Stormi's Review: The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
ARC PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press RELEASED: October 3, 2017 GENRE: MYSTERY, THRILLER, & SUSPENSE LENGTH: 384 pages FORMAT: EBOOK, HARDCOVER, AUDIBLE
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From perennial bestseller Diane Chamberlain, a compelling new novel
In 1944, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
The people of Hickory love and respect Henry and see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain, especially after one of the town’s prominent citizens dies in a terrible accident and Tess is blamed. Tess suspects people are talking about her, plotting behind her back, and following her as she walks around town. What does everyone know about Henry that she does not? Feeling alone and adrift, Tess turns to the one person who seems to understand her, a local medium who gives her hope but seems to know more than he’s letting on.
When a sudden polio epidemic strikes the town, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess, who has a nursing degree, bucks Henry’s wishes and begins to work at the hospital, finding meaning in nursing the young victims. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle her husband’s mysterious behavior and save her own life? FIVE huge BOUNDLESS STARS
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Tess has a perfect life set out before her. She is engaged to a wonderful doctor, she is about to become a nurse, and her life is near perfect. When she decides to go on a trip with her best friend her life changes dramatically. She soon finds herself married to a different man and hated by her new family and everyone in Hickory, North Carolina. Fateful circumstances change her world for the worst, but things can't be bad forever, right? I loved this book. Tess is such a real and loveable character. She takes a bad decision and with the help of Henry makes the best of it. She is faced with many secrets and challenges along the way, but she goes on. This story was full of history and love. It was painful at times and happy at others. It was very real and written so well. I can only rate it a 5, but in my mind, it was a 10. I loved the story from beginning to end. It grabbed me on page one. This is definitely one that I will be telling my friends about. It was the best book I have read in a long time.