Saturday, May 24, 2025

Echoes Among the Stones by Jaime Jo Wright Book Review


 

Mill Creek, Wisconsin. The year 1946. We meet Imogene and her sister Hazel along with their two brothers, Chet and Ivan. Fast forward to present day Mill Creek, Wisconsin, when we meet Aggie (Agnes) and Mumsie. We all need a Mumsie … once we get to know her. As it turns out, Mumsie turned out to be Imogene of the year 1946. Present day we also meet Collin, an archaeologist, who was assigned to help re-establish a flooded cemetery. A cemetery that held secrets that no one was expecting.

Back in 1946, we also meet Ollie and the Pickett family (Sam, the brother; Ida, the sister). This was a time when all ‘the boys’ came back from the war and were forever changed, which added an element to the personality of the characters back in 1946. In words alone, the author managed to elevate their voices, their particular quirks.

The only reason Aggie returned home was because Mumsie sent her a note that was not 100 percent truthful and since Aggie had nothing left, back home she went. Little did she know what she would stumble onto in her new ‘career’ as the cemetery secretary.

Favorite quote: “She was like a burnt marshmallow that once had been sweet but had come too close to the fire and was left crispy and unwanted.”

To me, there was quite a bit of humor interlaced among the stories told throughout these pages, the author’s personality really shining through. I also appreciated the fact that the flooded-out graveyard very slowly let out its secrets so some answers of long ago could be unburied and grieved properly, almost as if Hazel was directing things from above, to finally let Imogene (Mumsie) get the peace in life she so richly deserved. The love interests of 1946 and present day also kept me highly entertained as well. It is no wonder that this author is one of my favorite historical fiction writers. She has a way of telling a story that holds my interest and keeps me turning pages.

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