The Widows of Braxton County by Jess McConkey

Morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Jess McConkey's The Widows of Braxton County.

When Kate met Joe Krause, she thought he was a real prince. They found each other online and were soon carrying out a serious relationship. Before she knew it she was pregnant and they were married. But her new marriage soon turns out to be a bit different than she'd imagined. First there's Joe's mother: Joe never told Kate that Trudy Krause would be living with them. He insists it's only temporary but the longer their cohabitation drags out the more permanent it starts to seem. Then there's the neighbors' reception to Kate and the Krauses altogether. It seems that some of the folks in town don't think so highly of the Krause family at all. Kate soon learns that the animosity stretches back generations. Back to a murder that happened on the Krause farm a very long time ago. Rumor has it the victim still haunts the farm and has plagued the Krause family with bad luck ever since.

The Widows of Braxton County is a tense and undeniably gripping read. I am quite a fan of the dual storyline - I think it heightened the suspense and I loved the way McConkey wove the two stories together. The only real let down for me came with one of the big reveals in the end. After all the build it just didn't quite seem to live up to the expectation. It was a minor disappointment since there are about three reveals and only one missed the mark a bit for me.

I really enjoy the PS editions from Harper Collins. Here, McConkey provides an excellent little piece about the inspiration behind the book. It's amazing (or not, considering the current climate) how recently women's rights actually came to be. Hannah Krause, whose story takes place in 1890, has so little control over her life that it may be hard for someone today to fathom such a reality.

The widows of the title - Hannah, Kate, Rose, and Trudy - are the driving forces of this book. Through them, McConkey tells a story about strength and family secrets. Ultimately it's about overcoming the dark things in our past, moving beyond the so called curses that might hang over us.

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour, check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Jess (aka Shirley Damsgaard) head over to her website here. You can also like her on Facebook. And finally, head over to the publisher's site here for a taste of Widows of Braxton County.