Vanguard of Hope by Kathy Steinemann

Pages: 349

Genre:  Adult, Mystery

Source:  I received a review copy

From Goodreads:

ALTERNATIVE HISTORY:

LISETVILLE, 1890 -- Murders are committed; homes are burned; family secrets are buried; an unexpected romance complicates lives. Amid the mystery and violence, a vigilante brigade emerges to administer justice.

Flowing through the intrigue and drama is a dark undercurrent that will touch your heart as you empathize with the victim.

My Thoughts:

This was not like a lot of the books I read.  This book was told through diary or journal entries.  Hope, the main character is a victim of rape by her father.  This causes her to have difficulty with relationships within her own family and friends.  She is married to Peter, a doctor.  Thinking he doesn’t love her, she is drawn to a former slave.  While her husband is away the two have an affair and she ends up pregnant.  She and her husband work things out.  In the meantime the Sapphire Brigade goes about exacting justice upon those who prey upon women and young girls.  There seemed to be several storylines going through this at one time.  After Hope’s husband dies she marries once again. The ending left an opening for the second book in the series.  I really wanted to like this a lot.  It is not that it was a bad book, far from it.  It was just not something I really enjoyed for personal reasons.  I am sure there are many out there who would enjoy this book and I recommend they give it a try.