Thirteen-year-old Loyal Raines is supposed to stay close to home on a hot summer day in 1934. When he slips away for a quick swim in the river and finds a dead body, he wishes he’d obeyed his mother. The ripples caused by his discovery will impact the town of Beverly, West Virginia, in ways no one could have imagined.
The first person those ripples disturb is Loyal’s absentee father. When Creed … When Creed Raines realized his infant son was deaf, he headed for the hills, returning only to help meet his family’s basic needs. But when Loyal, now a young teen, stumbles upon a murder it’s his father he runs to tell–shaping the words with his hands. As Creed is pulled into the investigation he discovers that what sets his son apart isn’t his inability to hear but rather his courage. Longing to reclaim the life he abandoned, Creed will have to do more than help solve a murder if he wants to win his family’s hearts again.
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What beautiful writing! The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas picked me up out of my armchair during an Iowa winter and plunked me down into a West Virginia summer. I felt the heat and humidity, the dirt beneath my nails as we dug for ginseng plants on the mountain. I loved this story of one family, broken into three pieces, coming back together again. Creed, Delphy, and Loyal each have their own character journeys, and it was a joy to watch them converge. Thirteen year-old Loyal, who is deaf, makes a charming and sympathetic protagonist. I’d highly recommend this for readers who love family stories, Appalachia stories, young protagonists, unique protagonists, or anyone who enjoys historical fiction in general.
‘In many ways, God doesn’t let us get away with anything. He just leaves us to make our own beds and then lets us lay in ’em…..whether we like it or not.’
Sarah Loudin Thomas’s books are so full that they just won’t turn you loose until the book is finished. Her first did that to me and they continue to have that affect.
Set in 1934 West Virginia, thirteen year old Loyal Raines, who is deaf, slips away to swim in the river on a hot day even though he’s been told to stay home. Then he finds a dead body. His normally absentee father, Creed, tries to help, but the effects of this crime spread throughout the town in an alarming way.
Even though the murder is a central part of this story, what struck me most about it was the powerful emotions between Loyal and his father Creed…the man who thinks he’s responsible for Loyal’s deafness. The emotions Thomas brings in this story are heart-rich and deep. A captivating read as she takes us through the small town in depression WV and the reader is fully invested in the lives of the characters in the book. I know I was captivated. Well done! Recommended.
*My thanks to Bethany House Publishing for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinion here is entirely my own.
I didn’t expect such character depth when I got into this book, but wow—what a lovely surprise! I especially loved how the deaf character in here interacted with the world—it never felt fake or forced, but very realistic. Yet the story kept going just fine through his point of view, which I was astounded with!
The mystery, too, was fascinating—and I appreciate how that ended up. It was quite involved and not straightforward, which I enjoyed. I rarely manage to guess the ending to a mystery anyway, but this one was very well done.
This is a story of rejection and healing, distance and understanding, grief and forgiveness. Overall, it was a lovely read, and well worth the time! Recommended.
I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.
I cannot say enough good things about this book. Seriously, seriously good.
Author Sarah Loudin Thomas kept me totally immersed in this moving look at a family’s efforts to do what is best for their hearing-impaired son in 1934 West Virginia. Loyal’s mother and father have totally different views about their son and Creed Raines chooses to live alone in the mountains while Delphy and Loyal remain in their Beverly, West Virginia home. A murder in this small town changes all of this and Creed finally realizes that his perceptions of his thirteen-year-old son and his choice to abandon his family have been foolish, to say the least.
I loved the Raines family and the author’s beautiful depiction of their emotions. Loyal’s desire to simply belong. Delphy’s desire to protect him from being hurt by other people that results in her being overprotective. Creed’s feelings of guilt and his efforts to stay distanced from his boy. And then, as a tragic mystery enters their lives, Loyal’s joy that his father is with him and they are communicating together!
There are so many reasons for me to love this book. A West Virginia setting that is so similar to my own Kentucky roots, the coming-of-age story of an extraordinary young teenager, a husband and wife trying to mend their marriage, and a mystery that kept me fully intrigued. I can’t say enough good things about this amazing book and I would love to see it as a movie!
I received a book from the author and publisher. There was no obligation for a positive review. These are my own thoughts.
A poignant tale of family, growing up, friendship, and forgiveness.
The summer of 1934, 13 year old Loyal Raines discovers a dead body, disrupting his small town community as accusations fly and tensions rise.
