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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How Was My Nightly Walk after Reading This Riveting Book?

by Chautona Havig · 5 Comments

The Silver Shadow is Liz Tolsma's best book by far. The more I think about it, the more I love every nuanced layer and detail--even the mush. via @chautonahavig

Got an email tonight.  It asked about my review of The Silver Shadow.  I was confused  What about it?  Then it hit me.

Yeah. I was supposed to have read and reviewed it for Saturday morning.  As you can see, it is not Saturday morning.  UGH. Last night I got busy cleaning and completely forgot to read and review that book. Okay, first I didn’t feel well and was lying around wishing I could just sleep it off. THEN I started cleaning when I felt better and voila! One book and review totally forgotten.

So… tonight, I picked up this book.  I read it.  And then, because I’m insane that way, at 1:40 in the we hours of this morning, I set off on my walk.

Because doesn’t everyone go for a walk in the dark after reading a book about a guy who bashed women in the head FOR walking around in the dark?

I’m not a jumpy sort of person, but I did pull out my phone.  Twice.  Of course, I tend usually to walk between 2:30 and 3:30, so there were more cars on the road–folks coming home from the bars.  YAY! No one swerved or crossed over lines, so I think folks were sober.  WOOT!  But this book…

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

How Was My Nightly Walk after Reading This Riveting Book?

I’m pretty sure The Silver Shadow is Liz Tolsma’s best book to date.  I don’t say that lightly, because I LOVED The Green Dress more than probably all of the other books in the series (one still torments me a bit, though).  Maybe it was just when I read it, or even that I just really resonated with the characters on a new level, but this one stands out more than all of Tolsma’s books. Polly Blythe (whose name really reminds me a lot of “Nellie Bly” of The Gray Chamber) is a beautiful combination of bold, feisty, uncertain, and vulnerable.

The crime–riveting. While motives and the actual culprit were fictionalized, I think Tolsma used the most actual people from the time in her book than in any other book, despite her claim that it is the most fictionalized of the ones she’s written.  The fact that they never actually caught the killer, and she brought one to justice, of course makes that claim reasonable.

Of everything in the book though, two things stand out most to me.

First, personal motivations.  I found that each character’s motivations for why they did what they did–particularly Edwin, his family, and Polly–were deep and layered.  It wasn’t a simple case of a girl wanting to prove she could do a job as good as a man.  One by one, Polly’s motivations were peeled back until you found a core beneath them that breaks your heart.  The same is true for many of the characters.

Second, the characters’ faith. Each character had a different element of faith they demonstrated in quiet, natural ways that feel as if you’re watching faith in action by people who have no idea anyone would be observing.

While I received a review copy of this book free, I also purchased two of my own copies so… yeah. There’s that.

Recommended for lovers of historical fiction, true crime, and excellent writing that keeps you riveted to the page… and makes you look over your shoulder when you’re walking out alone after dark. 😉

the silver shadowAbout the Book

Book:  The Silver Shadow

Author: Liz Tolsma

Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense

Release date: May 2021

A Shadowy Figure Is Intent on Harming Denver’s Women

Book 11 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History

Denver of 1900 is still a dangerous place to be following the silver crash of 1893. And of out of the dark comes a shadow intent on harming women. Ambitious young Denver newspaper reporter Polly Blythe is searching for the big story that’s going to launch her career. On Friday evening, August 24, 1900, she gets her break when two women are cracked over the head within a two-minute walk of each other. But policeman Edwin Timmer thwarts Polly’s ideas of a serial criminal. . .until the shadowy figure strikes again. Will the reporter and the policeman team up to find the culprit before he strikes too close for comfort?

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Comments

  1. Tracie Cooper says

    June 5, 2021 at 6:03 pm

    Looking forward to reading this book!

    Reply
  2. Roxanne C. says

    May 31, 2021 at 9:49 am

    What a high recommendation for this book from Chautona!

    Reply
  3. Roxanne V. says

    May 31, 2021 at 9:47 am

    This review made me smile because Chautona’s writing seems to do that. I think I will read The Silver Shadow on a bright, sunny day, though.

    Reply
  4. Emma says

    May 30, 2021 at 12:34 pm

    I have this one on my Kindle, waiting to be read. I just read The Gold Digger, though, and lost a night’s sleep because I was dreaming about it–will this one do the same?

    Reply
  5. Amelia says

    May 30, 2021 at 7:12 am

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
byChautona Havig

Nothing says fairy tale like a sweet western romance by an author like Karen Witemeyer… unless it’s a fairytale retelling set in Texas in the late 19th century, right?  Fairest of Heart takes the familiar “Snow White” and turns it on its head with retired cowboys, a self-absorbed actress, a Texas Ranger, and a sweet girl who knows the true Source of her beauty.  Listen in to see all the genius Easter eggs Witemeyer planted in this book.

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

Sometimes All a Girl Needs Is a True Change of Heart

I fell in love with the cover of Karen Witemeyer’s Head Over Heels a few years back (only to learn it’s much older than that, even), and meant to read that book.  I didn’t.  #BecauseIdiot. Well, that’ll be rectified just as soon as I’m done listening to her first book in a trilogy of fairytale retellings. I loaded it up on my Audible app tonight and wheeeeeeee. Here I go! So much for no new books until October. HA! 

Karen talks about her heart for young women today and how they’re taught by every bit of media blasting at them that they need to use their bodies to get what they need or want when the Lord has a better plan. And I can’t guarantee it, but I strongly suspect she does it without preaching. SQUEE!

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters–and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather’s ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope’s acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope’s guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

You can learn more about Karen Witemeyer and her books on her WEBSITE. Don’t forget the book is 30% off on BakerBookHouse.com.  

Follow Karen on BookBub and GoodReads.

And don’t forget her Posse Group on Facebook.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
Episode 265: A Chat with Karen Witemeyer
September 29, 2023
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