Veiled in Smoke

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, JOCELYN
VEILED IN SMOKE

The flames took so much. She can't lose her father as well.

Meg Townsend and her sister, Sylvie, seek a quiet existence managing the family bookshop. Meg feels responsible for caring for their father, Stephan, whose spirit and health are both damaged from his time as a prisoner during the Civil War. Her one escape is the paintings she creates and sells in the bookshop.

Then the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district. The fiery explosions and chaos stir up memories of war for Stephen as he runs from the blaze and becomes separated from his daughters. Days later, when the smoke has cleared, Meg and Sylvie manage to reunite with him. Their home and shop are lost, and what's left among the ashes may be even more threatening than the flames, for they learn that a close friend was murdered the night of the fire -- and Stephen has been charged with the crime. After he is committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum, where they cannot visit him, Stephen feels as lost to them as the show that now lies in rubble.

Though homeless and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life but prove the truth of what happened that night, before the asylum truly drives her father mad.

My Review:

I admit to being a cover snob and this one completely draws me in. The sepia tones and the haze of smoke shrouding the city's ruins...just wow...totally sets the mood. And with the heroine standing on the edge -- visual imagery of the precipice she's teetering on as her whole life tumbles down around her. Whew! What a powerful lure to the unsuspecting reader. (And I might be a tad giddy over the embossed lettering on the cover. I'm tactile nerdy that way.)

This is the first book in The Windy City Saga series and, wowsers, saga is right! It reads like an epic classic with rich descriptive prose and an involved plot that carried me away to another time and place. Jocelyn Green is known for her impeccable research and the historical details in this novel add such rich layers to characterization and plot.

Drama, mystery, intrigue and even a touch of romance -- my bibliophile senses are still swimming. This is the kind of book you lose yourself in. Seriously, I barely came up for air and lost sleep because I couldn't leave these characters to sort out their lives without me there to encourage them on. :-) It's kind of left me tongue-tied, actually. Definitely the kind of multi-sensory delight a reader needs to experience for herself.

Gobsmackingly good!

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Veiled in Smoke leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 25 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck