A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields

March 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment


A Lily in the Light by Kristin Fields
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (288 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

A harrowing debut novel of a tragic disappearance and one sister’s journey through the trauma that has shaped her life.

For eleven-year-old Esme, ballet is everything—until her four-year-old sister, Lily, vanishes without a trace and nothing is certain anymore. People Esme has known her whole life suddenly become suspects, each new one hitting closer to home than the last.
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Unable to cope, Esme escapes the nightmare that is her new reality when she receives an invitation to join an elite ballet academy in San Francisco. Desperate to leave behind her chaotic, broken family and the mystery surrounding Lily’s disappearance, Esme accepts.

Eight years later, Esme is up for her big break: her first principal role in Paris. But a call from her older sister shatters the protective world she has built for herself, forcing her to revisit the tragedy she’s run from for so long. Will her family finally have the answers they’ve been waiting for? And can Esme confront the pain that shaped her childhood, or will the darkness follow her into the spotlight?

What do you do when your world is turned upside down? Esme is only eleven when her sister, Lily, disappears one night, changing everything she once thought she knew about herself, her family, and the world around her. How will she manage to move forward, follow her dreams, and be all that she knows she can be when they can’t even find Lily?

Esme is a fascinating character and I immediately liked her. Honest, childlike, but more mature than you’d expect, she grabbed my attention and held it. She’s so torn between being free to live her own life and feeling guilty for not having paid more attention to her sister the night she disappeared. It’s heartbreaking to read at times because you can tell she truly had a bond with Lily. Although I have no doubt that her siblings, Nick and Madeline, cared about Lily, it’s also obvious that they didn’t have the same relationship with her that Esme did.

I loved being able to journey with Esme through the horror of her sister disappearing to her adult life as a dancer. She really grows and becomes her own person and I think a lot of that is because she was able to get away from her family who, in so many ways, stagnates and can’t get past Lily’s disappearance. Even though Madeline and Nick manage to move on, they don’t seem to have found the kind of freedom that Esme does with her dance.

A Lily in the Light is more than the story about a missing girl. It’s about faith, hope, and learning how to cope when you feel like you can’t even begin to understand what’s happened. I was totally swept up in this emotional novel, rooting not only for Lily to be found, but for Esme to find herself and a way to help heal her broken family.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Fool’s Moon by Diane A. S. Stuckart

December 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Fool’s Moon by Diane A. S. Stuckart
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (338 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Two tarot-savvy cats and their tenderhearted human outwit a cruel criminal in this animal-centric whodunit.

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When her own life is threatened with a double dose of danger, Ruby begins to wonder if she’s being played for a fool. Luckily, she has Ophelia and Brandon—sibling black cats with a talent for tarot—and a feisty pit bull friend who all lend a paw in collaring the culprit before Ruby finds herself taking her final cat nap.

Abandoned and alone after their owner drowned, sibling felines Ophelia and Brandon are separated. When tarot reader Ruby Sparks walks into the shelter that day and discovers Ophelia, she has no idea what is about to enter her life. Her biggest worry is whether her half-sister will allow her to keep the cat when she returns. Little does she know that one cat will turn into two, and those two cats will lead her to murder.

Ruby Sparks is a great character. She’s both confident and not, knowing that she has the talent to read the cards but also knowing she’s not as skilled as her half-sister. This endeared her to me because she knew where she needed to improve and strove to do just that. Her love for her pit bull, Zuki, as well as her adopted cats, and even the roosters she saved from sacrifice, only made me like her more. Ruby is well-rounded and likable – the kind of person I would want as my friend. And if I were ever murdered? I’d hope she and her menagerie would help solve my case, too.

As for the animals, Ophelia was a bit overbearing at times, always thinking she had the answers. However, knowing how much she and Brandon loved the woman who had raised them from kittens, it’s understandable why she’d be so determined to solve her murder. Zuki was probably my favorite of the animals simply because she tried to be the voice of reason while also helping the cats do what needed to be done.

Fool’s Moon combines two of my favorite things into one cozy mystery: cats and tarot. I’m honestly a sucker for anything dealing with animals, kitties especially, but the addition of a tarot reading main character and I was hooked. I knew I had to read this book and I am so happy that I did. It was interesting to watch the investigation unfold as the animals helped guide Ruby to the truth. I appreciated that Ruby wasn’t made to seem incapable of making the connections herself, as can happen at times in cozies involving animal sleuths. Instead, Ophelia and her crew help lead Ruby towards the conclusions she already suspects. Although it took a little while to get to the actual mystery, Fool’s Moon was worth the wait.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Guilt by Amanda Robson

August 1, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Guilt by Amanda Robson
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (417 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Your sister. Her secret. The betrayal.

