Wow! This great historical, romantic suspense novel by Danielle Grandinetti had me reading very, very slowly.
Let me tell you why I read Confessions to a Stranger so carefully. I just didn’t want it to end, and am in awe at Grandinetti’s writing style. This amazing feeling gradually overtook me after we have met both Adeleigh Sirland and David Martins. Grandinetti slowly reveals the character of each, but includes great humor. “Mustache stuck out a bony hand to help her up as Handsome leapt to his feet in one lithe movement. “( How can you not laugh at the nicknames Adaleigh gives to strangers?!) Not a humor book, Grandinetti inserts her trademark wit at precisely the right points to ease a little tension. “Detective O’Connor’s eyebrow twitched like an electrocuted cornstalk.” And how could I not stop to admire the poetic beauty of lines like this: “an evolution of emotion charged across her countenance”?
By this point in the mystery, I am dying to know who-dunnit, whether Adaleigh will be safe, if there will be a relationship between Adaleigh and David, etc.
However, I still had to read slowly because their are so many good quotes and so many wise words. Mrs. Martins is a wonderful, wise, and gentle, secondary character who knows trouble, yet knows Who to turn to. “…there are a lot of frightful things in the world.” Grandma sipped her tea. “We cannot live in constant fear. We put up reasonable safeguards and trust the good Lord with the rest.”
I appreciated Grandinetti’s knowledge of and the Big Lake and its dangers as well. Many do not give Lake Michigan her due respect and carefulness, but Adaleigh and David do. Also, Grandinetti has done her research and is quite knowledgeable about fishing on the lake.
And the whirlwind of an ending, wow! A lot of authors use up most of the suspense either early in the book, or space it evenly. Let me be clear: Grandinetti paces the suspense well throughout, but when she gets close to the climax, she creates a perfect storm of super-intense suspense that reminds me of a racer. At the end of a tight race, a sudden burst of energy (suspense in this case) appears, and the observer or reader is left wondering how it was possible for that much energy to be available!!
Now I cannot wait for the sequel, Refuge for the Archaeologist, coming out this summer, which will be Silas Ward’s story!!
I received a copy of the book from the author, plus I bought an ebook. No positive review was required, and all options are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“If only she could trust that hiding in God would physically keep her safe.”
“To go from all the bright hope in the world to running for her life … it was a hard pill to swallow.”
“You give me hope, and in the midst of pain, I must hope.” - Mrs. Martins
“We’re more willing to reveal hidden parts about ourselves to someone we think won’t see us again because the risk of judgment is lessened.”
“Sometimes a signpost would be easier than trying to figure out what God wanted.”
“we cannot worry about what we cannot control or we’ll go mad, surrounded only by our self-made fortresses.”- Mrs. Martins
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Wonderful, well written story of redemption
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, especially Christian historical fiction. Set in the early 20th century(1930 to be more specific)? Sign me up! And Danielle Grandinetti’s Confessions To A Stranger did no disappoint.Following Adaleigh (Leigh, as she’s known through part of the book) as she runs from her past and hides from the only family she has left. Like any good story, the reasons behind her running are a bit vague, other than her sister tried to kill her. As the reader, I found myself sucked in wanting to know why her sister would want to kill her. Was she mentally unhinged? Was there another reason? Adaleigh is a very sweet, caring young woman, and one of the first things we see her do is rescue a young boy from drowning. Scared to have any focus on her, she stays in the lake until a man finally pulls her out. The man, David, is a fisherman on Lake Michigan, who lives with his grandmother and two siblings. Oh, and his uncle happens to be a detective on the local police force.Adaleigh is content to stay in the small lakeside town of Crow’s Nest, hiding away from her sister as she gets to know David Martins and his family. However, shortly after her arrival tragedy strikes and she is one of the only witnesses to it. While wanting to continue running, she also wants to help out David and his family clear David’s father of murder charges.While the story itself doesn’t actually encompass much more than a couple weeks, it felt so much longer! The author wrote the whole story like you’re there, experiencing all of it alongside Adaleigh. Going through the turmoil that she went through, first when she ran and again as she experienced finding a murdered young woman. Building relationships with the Martins family, seeing what it was like for her to experience the Godly love and care they had for her (especially Mrs. Martins). The story was fleshed out very, very well and was a joy to read (though I admit I lost some sleep when I decided to finish it in the evening and couldn’t put it down until I was completely done!). I will definitely be reading the next book in the series when it comes out!I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which i received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
