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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What I Loved about The Heart of an Agent

by Chautona Havig · 9 Comments

My family were the Pinkertons—the detectives.”

I’ll admit it.  When my friend told me that, I just kind of nodded.  I’d never heard of “the Pinkertons.”  It took about two minutes and the help of Google to get a feel for what it was all about—a super-cool detective agency that worked more as bodyguards for railroad payrolls and dealing with strikes than anything else!

But, a few years later when I began working on a mystery series, I had to learn about them—to discover what else they did.  And the more I learned, the more fascinated I became.

What I Liked about The Heart of an Agent

Note: Links are likely affiliate links that provide a small commission at no extra expense to you.

So when Celebrate Lit offered The Heart of an Agent (Book 2 of The Adirondack Pinkertons) for review, I jumped at the chance.

Was I sorry? 

Nope.  I had lots that I loved and a little I didn’t love so much about the book.  Let’s start with…

What I loved about The Heart of an Agent

Look, the truth is that I often get excited about ideas and then discover they aren’t as wonderful as I hoped—and you know what?  In a very small way, this book is no exception.  But for the most part, I actually did love most of it.

First, characterization:

Tracey Lyons created a rich, well-rounded cast of interesting and engaging characters.  Honestly, the characterization was my favorite part of the book.  Lyons made each character not only believable but also incredibly relatable and consistent.  The turmoil Owen still feels over the loss of his wife combined with new feelings for Lily make for a realistic character who sticks with you even when you want to slap him for being a selfish brute.

Look, I can’t say this without making it sound like I dislike what the author did.  And well, you’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s probably the most GENIUS thing I saw in the book.  You see, there were times in this book that Owen made Lily feel like she’d blown it when actually, she hadn’t.  I don’t know if it was deliberate or if the author really believed that she’d overstepped.

She hadn’t. 

But with her past, Lily absolutely believes it.  And it is so logical that she would believe it—with all she’s been through.  It is.

The supporting characters were equally well-developed.  I loved Mr. and Mrs. Cuddieback and their insightful wisdom.  But… speaking of them…  theirs and Lily’s last name… There are actually several last names in the book that I found crazy jarring.  Every time I saw them I had to backtrack because my brain wanted to do something else.

So, if you want to know what I didn’t like about the characters?  A few of the surnames—that’s it.

Next, description:

One beautiful thing about this book was how much the description worked to place you right in the setting.  I didn’t know anything I didn’t need to know and knew everything I did.  Sometimes authors bog down a story with so much setting it becomes a drag on the story, but Lyons avoided that pitfall beautifully.

The only descriptive objections I had were the random moments where she’d throw in an unnecessary adjective.  If you tell me a flower is delicate, I’m all for it.  If you tell me it’s “beautiful?”  Yeah.  What’s the point?  There aren’t a whole lot of homely flowers.

Nit picky?  Absolutely.  But I’m just doing the full disclosure thing here.

So what was just “okay”?

The plot. I don’t know just what I expected, but whatever it was didn’t happen.  This was a story about an ex Pinkerton who doesn’t want her past to come out and then just spills it because someone tells her to.

That’s it with the Pinkertons.

The rest of the plot is just your typical guy meets girl,they have a rocky start, things get great, there’s a glitch that might break them up, and back to all is happily in their ever after.

Honestly, if the characters weren’t so awesome, and the description hadn’t been so generally well done, this book would have been three stars.  But they were.  The characters are wonderful and multi-faceted people. The setting and description made those characters shine.   It all took an “okay” book and made me like it.

I almost loved it. 

If Amazon allowed half stars, this might be a four and a half star book just because of how I loved the characters.

And, Lyons made me interested in her books.  I’ll be reading the first in the series.  I suspect I know the whole story.  It came out in the course of this book.  So, maybe this proves how good a writer I think Tracey Lyons is.  She made me want to know what happened in the first book of a series that, if I’m right, I can already guess.

I don’t get much reading time.  But she made me want to do it anyway.

Recommended for lovers of historical romance or folks related to the Pinkertons.  😉

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Comments

  1. lelandandbecky says

    December 8, 2017 at 11:12 am

    The Adirondack Mountains setting sounds interesting, as does the book blurb. Thanks for highlighting this author and her books.