There is no bond greater than blood . . .

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Zara and Miranda have always supported each other. But then Zara meets Seb, and everything changes. Handsome, charismatic and dangerous, Seb threatens to tear the sisters’ lives apart – but is he really the one to blame? Or are deeper resentments simmering beneath the surface that the sisters must face up to?

As the sisters’ relationship is stretched to the brink, a traumatic incident in Seb’s past begins to rear its head and soon all three are locked in a psychological battle that will leave someone dead. The question is, who?

Blood is thicker than water, or so the saying goes. All their lives, Zara and Miranda have always been more than just sisters, more than fraternal twins. They were best friends, confidantes, and each other’s rock in times of need. The minute Zara meets Sebastian and brings him home to meet Miranda, life as they once knew it is thrown into chaos. Only one sister will make it out alive, but which one?

Guilt is told in an interesting fashion. You have the points of view of Zara and Miranda, naturally, as well as that of Sebastian. But the fourth is an unknown, the one in jail. For the majority of the book you don’t know which sister that fourth voice is, although you’re given a lot of misleading clues. I know I went back and forth thinking, “Oh, it has to be…” and then realizing soon that nope, can’t be that one. It was an intriguing way to move the story along and probably my favorite voice of the four. The author also works well in the first person, since all four voices are in that style, and it really helps you get inside each character’s head.

Miranda was probably my favorite sister simply because I could relate more to her logical, well-ordered life. Although I’d love to identify as a creative, free-spirit, I need routine and direction in my life. Zara’s way of living made me anxious. Together, however, they gave each other balance and excitement, all of which was upended when Sebastian comes into the picture. For some reason, I didn’t like Seb much from the beginning. I’m not sure why other than it seemed obvious that he wanted to drive a wedge between the sisters.

Guilt was an emotional rollercoaster of a ride. Never knowing what’s really going on, who is telling the truth, and which sister dies kept me on the edge of my seat. It compelled me from the beginning to the very end, not wanting to stop for any reason. I can’t wait to read more from this author because if her other is as good as this, I’ll be hooked for sure.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Punishment by Scott J. Holliday

July 26, 2018 By 3 Comments


Punishment by Scott J. Holliday
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (235 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Do you want to know what it’s like to die, to kill, to really fear for your life? Then get hooked…

Detroit-based homicide detective John Barnes has seen it all—literally. Thanks to a technologically advanced machine, detectives have access to the memories of the living, the dying, and the recently dead. But extracting victims’ experiences firsthand and personally reliving everything up to the final, brutal moments of their lives—the sights, the sounds, the scents, the pain—is also the punishment reserved for the criminals themselves.
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Barnes has had enough. Enough of the memories that aren’t his. Enough of the horror. Enough of the voices inside his head that were never meant to take root…until a masked serial killer known as Calavera strikes a little too close to home.

Now, with Calavera on the loose, Barnes is ready to reconnect, risking his life—and his sanity. Because in the mind of this serial killer, there is one secret even Barnes has yet to see…

What if you could sell your memories so that others could experience them? Better yet, what if your final moments were caught on tape in a way that could help solve your own murder? Wonder no longer because that’s exactly what’s happening in Detroit thanks to an invention simply known as the machine. Step back, Detective John Barnes is on the case – and in your mind.

Detective John Barnes isn’t your ordinary law enforcement officer. He actually has a very special skill – he’s well versed in the uses of The Machine – making him more in-demand than other homicide detectives in Detroit. He’s literally seen – and experienced – it all. Barnes’ use of the machine, for both his personal reasons as well as his professional ones, makes for a very interesting character. Once he’s used the machine, the memories never really leave him. They taunt him, the coerce him, they even try to help him sometimes. Often, he feels like he’s losing his mind, but honestly, I think he copes well considering all he’s endured.

The idea of a machine that can extract memories from a person is fascinating to me. Of course, there are those who use the machine for pleasurable pursuits, but that’s only natural. Who wouldn’t want to step into the shoes of their favorite celebrity, athlete, or musician? But the application it was used for in the book – to see the last moments of a homicide victim’s life – is revolutionary. Calavera fascinated me as well. Between the poems and the sugar skull mask, he wasn’t quite like anything I had encountered before.

