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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Do Pretty Ribbons Have to Do with Ugly Murder?

by Chautona Havig · 4 Comments

The Red Ribbon is the next in the brilliant True Colors Crime Series, and Pepper Basham has outdone herself with this one. via @chautonahavig

I remember my father saying, “You have to watch out for those mountain folks. They have long memories that extend back before they were born.”

I didn’t really get what that meant until I read Catherine Marshall’s Christy. Suddenly, those words had context.  Meaning.

It only makes sense, then, that one of the True Colors Crime Series books would involve a story that still evokes strong feelings a hundred years later.  When I learned Pepper Basham was writing this book, I knew I had to read it.  No one could tell the story of the Allen Tragedy like I knew Ms. Basham could.

the red ribbon review

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

What Do Pretty Ribbons Have to Do with Ugly Murder?

Not a lot–and everything.  In true Basham style, Pepper uses kisses to show the beauty and the depravity of man.  The heart that beats beneath those lips becomes the difference between the kiss of a lifetime and, forgive the poetic license, the kiss of death.

In unquestionably the most quotable book I’ve ever read by Pepper Basham, The Red Ribbon combines the tale of a seamstress and would-be writer and a mountain woodworker with moonshiners and feuding families. Add to that the seamstress (Ava)’s family history and you have layers upon layers to unravel.

I think one of the best parts of this book is what actually bugged me at first. I couldn’t tell when or where the inciting event would occur–at least, not the one that would spark the massacre we know is coming. Instead, Basham sets up all parts of the story so seamlessly you don’t even realize she’s done it until it’s all laid out before you.

Characters?  I fell lin love and hate with all of them–the ones I should, that is.

Plot?  Pepper Basham took the actual events and wove those into the lives of the characters she created instead of the other way around (or so it felt to me as I read it). This gives both elements of the story a richer perspective than I would have expected.

Faith?  The Red Ribbon goes beyond historical fact and poetic fictional license.  It also offers a look into the beauty of Truth instead of the ugliness of fear and cruelty.  Jeremiah and her grandmother lead Ava onto a faith journey that I suspect I’ll ponder for weeks.

Recommended for lovers of history, lovers of romance, and lovers of liplock of any kind. If you don’t like those, this probably isn’t the book for you, but I’d try it anyway.  If anyone can make you love a book you were sure you wouldn’t, Pepper Basham can.

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Comments

  1. Debbie P says

    November 13, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    This sounds like a really good read.

    Reply
  2. Pepper Basham says

    November 10, 2020 at 8:01 pm

    Chautona!!!! Thank you SOOOOO much!!!! Mountain folks are scary! It’s true 🙂
    I’m glad you liked Jeremiah and Ava’s story…and didn’t even mind the kissing parts too much 🙂

    Reply
  3. Emma says

    November 10, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    I am not a lover of romance or liplock, but I love history! I already have this on my Kindle, waiting its turn.

    Reply
  4. Rita Wray says

    November 10, 2020 at 11:10 am

    Sounds like a great book.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
byChautona Havig

Terry Garner joined me tonight to chat about his fascinating Biblical Fiction series, Magi Journey. Starting way back in Assyria, through Babylon, and into Persia, the series chronicles two timelines–first that of the Israelite kings, and then of a fascinating family back in Persia… Listen in to see the hope this Magi family found in Scripture and how it led them to Bethlehem. 

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

This isn’t just another “traveling to Bethlehem with gold” story of the Magi. No, Terry Garner links the Israelite kings from Ahaz through the destruction of the temple and into captivity with a family who discovers that God has promised redemption for those outside Israel as well. Follow a physical and a faith journey across the ages all the way to the hope of an age.

With extensive and meticulous research, Terry Garner looks at Scripture and compares it with historical secular accounts. Even more exciting, however, are the things he discovered along the way. He talks about Jewish historians discounting Scriptural accounts of historical events to explain away the supernatural as if God Almighty… isn’t!

And then, Terry explains how he’s also writing a nonfiction book to help readers pull all the pieces from Scripture and see what God has promised us… so that we may know His plans. I’m excited about that book, but I confess, learning he’s working on a spinoff of the Magi series excited me even more. EEEP!

Terry Garner has all his books on sale right now!

The paperbacks are on sale for 9.95 and the box set (also available on Kindle Unlimited) is on sale for 4.99!

Magi Journey by Terry Garner

A sweeping historical saga from the courts of Tiglath-Piliser III in Assyria to the sleepy town of Bethlehem. History is seen through the eyes of the Magi as they journey from 734 BC to -0- AD.

Explore with the Magi the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Witness God’s judgment on Israel, Assyria, and Babylon. And rejoice in the redemption of Israel and the coming of the Messiah.

Join the Magi as they answer the question that is critical to every man and woman, “Who Is This Messiah?”

Learn more about Terry on his WEBSITE.

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Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
Episode 217: A Chat with Biblical Fiction Author, Terry Garner
March 31, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 216: A Chat with Jaime Jo Wright
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Episode 214: A Chat about After the Shadows with Amanda Cabot
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Episode 213: A Chat about Daughter of Eden with Jill Eileen Smith
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Episode 212: A Chat about Code Name Edelweiss with Stephanie Landsem
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Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
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Episode 210: A Chat with Jennifer Deibel about The Maid of Ballymacool
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Episode 209: A Chat with Tracie Peterson about Remember Me
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Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
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