A riveting start to a whole new dual time series from Barbour.
With a name like Marilyn Houdini Blackstone, Dini could not have chosen a better vocation than magician. She is also a tour guide in San Antonio, Texas. Part of her tour is the Menger Hotel and the legend of Hedda Krause. Dini does research and is caught up in the story of Hedda and the ghost of Sallie White based on the history of the Menger.
Ms. Pittman tells a fabulous story of the present and Dini meeting Quin Carmichael on her tour. Quin just happens to be the great great grandson of the detective who investigated Hedda’s long ago robbery.
The author takes a ghostly story and gives us further intrigue by having Dini and Quin pour through artifacts from the case.
I enjoyed the present day sections for the way the characters recognize God’s hand. “Coincidence and fate are random. I’m a math person. I don’t do random. God is purposeful. We live in an equation of His design.”
The banter and budding romance were great, as was the setting with Dini’s quaint apartment and music choices. The past was deftly crafted using the memoirs of Hedda. Then the whole was brought together to a satisfying end.
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour on behalf of the author. I was not required to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.*5 stars and solid faith thread.
Can a Legacy of Sadness be Broken at the Menger Hotel?
Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.
Young widow Hedda Krause checks into the Menger Hotel in 1915 with a trunk full of dresses, a case full of jewels, and enough cash to pay for a two-month stay, which she hopes will be long enough to meet, charm, and attach herself to a new, rich husband. Her plans are derailed when a ghostly apparition lures her into a long, dark hallway, and Hedda returns to her room to find her precious jewelry has been stolen. She falls immediately under a cloud of suspicion with her haunting tale, but true ghost enthusiasts bring her expensive pieces of jewelry in an attempt to lure the ghost to appear again.
In 2017, Dini Blackstone is a fifth-generation magician, who performs at private parties, but she also gives ghost walk tours, narrating the more tragic historical events of San Antonio with familial affection. Above all, her favorite is the tale of Hedda Krause who, in Dini’s estimation, succeeded in perpetrating the world’s longest con, dying old and wealthy from her ghost story. But then Dini meets Quinn Carmichael, great-great-grandson of the detective who originally investigated Hedda’s case, who’s come to the Alamo City with a box full of clues that might lead to Hedda’s exoneration. Can Dini see another side of the story that is worthy of God’s grace?
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