The bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer’s elusive and haunted past.
Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove’s death, Eve has maintained Dove’s charitable foundation—and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot … team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove’s darkest secret: murder…
Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made.
Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove’s friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?
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Another great story by Emily Carpenter. I requested this book because of the write-up and I’ve enjoyed other books by this author. The cover was also beautiful..I love a great cover! I Seem to have a tendency for picking books that are a follow-up and I haven’t read the first book. Oy! But, this book is so well written that I had no clue what I might have missed. Ms. Carpenter did a great job of making sure nothing was missed. I can’t wait to read Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.
This Southern Gothic book flows seamlessly from the 1930s to present day setting forth a mystery of a faith healing Grandmother and her estranged Granddaughter who is helping to run the family foundation, her grandmother’s legacy. Poignant storyline that builds throughout. Characters are well written, so nice to see them grow throughout the book.
Thanks to Ms. Carpenter, Lake Union Publishing (one of my favorites) and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!
A family with secrets, secrets that threaten to expose their grandmother as a fraud and derail the foundation that was started in her name. Many families have secrets, but most are not as potentially harmful as what Eve knows and what she is threatened with. As Eve works to unravel the mystery of Dove and to prove that murder was not part of Dove’s past, there are new secrets revealed, new relationships formed, and the threat of losing her life.
I loved the mystery and intrigue in the story. Following the clues, putting together the information, and trying to guess what will happen next kept me turning pages and staying up past my bedtime. I loved Eve, she stood by her family even as her whole life in threatened. As the story continued, I found that her strength, her sense of family, and her need for the truth made her a character that I was cheering for. I was cheering for her to stay safe, to find out what had really happened to Dove, and to find a happy ending for herself.
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a book that I recommend picking up a copy of. I’ve been told it is a follow-up to Emily Carpenter’s Burying the Honeysuckle, but I have not read the first book and this one did not read as part of a series so I would say that the books do not have to be read in order.
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters by Emily Carpenter is Southern gothic novel that alternates between generations, making it part historical part modern. This book has elements of mystery, suspense, and an air of the supernatural. The main part of the story takes place 1930s Alabama. Here, the author gives an impressive literary description of the deep south. One can almost feel the mugginess, the mists, the weeping willows, and the edge of darkness that the storied past of the South that comes with it.
I enjoyed reading alternating views between Dove Jarrod and her granddaughter Eve. It was also interesting to read about the relationships, the sacrifices, the secrets, and the events that occur secondary to these actions.
For me, the mystery was second in interest. It was more the ethereal, misty, superstitious concept that the author conjured that interested me the most.
I won’t say anymore as to not give away any of the plot and ending for the reader. It will definitely keep you engaged throughout. A distraction was just what I needed.
4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.
Don’t Let ‘Gothic’ Scare You Here. I picked this book up on the strength of the publisher, Lake Union. But honestly, the marketing scared me a bit with the emphasis on calling this a ‘gothic’ book. When I think ‘gothic’, I think Edgar Allan Poe or perhaps fellow LU book The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore – period pieces set in the late 19th/ early 2oth century in old buildings.
This book… wasn’t that. Yes, it uses an old-school sanitarium as the place of its beginnings – an orphan managed to escape there long ago, and in the present timeline, that orphan’s granddaughter is now trying to redeem the building.
But really, the story here is told in dual timelines and features one woman just trying to survive in Great Depression/ WWII era Alabama, while the other woman tries to solve a mystery over the legacy of the first woman in modern day Alabama. In other words, standard-ish dual-timeline women’s fiction – and really solidly written story that sucks you right in.
Growing up in the region in modern ish times, I could absolutely see much of this book playing out largely the way it did, the cultural touchpoints were truly spot on in both the period and modern touches.
Ultimately a strong work, and very much recommended.
“Of course, that, too, had been a lie. But now lies wouldn’t do. Now it was time for the truth . . .” From the moment I read Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, I thirsted for more of the story about these remarkable characters. In this outstanding follow-up, we meet Eve Chandler, the granddaughter of renowned faith healer Dove Jarrod. Eve has become the keeper of Dove’s lies, and now she must unravel her grandmother’s long-buried history to protect herself and her family. The setting and the mood of this book are a trademark of Emily Carpenter’s books, a vital piece that separates her work from many suspense novelists’. The story is set against the backdrop of the Depression and the desperation of those who sought healing and salvation from traveling evangelists, which evokes a sinister and seedy mood that permeates this book from beginning to end. Reviving the Hawthorne Sisters is a compelling and moving novel, rich in family history and secrets and lies…and perhaps, murder…
Another great read by EC! I was so connected to these characters. Having Althea from Burying he Honeysuckle Girls in the story was a great treat. Dove is the main character for this book and Dove was who helped Althea know what happened to her mom and grandma in Honeysuckle Girls. Doves story is quite a ride as the story goes from past to present with her Granddaughter being threatened to find a valuable coin that was supposedly in her grandmothers possession. I really enjoyed the story of the 1930s of the Healer Camp and Tent meetings. Growing up in the south, I knew all about them. Great southern gothic read. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC
Emily at her “Southern Gothic” best, book 2 but even if you have not read book 1(Burying the Honeysuckle Girls) I think you will still understand and follow the story line.This story bounces back and forth between 1930’s Dove and present day and her Granddaughter digging into her grandmother’s early years and history. It can be a bit confusing at times but all comes together into a great ending.
Thank you Net Galley, Lake Union Publishing and Emily Carpenter for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
Told in alternating timelines; from the early 1930″s to present day, this is a mystery and suspense story that will keep you reading!
It is a well written, detailed novel.
I truly had no idea how this would turn out, but I flew through the pages to learn of the outcome.
Could it actually be a Grandmother trying to connect with her Granddaughter to solve a long standing mystery?
Present day- Eve returns to an old psychiatric facility with her family, where her Grandmother, Dove, aka Ruth was born in 1934..
Dove had bequeathed her monies upon her death to her birth place and the foundation is honoring this woman so many people loved.
While Eve is there,things take a drastic turn and a long ago mystery begins to unfold.
Eve is quite certain she knows the truth about Dove and her life, but does she really?
“I’m not the one who can give you your miracle. All I can do is tell you the truth….”
This is definitely a quick read that will hold your interest as you get involved with this mystery!
A historical murder mystery, lost memories, and priceless, hidden relics: REVIVING THE HAWTHORNE sisters is an atmospheric, unputdownable Southern Gothic masterpiece.
Carpenter’s masterful narrative bounces between young Dove in 1930s Atlanta, her exciting escape from the mental institution that was her childhood home and prison, and her granddaughter searching for hidden truths after her death. This was a well-plotted mystery full of family secrets and Southern atmosphere, and I absolutely could not put it down.
This book started out a bit confusing to me and it took me several chapters to really get into the story. I did feel like it dragged at times and maybe was a bit wordy. I did enjoy the mystery and thought the book got better as it went on.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters by Emily Carpenter is a full length, stand-alone novel that had me in suspense from start til the last page.
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a complex read, poetic.
The storyline jumps between past and present, it took me a minute to get into the story, but then o girl, I simply couldn’t put the book down anymore.
I loved the excellent writing, the beautiful words and the exquisite characters.
I fell in insta-love with Evie, Dove and the others.
Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a touching story that’s staying with me. I recommend Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters , 5 Stars.