The author did an excellent job of bringing the idea to life and I’m eager to see what Barnes and his fellow officers get up to in the sequel. As someone who reads a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals, Punishment definitely was something new and exciting and I’m anxious for more.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

After Nightfall by A. J. Banner

July 19, 2018 By 6 Comments


After Nightfall by A. J. Banner
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (251 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Imagine your closest friend utterly betraying you. Years later, when she seeks forgiveness, you invite her to your engagement party as a gesture of reconciliation. But seething hostilities rise to the surface, ruining everyone’s evening. After an awful night, your friend’s battered, lifeless body is found at the bottom of a rocky cliff.
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Newly engaged Marissa Parlette is living this nightmare. She should be celebrating her upcoming wedding, but she can’t shake the image of her friend lying dead on the beach. Did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she take a purposeful step into darkness? Desperate for answers, Marissa digs deep into the events of the party. But what she remembers happening after nightfall now carries sinister implications: the ugly sniping, the clandestine meetings, the drunken flirtations. The more she investigates, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about her friends, the man she once trusted, and even herself.

We all have something we’d rather not tell anyone else. Secrets are the things that make the world go round, it seems, and none of us are immune. While not every secret is bad, sometimes they can be very, very deadly. Just ask anyone who attended dinner for Marissa Parlette’s engagement party. Although, you’d better hurry – one of them won’t make it out alive.

Everything is perfect in Marissa’s world. She’s engaged to the man of her dreams, she’s got a sweet stepdaughter-to-be, and she’s even reconnected with her long-time best friend, Lauren, after a long estrangement. What could possibly destroy her dream life? Although Marissa appears to be happy, she has her problems, too. For the most part, she deals with them well enough and doesn’t let any one thing take over her world. Then Lauren dies and she becomes obsessed with finding the truth at any cost.

After Nightfall is full of complex, suspicious characters, each one hiding something from everyone else. Even young Anna, Marissa’s soon-to-be stepdaughter, has something she’s hiding from everyone. I found myself suspecting everyone but not really having the slightest clue who was actually responsible. The reveal at the end surprised me because I hadn’t even thought that particular person could have been involved. I had believed that it had to be one of the other, more arrogant and obnoxious dinner attendants.

If you’re looking for a page-turning thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat, After Nightfall is an excellent choice. Well-written and told in an easy style that makes it engrossing and engaging, I found myself unable to stop reading, even for the important things like dinner! This was my first book by A. J. Banner but it definitely won’t be my last. I’ve already added the rest of her books to my list. The trouble now is which one to pick?

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons

July 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (318 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

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As old enemies and once-trusted allies resurface, the architects of a murderous conspiracy will beat a sinister path to Gibson’s doorstep. In discovering the shocking truth about those he thought he knew best, only one thing is certain: those responsible must be made to answer…and pay.

Gibson Vaughn’s having a rough day. After months in solitary confinement, Gibson’s released and dumped into a world he no longer recognizes. Things have changed and not all for the best. Will he be able to put the missing pieces back together before he goes completely off the deep end? Or with the long days in solitary win out in the end?

Gibson is an unusual sort of character. He’s very likable in that you can relate to his struggles with his ex-wife and daughter, plus all the loss he’s suffered prior to the story starting. You can also tell that, despite the fact he’s been used and abused by the government, he wants to do the right thing. However, sometimes he doesn’t always take the best course of action, or even the legal one. But it all factors into his complex personality. His hallucinations of his father and Bear only endeared him to me more. All of his good qualities work together to balance out some of the underhanded and illegal choices he makes during the course of the story. In some situations, he has no other choice.

Cold Harbor was an engaging and exciting thriller. Although I tend to shy away from such overly political and military based novels, the author did an excellent job of balancing out the technical with the rest of the story. I never felt bogged down by things I didn’t understand or didn’t care to know. I did feel lost for most of the novel, however, since I hadn’t read the two in the series beforehand. If you are planning on reading Cold Harbor, I definitely suggest you start at the beginning with The Short Drop. I’m planning on rereading this as soon as I’ve read the others in the series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber

January 26, 2018 By 1 Comment


A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (340 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

It’s always been Mimi Rousseau’s dream to open her own bistro, but it seems beyond her grasp since she’s been chased back home to Nouvelle Vie in Napa Valley by her late husband’s tremendous debt. Until her best friend Jorianne James introduces her to entrepreneur Bryan Baker who invests in promising prospects. Now, working the bistro and inn until she’s able to pay it off and call it her own, Mimi is throwing the inn’s first wedding ever.