Loyal is a 13 year old boy kept on the outside looking in, deaf from a young age, he can see things that others can’t hear. I loved how he grows in confidences and courage under the guidance of a father, and opening his silent world to others by teaching them sign. He is clever and intuitive, eager to please and fit in with the hearing world. One of my favorite parts of this book was his friendship with Rebecca, a girl similar in age who has a speech impediment, I loved how she embraces Loyal as he is, seeing all the things that he can do rather than the things he can’t.
The book also follows Loyal’s parents Delphy and Creed as they are forced to confront the things that fractured their relationship. I loved how Creed comes to admire his son, as he sees him connecting with others, and courageously protecting his friends and fighting for truth.
This is a beautiful story of family and forgiveness, coming alive against the backdrop of the West Virginia Mountains during the Depression. Loyal is an incredible young man, not shying away from the challenges of the hearing world. Compelling and mysterious, with well developed characters and a grippingly poignant plot, with strong themes of faith, forgiveness and courage. This was well worth the read!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Sarah Loudin Thomas’ The Right Kind of Fool took me right to that hot day in Beverly, West Virginia in 1934. I could feel the heat and desire to shed my shoes and dip my feet in that cool water with Loyal Raines, a young deaf teenager by my side. He was exploring that delicious feeling we all feel when we are 14 and escaping the strictures of rules that keep us indoors when we just know we should be out having fun. Only Loyal got more than he bargained for.
True to her fashion of hooking the reader into her pages, this author had me reading once more into the wee hours of the night. I can’t recall any book written by Sarah Loudin Thomas that didn’t intrigue me from the start. Loyal is a formidable hero who is bright for his age, able to see things many overlook and with the knack of remembering what is laid out before him. He stumbled upon a murder, saw things that could or could not be true and the fact that he was deaf had a profound impact on all that unfolded. I particularly liked reading his thought process throughout the book. Whether he reasoned through the clues about the murder, his parents relationship. his desire for friendships or to prove himself to his father, he was wise beyond his years.
This story is definitely a murder mystery, and it is a good one. It is also much more. It is about pulling people together by one young man who, when finally allowed, touches the lives of his community. His courage is inspiring and his love is a gift. The events of the story are almost secondary to the master weaving of a family back together. This is an inspiring story of hope, set in a time when deaf children were not seen for their precious worth. They were different and often overlooked. Loyal was not going to be overlooked. Things are much improved these days, yet all of the modern conveniences pale in comparison to seeing the smiles of a group of children playing where one of them just happens to be deaf. Many thanks to #BethanyHouse and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions
The Right Kind of Fool is an excellent piece of historical fiction! Blending an intriguing mystery and poignant family drama, its characters are as unique and vivid as its Appalachian setting. Loyal’s point of view, especially, is well crafted and offers a sensitive and authentic-feeling portrayal of a deaf individual, complicated by his status as a boy on the cusp of manhood learning responsibility.
The slight suspense storyline is cleverly paced, with perspective changes and enough unpredictability to keep the reader guessing. All of the turmoil combines with the emotional crux the Raines family is thrown into; one that proves to be a summer of change for everyone involved. Themes of grace, trust, and strength all weave together in this beautiful and highly engaging story I would recommend to fans of historical fiction, drama, suspense, and romance alike.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. This is my honest review.
This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Loudin Thomas, but it will not be the last. The author has an amazing gift with words. I was pulled into the story and felt the emotions of each character. The characters are so well developed. And you will love some while you will be irritated with others. But hold one…because everyone is not as they seem.
Loyal, though he suffered from hearing loss, was one of the strongest young men. This book was so much more than a murder mystery. It was a story of family, relationships, and forgiveness.
This book will settle into your heart and linger…long after you’ve turned the last page. I found myself to continue exploring life with Loyal, Creed, and Delphy. I wanted to see how Loyal matures and develops into an amazing yougn man.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Wow! This was one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’m so glad I had the chance to give this story the time it deserved. I actually put some things off to finish it. It’s that good!
The relationship between father and son was written in a way that gave truth and power to the story. It stirred up my emotions.
I was touched by the tenderness Creed had for his son and his wife as he stumbled through his mistakes to find a place of restoration.
Loyal was wonderfully written and desired to be accepted for himself. Even though he was different, he had the same desires for family and connection that we all have. His value wasn’t in his abilities, but in his character.
