Title: Ghost Point: murder and thwarted love – the Potomac Oyster Wars
Author: Diane Scott Lewis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Blurb:
Luke, an oysterman, is tangled up in the fight over the Potomac River rights in 1956 Virginia. He loves his wife, but they clash over his illegal dredging of oyster beds. His life is under threat from Maryland’s notorious Oyster Police.
Yelena, the once pretty, popular girl, struggles to rise above her dull existence as Luke’s wife. She defies her husband and takes a job in a used bookstore. A mysterious older man is interested in her, or is he simply after her husband for his unlawful activities as he inspects the murders out on the river? She's tempted to plunge into intrigue and perhaps more. Can Luke and Yelena rekindle their love or drown in the hurricane of their actions? Will the crew-killers be found before Luke becomes their next victim?
My Review:
Yelena years for more than her lot in life but when a handsome stranger shows her love, she wonders if he’s after her husband instead. Being a young mother and oysterman’s wife is not the life Yelena read about in books growing up. The struggle is hard on her, especially when her husband, Luke, is fishing illegally and at any moment he could be killed or arrested. She’s thinking about her little boy when she takes a part-time job at a bookstore. She meets an older gentleman, and they start an affair. But Yelena is unsure if he’s playing her just to nail her husband for his illegal fishing. It’s an all-out oyster war where anyone could be a spy and Yelena’s husband could wind up dead. With both feet in the turbulent waters, which side will Yelena choose?
Ghost Point is an intriguing historical fiction from start to finish. Before reading Ghost Point, I knew nothing about the Oyster Wars. Diane Scott Lewis did incredible research on this time period and both sides of the war because her book is historically accurate with intricate descriptive narration. The reader is thrust into what happens to both Yelena and Luke with taut emotional tension. The plot moves at a good pace. While it’s a little slow at the start, it quickly picks up speed. Yelena is an interesting character. I don’t honestly know how I would react to similar circumstances, but her reactions are authentic. The ending took me by surprise but in a good way. I thoroughly enjoyed Ghost Point. If you’re a historical fiction reader, you’ll love Ghost Point. If you’re a fan of sagas and dramatic fiction, you’ll enjoy Ghost Point. Highly recommend!
My Rating: stars
Buy it Now:
Amazon, Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Point-Murder-Thwarted-Potomac/dp/0228618797
Author Biography:
Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons all over the world, including Puerto Rico and Guam. A member of the Historical Novel Society, she wrote book reviews for the Historical Novels Review. Diane worked from 2007 to 2010 as an online historical editor. Writing since the age of five, she had her debut novel published in 2010, a story that takes place during the French Revolution. She’s had several historical and historical-romance novels published between 2010 and 2019. A fan of graphic arts, she’s designed brochures and book covers. She also enjoys traveling and camping.
Diane lives with her husband and dachshund in western Pennsylvania.
For more on her books visit her website: www.dianescottlewis.org
Social Media Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dhparkin/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DSLewisHF
Reviewed by: Mrs. N