Thursday, October 27, 2011

Book Review: Refuge on Crescent Hill

Today I'm excited to be talking about the latest book I stayed up all night (okay, until 3:15 a.m.) to read.  Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson, turned out to be a real page-turner.  Classified by Kregel Publications as "suspense," I found I really couldn't argue with that label.

This book was a bit of a change of pace for me.  I've tended to read more historical fiction or period-romances lately.  This one takes place in current times, and while it involves some romance... there is a lot more besides.

Let's take a closer look at how the publisher described this book:
Moving home after a recent job loss was supposed to reassure Camden Bristow but what she finds is an empty mansion 150 years old. What happened to the house she played in as a child, the bedtime stories that told of secret passageways and runaway slaves, and all those family memories?

When antiques start disappearing and footsteps are heard, Camden wonders what really happened here . . . at Crescent Hill? Who still has access to the house? And for what purpose? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camden also uncovers secrets about her family that could change the town--and her life--forever.
My thoughts?

It took me a bit at the beginning to sort out who the characters were.  That was okay, mind you.  It was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.  Three of the four main characters you follow were fairly easy to piece together.  They were edge pieces, and while you didn't know exactly how they fit, you at least knew where they belonged.  In this case, the town where Crescent Hill is located.  A fourth character, though, was one of those nondescript middle pieces.  Clearly, she was part of the story, because you turned the page and there she was.  But initially, everything about her just seemed like part of a totally different novel.  Still, you knew she had to fit somewhere...

It was fun to see how the pieces came together.  There were absolutely some plot twists and turns that I didn't expect, and a number of plot twists that were not unexpected.  It is always fun in a suspense book when you can figure out some things before the characters do.  It is also fun to have something take you completely off-guard.

This novel had plenty of both -- things you could see coming a mile off, and things that totally blindsided you.  The best part, for me, is that although set in modern day Ohio, the story incorporates a historical fiction feel, as characters research the past, particularly pertaining to the Underground Railroad.

I enjoyed this book.  And you can too... if you have a Kindle, or a Kindle app, this ebook is going to be available for FREE at Amazon for one week starting on Monday the 31st.  I would definitely recommend checking it out at that price!


Disclaimer:  I received this book through Kregel Blog Tours.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.   

1 comment:

Michelle Smith said...

I read that book about a year ago and really enjoyed it, too. I had forgotten how one of the characters was a bit of a mystery throughout most of the novel. I probably forgot to point that out in my review, too. Oops! ;)