Dr. Quinn Allenby thinks she’s seen it all, but when the remains of a young woman and her newborn are discovered in a cave in Cornwall, the only clue to her death is a smooth-edged hole in the top of the skull and the indisputable evidence that the victim was still alive, and possibly in labor, when the coffin was sealed. Torn between her professional commitments and her desperate need to find … to find her missing twin, Quinn agrees to a daring plan, one that will lead to the Taliban-occupied mountains of Afghanistan and the snow-covered alps of Germany.
1620. After suffering years of abuse at the hands of her uncle, Mary takes the ultimate risk and sails for the New World, where the promise of a new life and an arranged marriage to a colonist await. Mary is determined to make her marriage a success, but her husband’s indifference drives her straight into the arms of the one man she thought she could never love.
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This is a fantastic series. Quinn an archeologist works with dicovering what happened to people in the past. In this read she goes looking for twin sister that she was seperated from after birth. This is a very riveting story with twists and turns. That captivated me from start to finish. The Narrator does a Fantastic at bringing the characters out. The Author does a fantastic job at bringing the read to fruition. I definitely recommend this listen. And the series.
Shauna Joesten
When a skeleton of a woman in a centuries-old casket reveals she delivered her child while in the casket is too horrible to imagine! Quinn researches and finds the names and dates and the single item the poor woman owned fleshed out her story for Quinn. She also has found she has a twin who her birth mother failed to mention for nearly a year. Hard to imagine the past as brutal as it was!
In 1620, England is trying to stabilize their new colony in Virginia and women are asked to go to the New World to marry men they’ve never met and start families. Mary is terrified to leave the only home she’s ever known, but it’s the only way to escape her abusive uncle. She bonds with her fellow wives during the voyage, but her intended is less than she hoped. A chance meeting in the forest with a stranger gives her hope her life could be something more. But in a time of unrest in Virginia, a step in the wrong direction could be deadly.
In 2015, Quinn is called to a seaside cave, where a skeleton is found, evidence of a crude medical procedure and a birth evident. But she can’t focus on the body when she receives news that her twin sister is missing. Through war-torn Afghanistan, Germany, and colonial Virginia, Quinn isn’t just reconstructing the life of a long-dead woman, but her own reality as the puzzle pieces of her past fall into place.
The historical work Shapiro puts into her writing is always fantastic. People have the idea of colonists who went to the New World as happy families who grew corn alongside the indigenous people and loved in cozy cabins. The truth is messier with colonial aggression, “main order brides,” and a history that paints the settlers in a less than flattering light. Then there’s this bit about the lost colony of Roanoke that had me going down a research wormhole, something I always enjoy.
On the question of the Native Americans (Side note, I use this term as this is what my husband and his family describe themselves as. Others may dislike this term and we should take individual wishes into consideration.) described in this book, I always hold my breath when someone is introduced. Since going to college and marring my husband, I’ve learned more about tribal culture and the backstories of forced relocations and “re-education.” So I’m always a bit annoyed with how some books “fetishize” the Native experience. But Shapiro didn’t do that. The ones seen in the book were written as actual people with real struggles. The added conversations surrounding the differing religions and social hierarchies was also true to form, and I really appreciate the added depth.
Overall, I thought this book was amazing. Between the narrative talent of Wendy Wolfson, the sweeping storyline, and the twist near the end that left me reeling, this installment was another hit.
Macabre theme, captivating, brilliant, Irina never ceases to amaze me. Each of the stories she has written in this series keeps me fascinated, I can’t stop listening and when it’s finished, all my questions are answered, I’m begging for more. I especially love how she combines Quinn’s personal story with her job.
Wendy Wolfsons narration brings these characters to life, you can feel the emotion, picture the scene, narrator, author perfect combination.
Reviewed for the author for a fair and honest review.