trusting. While she has made some questionable decisions, it’s hard to fault her desire to escape and live the life she deserves. I thought the description of people’s fervour for evangelists and their desperation to be healed feel authentic and harrowing. While the book leaves some questions about Dove’s gift, there is no doubt she helped people to heal – even if it’s just in their mind.

I was less taken with Eve’s storyline but I liked that she doesn’t give up easily. She has to find a missing priceless coin while discovering the truth behind her grandmother’s history. She has spent her adult life holding up Dove’s legacy and she has to accept that it may all go to pieces. Even as she wonders whether Dove was actually gifted, and whether she herself carries that same gift. There’s some suspenseful moments as both Dove and Eve encounter awful people seeking their own interests. The ending is bittersweet yet hopeful.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author and it won’t be the last. If you love historical fiction with a dose of mystery, you don’t want to miss Reviving The Hawthorn Sisters!

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Cover photo by Nikola Knezevic