This book was spot on from the way the scenes were written, to the smallest character. I recommend it.
I was given a copy courtesy of Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group through NetGalley. This is my honest review.
Sarah Loudin Thomas has penned a masterpiece worth every moment of the lingering book fog that is sure to follow. It’s left me speechless, not sure I could formulate the right words that could do it justice. Loyal Raines may have lost his hearing at a young age, but the heightening of the rest of his senses truly made him a wonder to behold. The author did an impeccable job at sharing his point of view, not only mentioning his fast moving hands as he signed his words, but describing his motions with accurate portrayal to ASL so it was like the reader is able to learn sign along with other characters that found their paths crossing his throughout the story. He was so masterfully well developed that he felt like a real person and it was as if I was getting a glimpse into his world. It wasn’t just a murder mystery, but a coming-of-age story where a young boy is launched into a journey where he discovers not only what it takes to not only be out in the real world, but what it takes to become a man despite how he may be viewed by others. This book was nothing short of amazing, and I’m SO glad I got my hands on a copy. You can bet I will be looking forward to reading much more from this author again in the future. I highly, highly recommend this one to anyone and everyone!
*I received a copy of this book through Bethany House Publishers. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
With a setting in small-town West Virginia in the summer of 1934 and colorful, realistically flawed characters, this story immersed me quickly into it and kept me turning the pages. I was intrigued by Loyal Raines, a deaf 13-year-old boy trying to be like other kids and longing for friends, his father Creed Raines who because of his feelings of guilt has distanced himself from his wife and child, and Delphy Raines who wants to protect her son from hurts by others. When Loyal finds a dead body and runs to his father for help, it sets many things into motion that just might heal their family.
I admired Sarah Loudin Thomas’s creativity and the way she carefully meshed the solving of the murder with the changing feelings and growth of the characters. Along with a mystery, suspense, and a touch of romance, there is also a tender message of forgiveness, healing, and hope that lends depth and dimension to the story. I will definitely be looking forward to more books by this talented author. 4.5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Bethany House Publishers. All opinions are my own.
The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a sweet read with mystery, drama and a young man’s story of coming of age.
Loyal Raines is a young teen who is supposed to stay close to home while his mother is at a meeting. Instead he decides to visit a nearby swimming hole on a hot day–and finds more than a cool dip in the stream. He finds a dead body. This not only shakes him up, but it shakes up his dysfunctional family life more than the fact that he is deaf.
The Right Kind of Fool is a historical fiction book set in the 1930s. This book has a lot to offer the reader in that it has a murder mystery with a few twists and turns. Then there is the drama of a family that has struggled since Loyal became deaf after an illness. Finally, it is a coming of age story that is sweet to read about a young man learning to make his own way in the world. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters. The plot was also interesting and moved steadily along. All in all, it is a good read that I enjoyed for all of these aspects. I also liked the spiritual messages that were subtley woven in throughout the story.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.
The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas is an excellent fictional novel that is set in a small, rural town amid the underrated and beautiful landscapes of Appalachia in West Virginia.
This book is so wonderful in so many ways. It is set in the 1930s, therefore lending the historical fiction setting. It includes young deaf boy that stumbles upon a murder/mystery. This plot added a wonderful additional layer to a book, that I feel was mostly about family, acceptance, forgiveness, second chances, and finding one’s purpose.
It is a beautifully written tale that really drives home the human desire to be needed, loved, and to have a place that one can call “home”, wherever that may be.
I loved Loyal and the complex characters that were his family. The author did a wonderful job creating interesting, appropriate, and flawed characters that fit in the wonderfully described settings. I also really enjoyed the addition of what we now call American Sign Language (ASL) as part of Loyal’s identity and added a wonderful layer to the narrative.
As a native to WV, I was drawn to this book, and am so glad that the author was able to bring this beautiful and unique area its due justice. WV is imperfect, just as many other locations can be, however the author’s ability to draw out its positives was impressive.
A truly amazing book.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House 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, Bookbub, Instagram, Amazon, and B&N accounts immediately. Publication date 11/3/20.
The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas will startle readers with the quiet intensity of its profound message of hope!
