The Light Keeper's Legacy by Kathleen Ernst

The Light Keeper's Legacy by Kathleen Ernst
Series: Chloe Ellefson Mysteries, book 3

Chloe Ellefson, curator of collections for Old World Wisconsin, is hoping for a respite from her overcomplicated work and personal life when she accepts a week-long consulting gig at another Wisconsin historic site.  Rock Island State Park's rustic charm is just the thing Chloe needs to unwind.  But, when she discovers a dead body on her first night on the island, it's clear that Chloe has more to worry about than just preparing a furnishing plan for the site's historic lighthouse.

The Light Keeper's Legacy is a pretty standard cozy mystery, plot wise. Chloe is an interesting character and not just because she's a museum professional. She has some weird sixth sense, a "gift of perception," that guides her in both her museum interpretation and in her sleuthing (though I will say that I wasn't all that keen on this part of her character, except in one very specific case, which I can't explain without including spoilers). Beyond that, Chloe has also got what seems to be a complex backstory that keeps her from being completely sure of herself.

The best part of The Light Keeper's Legacy was Ernst's use of the split narrative. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between Chloe's 1980s and time period she's trying to research (mid-late 19th century). I found the historical sections and the historical characters to be some of the most compelling parts of the novel.

The Light Keeper's Legacy is the third book in Kathleen Ernst's Chloe Ellefson Mysteries (after Old World Murder and The Heirloom Murders). I liked The Light Keeper's Legacy enough that I got Old World Murder from the library.

The Light Keeper's Legacy will be released in October 2012.

disclosure: I received a review copy of The Light Keeper's Legacy from Midnight Ink Books via NetGalley.

Hearts of Stone

Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst

Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, Hearts of Stone is a multifaceted coming of age tale.

Hannah Cameron is fourteen when her father joins the Union army, making enemies of the family's closest neighbors. Less than a year later, Hannah, younger brother Jasper, and five-year-old twins Maude and Mary are left parentless when their mother dies during a bushwhacker raid on their Eastern Tennessee home.

As Hannah grapples with her new role as caretaker, she must also deal with the very real horrors of war. After leading her siblings in an arduous two-hundred-mile journey to Nashville, Hannah must regroup when she learns that Aunt Ellen, her only living relative, died of a fever six weeks earlier. Alone in the world and demoralized, the Cameron children live on the streets, doing everything they can to stay together. Eventually they end up in a refugee camp, which is both a blessing and a curse, leading to even more trials for Hannah and her siblings.

Inspired by a Civil War reenactment of a civilian refugee camp, award-winning author Kathleen Ernst has crafted an historically-accurate novel that gives insight into the deprivations of war, the fallacy of prejudice, and what it means to be a family. Hearts of Stone is as memorable as it is hard to put down. Its plot has enough dramatic twists to keep even adult readers engaged. And, while protagonist Hannah is Ernst’s most fully-drawn character, the other characters in the novel are far from one-dimensional.

Read the full review at FrontStreetReviews.com