Happy Monday, y’all! I’m bringing yet another fantastic book rec from the lovley folks at Lone Star Lit Tours, Enemies of Doves by Shanessa Gluhm.
For the record, I absolutely love receiving books in the mail. As an author, I am fully aware of all that my fellow authors sacrifice to send physical copies to so many readers. And it always feels like Christmas each time I get that special package in the mail. I love the smell of live books, the feel of the words under my fingers. Something about them helps bring the story to life for me.
The day my copy of Enemies of Doves came in the mail, I bounced up in down in my seat. Have I said yet how much I adore the cover of this novel? Gluhm and her team at TouchPoint Press simply did an amazing job. The cover gives you a real feel for the story within, with the symbolism hinting enough to be intriguing. The interior completely matched the cover, I’m happy to report.
A huge thanks to LSBBT and Shanessa for inviting me to be part of this tour. I love book about Texas, obviously. As an East Texan, I have even greater love for stories centered around the Piney Woods 🙂
Keep reading to learn more! And I hope you take a chance and enter the giveaway below, so you can read your own copy 😉
ENEMIES OF DOVES
by Shanessa Gluhm
Genre: Historical Fiction / Mystery
Publisher: TouchPoint Press
Publication Date: March 20, 2020
Number of Pages: 324 pages
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Told in alternating timelines from World War II to 1992, debut author Shanessa Gluhm’s Enemies of Doves is a tale of family secrets, jealousy, and deception perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Katherine Webb.
On a summer night in 1932, twelve-year-old Joel Fitchett wanders into an East Texas diner badly beaten and carrying his unconscious brother, Clancy. Though both boys claim they have no memory of what happened, the horrific details are etched into their minds as deep as the scar left across Joel’s face.
Thirteen years later, both men still struggle with the aftershocks of that long-ago night and the pact they made to hide the truth. When they find themselves at the center of a murder investigation, they make a decision that will change everything. A second lie, a second pact, and, for a time, a second chance. In 1991 college student Garrison Stark travels to Texas chasing a rumor that Clancy Fitchett is his biological grandfather. Clancy has been missing since 1946, and Garrison hopes to find him and, in doing so, find a family. What he doesn’t expect to discover is a tangle of secrets spanning sixty years involving Clancy, Joel, and the woman they both loved, Lorraine.
PRAISE for Enemies of Doves:
“Enemies of Doves weaves a timeline of events that makes for compelling reading. It’s an ecological system of interlocking decisions, discoveries, and circumstances that spans some sixty years of love, danger, and revelations.” —D. Donovan, senior reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“I’ve read some amazing thriller and suspense stories this year, but Enemies of Doves takes the mid-year prize. I’m not one for dual timelines, but this one was perfection with the fifty-year time-span moving forward in tandem. Garrison’s search will cause time to collide, unlocking a lifetime of secrets, and THE PLOT TWIST OF 2020!” —author Felicia Denise
“Shanessa Gluhm is a brilliant writer. I very seldom read a book that I cannot figure out how it will end, but this one literally blew me away!” —Lori Thomas Harrington, author of The Point
CLICK TO ORDER ON:
Amazon ┃ Barnes and Noble ┃ IndieBound
5 of 5 Stars
A murder case solved, stamped, and stashed away to be ignored for nearly fifty years. A hard-boiled convict, set in his ways, content to accept punishment for a crime he may not have committed. And an orphaned young man, desperate to discover the only family he has left. So begins author Shanessa Gluhm’s Enemies of Doves, a tangled web of mystery, heartache, and life-altering consequences.
Told from multiple perspectives in both past and present, Gluhm focuses her narrative on protagonist Garrison Stark, and the puzzle he faces. Just what happened the night Joel Fitchett murdered his father, and where did his brother Clancy go? From the beginning, we’re presented with a timeless tale of a big brother determined to protect his little brother. Yet they are rivals in many ways. Clancy is carefree smiles, well-read and loquacious where Joel is scarred, hard-working and taciturn. Clancy is constantly racking in debts and skipping out on family meals, with Joel trailing behind to pick up the pieces. It’s a pattern the brothers establish early on in life, and one they maintain into adulthood. Until the beautiful and brilliant Lorraine comes into their lives.
Filled with satisfying twists and turns, Enemies of Doves will have you constantly guessing the truth behind the lies. While the focus of Gluhm’s story centers around mysterious events that take place during the Great War, we can’t forget about the present. After his parents’ death, Garrison’s ailing grandmother lets slip that his biological grandfather is a man who disappeared forty years ago. But not all the pieces to the puzzle are missing. There’s still Clancy’s brother Joel, locked away in prison and set to die in his cell. Until his great-nephew appears like a burr in his shoe, ignoring Joel’s harsh ways in hopes of earning a clue to finding the grandfather he never knew.
I loved both settings for this story, and how the author portrays the Fitchett brothers and Lorraine as young adults, as well as spry elders. In this way, Gluhm gives our anti-heroes a second chance while reminding us it’s never too late to say you’re sorry, or make wrongs right. Some books are so easy to read, to fall into the words, that you lose track of time and sense of place. I fell easily into the world Shanessa Gluhm painted. Between snappy, witty banter, and intriguing mystery, I devoured Enemies of Doves in a single sitting.
**I was provided with a copy of Enemies of Doves by the publisher and this is my voluntary and honest review.**
MEET SHANESSA GLUHM
Shanessa Gluhm works as a librarian at an elementary school in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and children. It was during her own elementary days when a teacher encouraged Shanessa to write and share stories with the class. She hasn’t stopped writing since. Enemies of Doves is her debut novel.
Website ║ Blog ║ Facebook ║ Instagram
Twitter ║ Goodreads ║ BookBub
Amazon Author Page
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
TWO WINNERS
1st: Signed Copy + $20 Amazon Card
2nd: eBook
JULY 28-August 7, 2020
(US ONLY)
A RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY.
Or, visit the blogs directly:
|
7/28/20 |
Playlist |
|
|
7/28/20 |
BONUS Post |
|
|
7/29/20 |
Top Ten List |
|
|
7/30/20 |
Review |
|
|
7/31/20 |
Review |
|
|
8/1/20 |
Author Interview |
|
|
8/2/20 |
Scrapbook Page |
|
|
8/3/20 |
Review |
|
|
8/4/20 |
Deleted Scene |
|
|
8/5/20 |
Review |
|
|
8/6/20 |
Review |
blog tour services provided by
Jennifer Silverwood 
Thanks so much, Jennifer for reading and for this incredible review! You know you are a wonderful writer when your writing talent shines through your reviews even! Wow!
LikeLike