    Reply
  2. Susan (DE) says

    December 5, 2017 at 11:05 am

    Well, it sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Maureen Timerman says

    December 1, 2017 at 10:42 am

    Enjoyed reading your review and learning about the giveaway!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 1, 2017 at 11:26 pm

      Hope it was helpful! I think people who just enjoy traditional historic romance would enjoy this one.

      Reply
  4. Trixi says

    November 30, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    Love the review! Thank you for sharing this, I have “A Changed Agent” and definitely want to add this one to my collection. 🙂

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 1, 2017 at 1:17 am

      I hope you enjoy it. The characters are really fabulous. They made me want to read the first. And if anyone is going to read them, I do recommend reading in order. I suspect it’ll be a lot more enjoyable if they do.

      Reply
  5. Robin in NC says

    November 30, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    Wow! Chautona! What an honest review! 4½ stars…love it!!!!

    Reply
  6. Paula Shreckhise says

    November 30, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    I love spy stories, so I’ll give these a try.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      November 30, 2017 at 4:23 pm

      There’s no actual spying in this one, Paula. The Pinkerton aspect is almost nonexistent. You really do have to think of it as plain old historical romance.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 163: A Chat with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel's Song
byChautona Havig

Before I began the interview with Naomi Craig about Ezekiel’s Song, I kind of went crazy and left it in to give you a chuckle. But Naomi and I chat about her upcoming release, why she chose to write about Ezekiel, and what areas she focused on. Listen in and hear her heart for the Word and for stimulating readers to love it and live it.

Oh, and that song I couldn’t remember? Well, I found it after a BUNCH of hunting on YouTube. Here you go!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Has Ezekiel Always Confused You? How about a Little Fictional Clarity?

There’s SO much to write about in Ezekiel, but after talking to Naomi Craig, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp of where she’s taking this book without feeling like I don’t need to read it now that we chatted, and that’s always great. Naomi shows service in the temple, how Ezekiel could have had a mentorish relationship under Jeremiah, and even what kind of woman his wife might have been.

Personally, I love the “Darcy-ish” meeting where he totally insults her and accuses her of being an idolatress. Let me tell you something. I cannot wait to read that! Seriously!

God had Ezekiel do a lot of weird things, and I always wondered how he managed some of it, but Naomi brings out possibilities by focusing on this wife that we don’t know much (anything) about. How cool is that?

Naomi also gave us a couple of glimpses into what’s coming next!

She’s #TeamBlue in the Keeping Christmas novella collections, writing about Herod’s palace and the wise men’s appearance looking for “the King of the Jews.”  And… from a scribe’s perspective!  How cool is that?

Also… next up is a book about a woman in Ephriam’s lineage who built three cities. A woman credited with the building of these cities!  I cannot wait! I love how Naomi focuses on how strong Biblical women were. So often we think of them as downtrodden and little more than cattle, but God shows how much He loves His daughters in the Word, and He definitely allows them to shine. We saw that in Naomi’s debut novel Rahab’s Courage.

Ezekiel’s Song by Naomi Craig

A prophet’s heart broken, a woman’s joy gone. What does Yahweh have planned for His people?

On the brink of Jerusalem’s demise, devoted priest, Ezekiel, sees the insincerity of Judah’s worship. Despite his efforts to call the people back to true worship of Yahweh, priests, artisans, valiant warriors, and royals are exiled to Babylon. When God gives him messages of continued judgment for the people in his homeland, his heart breaks. How can he minister to the people from so far away?

The presence of the Lord is tangible when Shiriel sings in the temple, and her voice prepares the hearts of many to worship. When she is exiled to Babylon, her faith is shaken. Does the Lord’s presence extend beyond Jerusalem and His holy temple?

Ezekiel is struck mute and paralyzed as he begins his prophetic ministry, and Shiriel devises a plan to get the Lord’s message back to the unfaithful people of Judah. Shiriel struggles with discontentment as serving the Lord looks nothing like she’d imagined. Can she provide for her family and carry out her husband’s ministry when her joy is gone, and her own dreams are placed on hold?

How will Yahweh save His people from themselves? Find out in Ezekiel’s Song!

Ezekiel’s Song is available at 30% off paperback and at a discount for Kindle, too through release week, so visit Naomi’s WEBSITE for more information.

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young—except the ones who destroy her beloved books. You could say she doesn’t have a very nice 
“book-side manner.” 
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save this bookstore?
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