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Now it’s up to Mimi to clear her name and get to the bottom of things before the killer turns up the heat again in A Deadly Éclair, the scrumptious series debut by Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber.

When personal and financial troubles force Mimi Rousseau to return home instead of following her dreams, she gets the break of a lifetime – the opportunity to open her own French bistro. Everything is moving forward and her future’s looking bright until a murder disrupts quiet Nouvelle Vie. Who would have thought that a killer lurked in Napa Valley?

Cozy mysteries are a favorite of mine. You always get quirky, lovable characters, a few over-the-top oddballs, and a murder. A Deadly Éclair does not disappoint in any case. Mimi is charming and likable and I loved that she bounced ideas off her goldfish. Her mother is nutty and her best friend is the kind of friend every girl wishes she had. Another enticing aspect to this book for me was that it’s set in and around a French bistro and the adjoining inn. As an avid cook, reading about Mimi’s special of the day and the recipes the author included only gave me more motivation to read this charming novel.

Although I know someone always has to die in a cozy mystery, I was upset with the victim in this first book of the series. Even though you don’t get to know him very well before he’s murdered, I felt devastated by the news. That’s probably Mimi projecting onto me, but I was still surprised that someone I thought would be a major player turned out to be the victim.

A Deadly Éclair has everything a good cozy mystery needs: charming and off the wall characters, a unique setting, and a mystery in need of solving! Plus, assorted hijinks and a hint of a romance along the way to spice things up a bit. Although this is my first novel by the author, it definitely won’t be my last. I’m anxiously awaiting the next in this series. Can’t wait to see what Mimi and her crew get themselves into next.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake

January 25, 2018 By 3 Comments


A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full length (464 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review by: Cholla

After the sudden death of her troubled mother, struggling Harvard grad student Kate Drayton walks out on her lecture—and her entire New England life. Haunted by unanswered questions and her own uncertain future, she flees to Charleston, South Carolina, the place where her parents met, convinced it holds the key to understanding her fractured family and saving her career in academia. Kate is determined to unearth groundbreaking information on a failed 1822 slave revolt—the subject of her mother’s own research.

Nearly two centuries earlier, Tom Russell, a gifted blacksmith and slave, grappled with a terrible choice: arm the uprising spearheaded by members of the fiercely independent African Methodist Episcopal Church or keep his own neck out of the noose and protect the woman he loves.
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Kate’s attempts to discover what drove her mother’s dangerous obsession with Charleston’s tumultuous history are derailed by a horrific massacre in the very same landmark church. In the unimaginable aftermath, Kate discovers a family she never knew existed as the city unites with a powerful message of hope and forgiveness for the world.

A woman on the run from her future runs straight into a past that she hadn’t been expecting. Kate is fleeing the loss of her mother and searching out secrets that were kept from her. However, when she meets a little boy one morning, her world is turned upside down and the secrets kept for so long are about to come unraveled.

Time is a fluid thing and A Tangled Mercy proves this as the story weaves between the past and the present. Written in chapters alternating between present day Charleston, South Carolina and the same city in 1822, a terrible and beautiful story unfolds, bringing the two timelines together. At first, I was so confused, not able to understand how any of it might connect. However, the author is a master at dropping hints and giving clues that you don’t even realize you’ve picked up until it all comes together.

I loved Kate from the very beginning. It’s hard not to like her. She’s smart, she’s sweet, and she’s completely devoted to her family. Losing her mother shakes her world to its foundations and in a way, I think it brings her to herself. Her interactions with Gabe are the sweetest and most fun parts of the story.

Tom Russell’s story is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, this half of the story isn’t anything new or surprising as our history is filled with many such sad tales. However, I hadn’t ever heard about the failed slave revolt that the historical half of this novel focuses around. For me, it was interesting to learn about it in such a first-hand sort of way.

