Straight Reading from the Library: Candle in the Wind by Ric Wasley

Thanks to Goddess Fish Promotions for sending me this book for review. I love the title, because I so loved the song and was looking forward to reading the book just based on that. Isn't it funny how some titles/covers grab your attention?  Leave a comment for a chance to win either a $10 gift certificate to Wild Child Publishing or a digital copy of "The Scrimshaw."
You can see the other stops on the tour by clicking here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/virtual-review-tour-candle-in-wind-by.html

READ THE BLURB

The year is 1863. After two years of battles, the Civil War has evolved into a bloody slaughter with scarcely a town or home on both sides untouched by the tragic loss of its young men. President Abraham Lincoln has just announced the first order of "Draft" in the history of the American Republic.

After Jeptha enlists, Fiona Dawes finds herself working their farm with her five-year-old daughter Bridget on a thin spit of sandy peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic from the rocky coast of Massachusetts.

Like so many women of her time, she struggles to keep the farm running. When her husband is reported missing--presumed dead, Fiona knows in her heart he is still alive. She decides to take her daughter and leave the farm to look for her beloved husband, but something sinister is brewing. Someone means to not only take their land, but see them dead.

From Massachusetts to New York to Gettysburg and through the war torn South, Fiona searches for her husband, making friends and enemies along the way.

Fans of history, mystery, and romance are certain to enjoy, "Candle in the Wind."

READ THE REVIEW

This book is definitely more historical mystery than it is romance, although there is a romantic element to it. And Mr. Wasley captures the historical element of it perfectly. 

The hero and heroine are apart for much of the book--as war tends to do to people.  And, I was frustrated for them because they were often so close to each other as Fiona was searching for Jeptha, but they always managed to just miss each other. 

The battles are well written--be aware, they are battle scenes and are very graphic. Mr. Wasley does not shirk from showing you the hell that is war nor the good and bad of soldiers on both sides of the conflict. 

Most of the characters are well-drawn and were people this reader felt like you could have met during any time period. The only exception were the two "bad guys" of the piece.  When I was reading the scenes with them in it, I felt like I was watching a movie. There was nothing redeeming about them to make them three dimensional and real. But, the other characters more than make up for that issue.

Speaking of movies, Candle in the Wind would make an excellent one--- it has action, heart-stopping moments, periods of despair, and a happy ending.  Hollywood, take note!!

MEET THE AUTHOR

Ric Wasley is a writer and lecturer as well as the author of the popular McCarthy Mystery Series set in Boston in 1968

Ric has a 40 year professional career history in advertising, publishing and marketing in Boston, New York and San Francisco. He has degrees in history and psychology and has been trained in debating, public speaking and stage acting. A large part of his 40 year career was spent in numerous professional and business settings as a presenter and featured speaker at seminars and professional meetings.

Ric has been a visiting professor at Worcester Polytech Institute. He also teaches a popular course on marketing for authors at prominent venues such as the venerable “Cape Cod Writers Conference”.

Of the five books in the McCarthy series which include the first two, Shadow of Innocence and Acid Test the most recent is, The Scrimshaw, the third in the McCarthy Mystery Series, which was released in late 2009. That will be followed by “Black Velvet Band, scheduled for 2014.  In addition to the first two McCarthy Mysteries, Ric has also authored Midnight Blue, a quirky vampire tale that combines spectral creatures and nightwalkers with sex, drugs and Rock & Roll! Followed by Echoes Down a Dark Well, a paranormal thriller about reincarnation.

Ric has also authored the semi-autobiographical novella; At my Window with a Broken Wing, and two short stories; Embers and The Night.  Plus a brand new story, Long Black Veil, that appears in the anthology, Weirdly Vol. 3, released in 2010. 

Ric’s newest novel is Candle in the Wind, a Historical/Mystery from Wild Child Publishing and it will be available in April in both print and eBooks wherever they are sold. 

Just like Mick in his McCarthy Mysteries Series, Ric thrived on music in the sixties and performed as a folksinger and in several rock bands all over New England. He played regularly in the Harvard Sq. folk music clubs in the late 60’s where he met music legends such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Wasley has been involved in both print and broadcast media as well as writing for business and commercial markets for over 30 years and continues to consult for a major media company. In addition to his novels and short stories, he has been published in several literary magazines in L.A. and San Francisco while living in California. Wasley currently divides his time between the Boston Metro-West and his home on Cape Cod where he continues to write, lecture and create worlds where the unexpected thrives.

Ric Wasley – Author – Speaker

Mystery Writers of America and the Cape Cod Writers Group 

http://www.ricwasley.com/