The Right Kind of Fool is an adventure from start to finish! The story follows the three different members of the Raines family. What is possibly the most surprising and the most true to life quality of the story is that it contains a little of everything — a coming-of-age story in Loyal, a second chance romance in Creed and Delphy’s reconciliation, a murder mystery, a stirring historical setting, and an emotive, sensitive look at being deaf and learning ASL in the 1930s. While I can’t say the conclusion to the mystery shocked me, I was satisfied with how it ended. Furthermore, I found the differences, similarities, and changes in the investigative process then versus now to be very interesting. However, I was particularly invested in Loyal’s struggles and triumphs in addition to Creed and Delphy’s reconciliation as these storylines abounded in quietly convicting truths that blossomed into profound messages of hope!
The title is an apt description of the personal journeys of growth on which the Raines family embarks. Loyal, Creed, and even Delphy discover that you can be a fool for a lot of bad reasons, but being a fool for the right reasons is an entirely different — and altogether beautiful! — thing! Very rewarding!
Four Stars ~ The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas possesses a quiet, simple beauty in a story overflowing with convicting lessons! The Right Kind of Fool is a standalone, but the author has other books in her backlist for readers to enjoy!
Disclaimer ~ In accordance with FTC regulations, I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not compensated, nor was a positive review required. All opinions expressed are my own.
Sarah Loudin Thomas writes a book with a cadence of family, love, and so much more. The Right Kind of Fool begins with a murder and 13-year-old Loyal’s witnessing of curious actions by a couple locals.
While the shooting (inspired by a historical one) is a singular thread of this story, it goes so much deeper than that. Thomas puts the reader into each member of the Raines family’s head. She beautifully gives us an understanding of the challenges of a deaf boy in the 1930s, as well as the guilt and shame of a father who feels he’s failed his son and wife. Delphy rounds out the small, broken family.
The characters and the setting burrow their way into the reader’s heart. Loyal’s courage, Delphy’s stability, and Creed’s change of heart toward his son had me wishing for a happy ending for this family.
Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
The Right Kind of Fool was another wonderful Appalachian tale penned by the talented Sarah Loudin Thomas. Vivid descriptions of the book’s setting blended with compelling characters and situations held me captive until the very end. A narrative of a summer in a broken family’s life, the story was a beautiful example of strength and bravery, love and reconciliation, faith and the power of the human spirit to overcome overwhelming obstacles.
Loyal Raines could not have been given a more appropriate name. He embodied the meaning of his name and more with his unquenchable determination to be “normal” despite his handicap. I loved how he did not allow his deafness to hinder him and how his brave actions brought his over-protective mother and his guilt-ridden father back together to provide Loyal the family he had always wanted.
Skillfully written with a steady plot that includes a suspenseful mystery set among the mountains of Appalachia, The Right Kind of Fool is a novel that will stay in my memory for quite awhile. I have enjoyed all the other books by this author but this one is special. I hope other readers will enjoy it as much as I did.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A favorable review was not required.All views expressed are my own.
When Loyal was told to stay home, he snuck away to the river and discovers a dead body.
Loyal was a great protagonist. He refused to let his inability to hear prevent him from finding answers to the mystery he found himself in. I found myself empathizing with the character as he considered how to make himself understood to his hearing counterparts.
I loved the characters in this book. They seemed like people you already know. The woman with the absentee husband who devotes herself to the church, the father who works too hard, the child trying to prove his worth to a parent, the man seeking redemption in the eyes of the people he loves…we get a glimpse into multiple lives as we watch the mystery unfold.
Near the end of the novel, there seemed to have been a rush to wrap the mystery up so the focus could shift to other things.
There was a theme of sacrifice throughout this novel as there were a number of characters who were willing to give up their freedom or happiness to please the people they cared about. It brings to mind the ultimate sacrifice which Jesus made for sinners.
The Right Kind of Fool was a great read. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
Sarah Loudin Thomas delivers lyrical Appalachian fiction in her best release yet. The Right Kind of Fool is part love story, part coming-of-age, part murder mystery wrapped in her signature setting and deftly executed by an author who knows how to tell a story. Thomas might be the best author you haven’t read yet.
In the summer of 1934, deaf teenager Loyal Raines stumbles across a dead body in the river. Life as he knows it forever changes that day.
But, Loyal learns that not all change is a bad thing…
The Right Kind of Fool has a hopeful message of faith, overcoming obstacles and gracing those around you with second chances. If you enjoy women’s fiction and small-town crime solving, The Right Kind of Fool is the right kind of book for you! It’s available now – visit Baker Book House to purchase a copy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. A positive review was not required. Opinions expressed are completely my own.