Where Fortune Lies
by James Short
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Pub Date 26 Apr 2019 | Archive Date 20 Oct 2020
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Description
The townspeople of Solvidado regretted the senseless loss of life when the lovers, Thomas and Penelope, drove their wagon over the cliff to escape pursuers, but not nearly so much as the disappearance of the gold they had stolen. Ever since the tragedy, treasure hunters have searched Solvidado and its environs for the hidden gold.
A hundred years later in a hotel, April, a new bride, prepares to take her own life. Her husband, Philip, just stormed out of the room in a rage. Ravela, a demon from April’s past, has reappeared and convinced her that the only cure for her hopelessness is death. But then Aquino, a cat burglar, breaks into the bridal suite and interrupts her preparations. He persuades April to delay her suicide for the night. He has the strange idea that she is uniquely able to help him find the treasure by reliving the events leading up to the pursuit over the cliff. They exit the hotel off the third story balcony.
Meanwhile Philip has met Jacinto, the ghost of a Portuguese undertaker, a witness to the tragedy, who assures him the gold is where an honest person would hide it. Jacinto offers to guide him through Solvidado and narrate the story of Thomas while Philip tries to solve the riddle.
April and Philip each set off on harrowing nighttime journeys that take them into the previous century where they encounter the unusual love affair between Thomas, a man who lives well but has no apparent source of income, and Penelope, a young woman who always wears a veil in public . April and Philip each discover in their time travel different pieces of the puzzle of the missing gold that can only be made sense of if they reunite. Among the pieces they have to put together are a child lost in Paris, a master who is a servant, a locked door to a cold room, a rancher with a scarred lip out for revenge, a high-stakes poker game for the hand of a young woman, a foggy night, a burning wagon, a Portuguese undertaker and his pig.
However, before the mystery is solved and the treasure discovered, April must first teeter on the edge of the same cliff and wrestle with her demon Ravela.
Advance Praise
"Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020
I enjoyed this book a great deal. Interesting characters that are well developed and a plot that kept my interest thru the entire book. Just a great use of language in all aspects - dialog, descriptions, etc. Hope to see more from James Short"
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781095804865 |
| PRICE | US$0.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Laura F, Reviewer
While I really enjoyed the premise for this story as well as the characters, I cannot give it 5 stars because there were parts that were hard to understand and I was forced to reread much of the chapters again to get a better understanding. The story itself is great and is told in two different time frames which may be why it was harder to keep up with. Thomas and Penelope have run their buggy off of a cliff after having been accused of stealing gold by townspeople. The loss of their lives caused trauma to the town and haunted them afterwards. Fast forward a hundred years and we meet April who is a new bride who has demons from her past and she feels the demons are telling her to take her own life. Just as she is preparing to do so, a burglar interrupts and talks her out of it. Insisting that they could go find the lost gold that went off the cliff with Thomas and Penelope. The character of April was a little much to comprehend but once the story got going it actually became a better read.
Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review..
Account D, Reviewer
i really enjoyed reading this book, it had what I was looking for in a mystery novel and a historical novel. I enjoyed the time period chosen and enjoyed the characters.
Michelle K, Reviewer
Where Fortune Lies
by James Short
BooksGoSocial
Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 26 Apr 2019
I am reviewing a copy of Where Fortune Lies through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:
In the town of Solvidado, the townspeople regretted the senseless loss of life when the lovers, Thomas and Penelope, drove their wagon over the cliff to escape pursuers, but what they regretted even more was the disappearance of the Gold, the couple had stolen. Since the tragedy a century prior treasure hunters have searched Solvidado and its environs for the hidden gold.
fast forward a hundred years later, in a hotel room, April, A new bride, is preparing to take her own life, her husband Phillip had just stormed out of the room in a rage. Ravela, a demon from April’s past has once again shown up, this time convincing her that the only cure for her hopeless feeling is to kill herself. But after Aquino a cat burglar, breaks into the bridal suite and interrupts her preparations. Aquino persuades April to delay her suicide for the night. He has this strange idea that she, and she alone is uniquely able to help him find the treasure by reliving the events leading up to the pursuit over the cliff. They exit the hotel off the third story balcony.
In the Meantime Jacinto has met the ghost of a Portuguese undertaker, a witness to the tragedy, he assures him that the treasure is hidden where an honest person would change it. Jacinto then offers to guide him through Solvidado and narrate the story of Thomas while Philip tries to solve the riddle.
April and Phillip are then taken on a nighttime journey that takes them to the previous century, they encounter the unusual love affair between Thomas, a man who lives well but has no apparent source of income, and Penelope, a young woman who always wears a veil in public. They each find different pieces of their puzzle they have to put together are a child lost in Paris, a master who is a servant, a locked door to a cold room, a rancher with a scarred lip out for revenge, a high-stakes poker game for the hand of a young woman, a foggy night, a burning wagon, a Portuguese undertaker and his pig.
Before the mystery is solved and the treasure discovered. April soon finds herself on the edge of the same cliff, the couple drove a hundred years ago, wrestling with her demon Ravela. Will she survive?
I give Where Fortune Lies five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
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