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| Whispers from the Shadows by Roseanna M. White |
WHISPERS FROM THE SHADOWS
Culper Ring Series
#2
By Roseanna White
Harvest House,
August 1, 2013
Reviewed by Marian Baay
~5 stars~*****
I LOVED THIS
BOOK!!
Do I have your
attention now? Yes? Good!
Roseanna White
takes the reader back to 1814, to the war of 1812, where we meet again with the
main characters from the first book in this series Ring of Secrets—Winter
and Bennet Lane. Their son Thaddeus Lane is our hero and he also is Mr. Culper
now.
Our heroine is the
daughter of the British General Fairchild—we met him in the first book as
Colonel Fairchild. Gwyneth Fairchild is being sent away by her father to
America. He believes their lives are in danger and he wants Gwyn to leave
immediately. He sends her to his American friends—the Lanes. Just before she
enters the carriage to leave, her British suitor – Sir Arthur Hart – asks for
her hand in marriage. Excitedly Gwyn runs back to the house to talk to her
father. But instead of talking to him she is a witness to his murder. Panicked,
she runs back to the waiting carriage and leaves England and Sir Arthur behind.
After a long and
horrendous sea journey, Gwyn finally arrives in America. She has been sick and
has had terrible nightmares. She did not tell anyone that she saw her father
being murdered. Fear that the killer might follow her to America has kept her
awake and made her sick. Her servants thought she was seasick, but she cannot
tell anyone what is really plaguing her.
When she finally meets Thad – the only person she knows she can trust because her father trusted him – she falls asleep in his arms.
Captain Thaddeus
Lane – or Thad – has received a letter from General Fairchild, but the content
doesn’t make any sense. He assumes there must be a hidden message in it, but he
can’t figure it out. Not even his parents can break the code—if there is one.
When Gwyn arrives
at his doorstep, he doesn’t know what to do with her. Can he trust her? She is
British after all…and America is at war with England.
Back in England
Sir Arthur and Gwyn’s uncle are looking for Gwyn, but they don’t know where she
went. When Arthur finds a letter from the Lanes in General Fairchild’s study,
her uncle believes that is where the general has sent her. Together they follow
Gwyn to America—Arthur in hopes to claim her as his bride and Uncle with
another purpose.
Gwyn’s trust for
Thad – because her father trusted him – runs deep. She will have to learn to
put her trust in Someone else to find peace and healing from the monsters in
her nightmares.
Thad is a widower,
but doesn’t talk much about his deceased wife. For some reason it is a
sensitive subject. While he starts to care more and more for Gwyn – and his
feelings are returned – he neglects to tell her why it is such a sensitive
topic. When his best friend, Alain, spills it all out during a fight, Gwyn is
shocked to learn what happened and runs away to hide in her bedroom. Before he
has a chance to talk to Gwyn, Thad is called away on a dangerous sea journey to
spy on the British fleet approaching America.
Can an American
Captain and the daughter of a British General find love?
Will Gwyn
understand that he had to leave before they could talk it all out? Will she
forgive him?
And what about Sir
Arthur? Will he find Gwyn to claim her for his own?
Will her father’s
killer find Gwyn?
And General
Fairchild’s letter…will they ever break the code and learn what secret message
is hidden inside it?
There’s a lot of suspense and intrigue in this fabulous book. Murder, spies, secrets, war, love, grief, forgiveness, faith... There’s so much to enjoy in this story. The characters and plot were very well developed and the writing is clear and exciting. I’m already looking forward to the next book in this series. Fantastic job, Roseanna!
*Thanks to the
publisher for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley.*
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