A Tangled Mercy is an informative and enjoyable trip through Charleston, South Carolina. The author paints an amazing picture of both timelines and doesn’t shy away from the less appealing parts of the narrative. The racism and horrors of life are equally represented in both timelines, making it an evocative and haunting story.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tips for Living by Renee Shafransky

January 24, 2018 By 3 Comments


Tips for Living by Renee Shafransky
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (328 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

On the day Nora discovered that her husband, Hugh, had gotten another woman pregnant, she made a vow: I will come back to life no matter how long it takes…
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It’s taken Nora three years. With the help of her best friend, she fled New York City for a small resort town, snagged a job as the advice columnist for the local paper, and is cautiously letting a new man into her life. But when Hugh and his perfect new family move into a house nearby, Nora backslides. Coping with jealousy, humiliation, and resentment again is as hard as she feared. It’s harder still when Hugh and his wife are shot to death in their home.

If only Nora could account for the night of the murders. Unfortunately, her memories have gone as dark as her fantasies of revenge. But Nora’s not the only one with a reason to kill—and as prime suspect in the crime, she’d better be able to prove it.

Betrayal isn’t an easy thing to put behind you. However, it’s the one thing Nora knows she needs to do. Move on and get over her cheating ex-husband’s treachery. Which, she was doing quite well with for the last three years until he – and his new wife and child – arrive in the quiet little town Nora had settled into. Now what was she going to do? Live and let live or take the bull by the horns?

Nora is a fabulous, complex character. She has her ups and downs and it’s all so relatable. Her anger, jealousy, and bitterness all come from an honest place and not just an outlet for revenge. When you add in the murder of her ex-husband and his new wife, things only get more confused for her. It doesn’t help that she’s been suspected of the double murder and, when she realizes she’s started sleepwalking again, can’t honestly rule herself out either.

Tips for Living is a wild, rollercoaster ride of a story. There are infinite twists and turns that I never saw coming. The author’s relaxed voice only makes it that much easier to devour the novel. I loved the little bits from the paper that were included between chapters, gave the book a homier sort of feel. The large case of characters makes you want to visit this little town for the summer and get to know them all. They also all have their secrets, giving you a wide pool of suspects for the murders. I must say, I never once suspected the actual culprit either. If this debut novel is any indication, the author’s next book out to be even more amazing.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

When We Were Worthy by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

November 30, 2017 By 1 Comment


When We Were Worthy by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (278 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

A win brought them together, but loss may tear them apart.
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When the sound of sirens cuts through a cool fall night, the small town of Worthy, Georgia, hurtles from triumph to tragedy. Just hours before, they’d watched the Wildcats score a winning touchdown. Now, they’re faced with the deaths of three cheerleaders—their promising lives cut short in a fatal crash. And the boy in the other car—the only one to survive—is believed to be at fault. As rumors begin to fly and accusations spin, allegiances form and long-kept secrets emerge.

At the center of the whirlwind are four women, each grappling with loss, regret, shame, and lies: Marglyn, a grieving mother; Darcy, whose son had been behind the wheel; Ava, a substitute teacher with a scandalous secret; and Leah, a cheerleader who should have been in the car with her friends, but wasn’t. If the truth comes out, will it bring redemption—or will it be their downfall?

Small towns are known for a variety of things. Community. Support. Gossip. Oh, and the secrets. There are always secrets, right? Worthy is no different and when a tragic accident takes the lives of four of their cheerleaders, all that they thought was hidden rises to the surface. It doesn’t take much to become famous – or infamous – in a small town. What is the truth, how did they get here, and will the town ever recover?

Told in alternating points of view, When We Were Worthy, is an emotional roller coaster of a novel. Margalyn’s conflicted feelings over the loss of her daughter and the chance to help another, less fortunate girl, hit me the hardest. As a mother, I can understand her position and why she did what she did. Darcy’s story is probably the most tragic, and in a lot of ways, I can relate to her as well. Who wouldn’t do everything they could to protect their child? Even when that child is guilty, they’re still yours. Ava and Leah are both compelling characters with their own secrets and, although I don’t necessarily relate to them as well as the others, they deserve to be heard and seen and understood.

Through the eyes of four very different women, we see a town in mourning as well as a town with problems like any others. When We Were Worthy is a story of redemption, of forgiveness, and human nature at work. These women aren’t perfect by any means, but they are who they are and, by the end of the novel, they have come full circle, having examined the best and worst in both themselves and the town surrounding them. No one comes out unscathed, but everyone comes out changed. You just have to hope that the change is for the better.

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