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Wednesday, March 17, 2021

The Widows (Kinship #1) by Jess Montgomery

Another book read out of order.  I read The Hollows (Kinship #2) first and loved it.  Because The Hollows was so good--the characters, the setting, the plot, the writing--I knew I would want the first book in the series.

I finally got around to reading The Widows  and was again surprised at how much I loved everything about the town of Kinship and the characters Jess Montgomery created.  Some books hit everything I want in a novel, and both The Widows and The Hollows fall in that category for me.  Well-researched for historical elements, three-dimensional characters, strong women, excellent plot in both of these novels compelled me to keep turning the pages and to hope it wouldn't end, at the same time.

From Description:  "Inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, this is a powerful debut about two women’s search for justice as they take on the corruption at the heart of their community."

Kinship, Ohio in 1924 owed a great deal to coal, but not everyone was happy with the treatment of miners.  When Lily Ross learns that her husband Daniel, sheriff of the county, has been killed by an escaped prisoner, she needs to know more.  Appointed as interim sheriff until the next election, Lily has the opportunity to investigate on her own, and what she learns about Daniel's death doesn't follow what she has been told.

When Marvena Whitcomb, unaware of Daniel's death, to talk to him about the disappearance of her daughter, Lily is confronted with the fact that she didn't know her husband as well as she thought.  Lily and Marvena join forces to halt a war in the making between miners, struggling for their rights, and the mine owner backed by Pinkerton strikebreakers.  

Miners' rights, prohibition, unlikely allies, suspenseful murder plot, deftly constructed sense of time and place, excellent prose.  5/5

I can't wait for The Stills, the next in the series.

I highly recommend the Kinship series!

Purchased.   

Historical.  2019.  336 pages.

20 comments:

  1. I really want to read both this book, and The Hollows. I'm thinking they might make really good summer reads for me.

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    1. It is a great series, Lark. I love the characters, the historic elements, the setting in a coal county. :)

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  2. I really liked this one a lot, too. Luckily, Cath turned me on to this series with her review of the latest addition to it, so it's one of the relatively rare ones that I got to start from book one before I got too far behind in the series to much care where I started. I'm looking forward to the other two books out there because the characters and setting are so interesting.

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    1. :) Cath is why I ordered The Hollows. The series does have great characters and good mysteries, too.

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  3. I love love love this series. But...you already knew that!

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    1. Yes, and I'm grateful for the introduction to this series! I love it, too!

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  4. Sounds like a good series I've to read! :)

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    1. The Kinship series is so good for so many reasons, Melody. You would like the characters and the mystery, and I liked the background of King Coal in the Appalachian Mountains.

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  5. You didn't steer me wrong with the Louisa Luna books, so I'm adding this series to my list to try this year. This book sounds great!

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    1. Strong female characters inspired by real women (Maude Collins and Mary Harris Jones) are the force behind the novels. You won't regret giving the series a try!

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  6. This sounds great! I'll have to check this series out. :)

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    1. I'm besotted with this series and hope you have a chance to enjoy it, Ashley!

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  7. Sold! I will look for these books for my mom and then read them when she is done. She is a voracious mystery reader and I am always looking for new stuff to keep her interested.

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    1. The books are so full of historical detail: the dangers of the coal mines, corrupt corporations, the Pinkerton strike breakers, powerful friendships, moonshine. All skillfully blended in with the friendship of two women and their attempts to do the right thing. I'm a voracious mystery reader, too, and hope your mom likes the books!

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  8. This makes me think of mystery series I follow with strong women characters and how they are always up against some man in power that doesn't want them around. But this being set in 1920s I can only imagine how much more difficult that must have been. Sounds like such a good series!

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    1. Lily and Marvena are dedicated to doing the right thing and both are based on real women!

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  9. First female sheriff?! I love that — lily sounds brilliant!

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  10. Your review makes this series sound like a good one. Coming from the southern Appalachian Mountain region, coal-mining has been a fact of life for generations in the counties around my home county. (My Virginia county was more lumber, furniture making, textiles and farming--no coal mining.) The strong female characters, the historic context, and well-paced plot all sound like this should be added to my TBR series.

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    1. Jess Montgomery has put together everything I like in a book: great characters, setting, history, and mystery! You'd like it, T!

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