I never seem to run out of new places to find good books. As a regular reader of “Level Up Your Writing Life” in Writer’s Digest, I noticed that the column writer Sharon Stone also wrote books under a pseudonym as Jess Montgomery. Of course, I wondered if she could write a good story as well as give good advice, and Oak Grove Public Library had a copy of The Widows. Blurbs indicated two of my enticements – historical fiction and a setting in Appalachia.
Jess takes her inspiration from two historical women but weaves a different tale of their lives. Maude Collins, Ohio’s first female sheriff is her model for Lily Ross while the union organizer, Mother Jones is the model for Marvena Whitcomb. Lily, the young, pregnant sheriff’s wife gets an ominous message, “Daniel’s been found.” She is told his death is an accident that happened when he was transporting a prisoner. Her opportunity to find out what really happened comes when she is appointed sheriff in his place, a job she must juggle with care for her two young children.
Marvena, the second widow comes to see Lily shortly after Daniel’s death looking for information about her missing daughter that Daniel had promised to locate. This widow, with her husband killed in a mine accident, has become a leader of the efforts to unionize and has an undisclosed link to Daniel. It seems that there are things about her beloved husband that Lily does not know. What is his relationship with Marvena? How does his past from the Great War and his boxing matches play into the present? How is he connected to the illegal bootlegging industry and the unsafe practices in the mines?
My conclusion to my original wondering has Jess writing a novel just as good as Sharon’s advice column in the Writer’s Digest. It did leave me with another dilemma. The Widows is the first of four in the Kinship Series. Now, I will have to add to my to-be-read stack that is already toppling over!