Deputy Miles Carr has his hands full trying to keep the peace in Dodge City and find a local shopkeeper’s killer. When his inquiries lead him to the door of Addie Reid’s photography studio, he finds himself more than a little distracted. Does this beauty hold the clue to the killer’s identity?
I love it when I read a book and come away smarter. I appreciate all the research that had to go into writing this book. Photography back in the day was not remotely like it is now. It was somewhat dangerous, even. (Read Erica's guest post on Keli Gwyn's blog for more info.) But it was just one of these areas that I knew nothing about, and Erica's book might as well be an extremely exciting Wikipedia article (and no, this is not written sarcastically), spruced up with romance and intrigue to boot. GOOD STUFF.
Before I put on my therapist hat, I have to say that my favorite line in the whole book is from a secondary character, Jonas Spooner, who gets his own love story that is quite satisfying to the reader. Jonas is speaking to Miles about a questionable guy hanging around Fran, the girl he likes.
"Vin's been hanging around Fran a lot. She's fascinated with him. But she wouldn't take a twenty-four-carat suggestion from me right now, so I can't warn her off." (italics mine)
Isn't that awesome? Just wanted to share.
Therapist cap on now, I read this book thinking of how the past can follow us around like the dirty cloud surrounding Pigpen in Charlie Brown. We are driven to do things or not do things based on our past experiences. The two main characters are plagued by their former associations and choices, so much so that they nearly miss a different and more excellent way.
I believe anyone reading this book can relate to that. I know the clients in my office can. They begin to see themselves not as Christ sees them, but as they think they should be seen. Of course, it's not nearly as high an opinion. It's human nature to protect ourselves from future hurt based on ones from the past, but sometimes God opens adventurous doors that we'd never step through on our own, and it's through those doors that we find healing.
This was a fun book to get lost in, and, like I mentioned, you'll learn a lot about photography back in the day. I was up till the wee hours a few nights...thanks a lot, Erica!
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Let's analyze: Do you have any old photographs from forever ago? Would you be interested in learning more about how those photographs were created?
