Review: Promise of Home by Darcie Chan @DarcieChan #5paws #fiction
Synopsis
The New York Times bestseller Darcie Chan returns to Mill River with her third heartwarming novel: when a collection of letters is discovered, a decades old secret is revealed that willl the change the course of destiny for beloved Mill River residents.
Mill River cop Kyle Hansen and teacher Claudia Simon are excitedly planning their wedding. When they learn that a new bed and breakfast is set to open in the old McAllister mansion, they hope the gifted Emily DiSanti will quickly restore it to its grand beauty. While refinishing the hardwood floors, Emily discovers a secret compartment and a mysterious briefcase. Inside, she finds years of correspondence between the reclusive Mary McAllister and her close friend—the town priest Father O’Brien’s late mother, Anna O’Brien. Through the letters, Emily learns about the surprising relationship between Mary and Anna and a secret that will change everything for Father O’Brien.
Karen Cooper, lives in town with her eight year old son, Nick. Her husband took a job as a government contractor in Afghanistan, and has been missing for a year. As Karen struggles with depression and Nick begins to have trouble at school, Father O’Brien is enlisted to offer his guidance, particularly for Nick, whose situation feels all too familiar.
Review
This is the 3rd book in the Mill River series and a series that I truly love. I read the first book on loan from a friend and when I found out there was a second and then a third book, I knew I would have to read these.
These book remind me a little bit of Jan Karon’s Mitford series – it is set in a small town with residents that embody what small towns represent – caring for each other in good times and bad and watching out for each other.
There aren’t too many new characters added to this book but we learn more about Claudia and Kyle as they get ready for their wedding. Rose & Emily, two sisters that battled it out in Mill River Redemption, but came to terms with each other. And of course Father Michael O’Brian ,who a lot of this book focuses on and his life growing up and how he became a priest. The story flips between present day and 1934 when he was growing up and what his family endured during the depression. Lastly there is Karen who has moved back with her family and what she experiences when her husband Nick is working as a contractor in Saudi Arabia – and how it affects her so deeply.
There are parts of this book that made me misty, just from the sweetness or the sadness. The book was hard for me to put down and since I finished it in a day, you know it had to be good!
This is a series worth reading and we give it 5 paws up.
About the Author
Darcie Chan is the New York Times bestselling author of the eBook sensation The Mill River Recluse and the novel The Mill River Redemption. She has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. For fourteen years, Chan worked as an attorney drafting environmental and natural resource legislation for the U.S. Senate. She now writes fiction full-time and lives north of New York City with her husband and son.
