AUTHOR: Ann H. Gabhart
DATE: 2023
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: *****
From the back cover:
In 1881, Jacci Reed is only five years old when a man attempts to kidnap her from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on. Badly wounded during the confrontation, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat tied up beside them. There, Jacci's actor grandfather tends to her mother and Jacci gets a first taste of the life she will come to lead.
Fifteen years later, Jacci is an actress aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, and largely contented with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers. Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and the gruff grandfather she has come to know and love. Jacci's mother has been gone for years, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately took her life--and the cryptic things Jacci has overheard about her past--is always there, lurking in the back of her mind.
When someone on the showboat tries to kill Jacci, it's clear her questions demand answers. But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows, and the answers she craves will not come easily. Gabe only hopes they come in time for him and Jacci to have a future together.
My review:
Like every Ann H. Gabhart book I’ve read, In the Shadow of the River gently winds its way into my heart and mind. Even the high-tension portions of the story excite and enthrall without assaulting my emotions. I’m not sure how the author achieves this fine balance, but it makes me want to read all her books.
What makes a family, and can secrets be good? These two questions haunt Jacci, and the more she discovers, the greater the danger she faces. Gabe wants to protect her, but he cannot always be with her.
I love In the Shadow of the River and give it five stars. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.