Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from St Martin's press, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
We've had lots of books about Ireland this month, appropriately, and now I have another, that releases TODAY!
Synopsis:
When visiting Ballymorris in Ireland for a funeral, a down-on-his-luck American reporter learns of a story that happened only months after his last visit many years before. A group of four teenagers, three of whom are family friends, claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary. Almost twenty years later, one of them denies it ever happened, another has left the small town, never to be heard from again, another has become a nun, and the fourth has been locked away in a psychiatric ward for many years. At the time, news of the visitation brought much wealth and tourism to this dreary Irish town, but as the years went by, and after the Pope refused to officially recognize it as a true Marian Apparition, what had been seen as a miracle began to feel like a curse, and this reporter believes there is more to the story than the townspeople are letting on.
As he seeks out each of the four stories, each begins to take a different and sinister turn. Surrounded by secrecy and confusion, the journalist must decide how much of what he's uncovering is the truth, how much of it is lies, and much he can trust the four witnesses-one of whom he's become infatuated with-or for that matter, himself.
Review:
With Mother's Day next on our radar, this is the perfect book to read as an in-between from St Patrick's Day to Mother's Day with it's focus on the Marian apparition. the author has taken her own beliefs in both the Catholicism of Ireland and the paranormal events, and mixed them in with an interesting story of what happens when the fame and fortune from public scrutiny leave a town and it's unlucky/lucky victims. The author takes us into what we see as 'public' events, and let's us see what the aftermath of such notoriety can be for those involved. It is a side, we rarely get to see. As the narrator.journalist sets out to solve the mystery, that he was in fact part of, he echoes the readers skepticism about what really happened. But as the story unfolds and he sees all sides, will he remain that, or change? That is the heart of the book- do we hold onto belief at all cost, and what if it is a false belief? Which is better, or worse? I won't give away the ending, except to tell you there are twists that make this an an interesting book and a perfect way to welcome Spring's renewal!
About the Author:
Camille DeAngelis is the author of the novels Bones & All, Mary Modern, Petty Magic and a first-edition guidebook, Moon Ireland. A graduate of NYU and the National University of Ireland, Galway, Camille currently lives in Boston. She is a vegan.
Comments
Post a Comment