Spinning the Moon

Spinning the Moon by Karen White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

4 stars for In the Shadow of the Moon, 2 stars for Whispers of Goodbye

In the Shadow of the Moon is a time travel novel with the feel of Outlander, although all the details were different. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of Laura Truitt, a grieving mother thrown back in time to Civil War era Georgia, searching for her young daughter who went missing while Laura and her husband were viewing a dual astronomical event: comet plus lunar eclipse. Turns out there was a reason her home seemed strangely familiar the first time she laid eyes on it.... But unlike with Claire and Jamie, Laura takes forever to trust Robert with her story.

Whispers of Goodbye tells of Catherine, summoned by her sister's letter to post-war Louisiana, who discovers upon arrival that her sister has disappeared. She learns of the misery and scandals her self-centered sister has caused, and despite her own grief over losing her son and husband the previous year, falls in love with her niece and brother-in-law. Shortly after her sister's body is found, Catherine marries John, yet harbors doubts about his potential guilt and fears learning the truth.

The novel succeeded in evoking a very Gothic feel, but the pacing was excruciatingly slow, the characterizations wavered and didn't always ring true, and the only plot element I didn't guess WELL in advance was Rebecca's true parentage. 2 stars is probably too generous, but the setting/tone were well done, and the narrator did an excellent job under the circumstances.

For readers' advisors: setting doorway is primary. Some mild sexual content but nothing explicit.

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