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Jess McConkey
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The Widows of Braxton County: A Novel (P.S.) Kindle Edition

by Jess McConkey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 65 ratings
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Widows of Braxton County by Jess McConkey is a haunting and suspenseful novel about family secrets and how well we really know the people we love.
 
Kate is looking forward to starting a new life with her new husband, Joseph Krause. She leaves the big city and moves with him to the Iowa farm that has been in his family for more than 140 years.
 
Instead of something out of Country Living, Kate finds life on the farm a struggle. She hears gossip from the unfriendly neighbors about the connection between the Krause family and a mysterious death decades before.
 
As the past creeps into Kate’s present, she’s caught in a web of dangerous, unexplainable events.
 
Jess McConkey, who is also published under the pseudonym Shirley Damsgaard, is an award-winning writer of short fiction.

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  1. Part of series
    P.S.
  2. Print length
    366 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  6. Publication date
    July 23, 2013
  7. File size
    3199 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
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  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Haunting, mysterious, and subtly romantic, this debut under Shirley Damsgaard’s psuedonym is inspirational and full of hope.” — RTBookreviews.com

“A riveting ride that will start your blood racing from the first line and keep you guessing until the last.” — Kris Neri, author of Revenge for Old Time's Sake

“Part mystery, part ghost story, Love Lies Bleeding takes readers on a spin-tingling trip into a disturbed mind and the lives of two women who must face their greatest fears--or die trying.” — Casey Daniels, author of A Hard Day's Fright

From the Back Cover

Family secrets can bind and destroy

Kate is ready to put her nomadic, city-dwelling past behind her when she marries Joe Krause and moves with him to the Iowa farm that has been in his family for more than 140 years. But life on the farm isn't quite as idyllic as she'd hoped. It's filled with chores, judgmental neighbors, and her mother-in-law, who—unbeknownst to Kate until after the wedding—will be living with them.

As Kate struggles to find her place in the small farming community, she begins to realize that her husband and his family are not who she thought they were. According to town gossip, the Krause family harbors a long-kept secret about a mysterious death that haunts Kate as a dangerous, unexplainable chain of events begins.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009R4NK4I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (July 23, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 23, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3199 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 366 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 65 ratings

About the author

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Jess McConkey

Jess McConkey

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Jess McConkey aka Shirley Damsgaard is an award-winning writer of short fiction, the Abby and Ophelia series, and Love Lies Bleeding. She lives in a small Iowa town, where she served as postmaster for more than twenty years.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
65 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

C Quilts
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
I thought it was a great book! Engaging, interesting, well paced - there wasn't anything I didn't like about it. Since the other reviewers have summed it up so well, I'm just chiming in to add it is a great read, well worth it!
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Stephanie Ward
4.0 out of 5 stars The Widows of Braxton County: A Novel
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2013
'The Widows of Braxton County' is a captivating novel that follows the Krause family and the tragedies that have befallen them. The story is told in alternating time periods - parts are set in modern times while the others are set back in the 1800s. The book tells the heartbreaking stories of two women - Hannah and Kate - who marry into the Krause family without fully understanding what they're getting into. We get to see a glimpse of their daily lives on the family farm as well as the way that the Krause men treat them. Both women struggle to fit into a farming community that doesn't fully accept them and a family who has secrets far darker than anyone imagined.

This was a compelling mystery novel that was told in a smooth, lyrical way that had me totally engrossed within the first couple of pages. The story is divided between two time periods - the present day and the 1800s - and we get to see the lives of two women who have married into the Krause family. Although they are a century apart, their lives are eerily similar. I loved getting to know characters from both periods - I thought it was interesting to see each of their personalities and how much they seemed to have in common. All the characters were well written with distinct personalities and traits, which made them realistic and believable. The story is a mystery that goes back several generation in the Krause family and there are so many different layers to the story that I fully enjoyed trying to figure out the family's dark secrets and solve the mystery of what was really happening. The author added in lots of great twists and turns that I didn't see coming, which I love when it comes to mystery novels. On top of being namely a mystery, the book deals with deep topics that affect everyone - love, betrayal, family, grief, secrets and even the subject of domestic abuse. These topics added a whole new layer to the book that I really thought gave it depth and dimension. The writing was perfectly paced with vivid descriptions and details - I could practically shut my eyes and see myself alongside the characters as the plot played out. Overall, this was a beautifully written novel with interesting characters, and a fascinating plot. Highly recommended for fans of mysteries and general fiction!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
7 people found this helpful
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Jen
5.0 out of 5 stars The Widows of Braxton Country
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2014
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This is a very interesting and suspenseful book. It has many twists and turns in it and it will keep you on your toes and still you will be surprised at the end. If you like mysteries you will like this book.
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Kristie Avila
3.0 out of 5 stars Good but author needs more character detail
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
The story was good, suspenseful and kept me reading. But the characters weren't developed enough to make me identify with any of them. Also, details were brought up randomly, like; no cell phones are mentioned until 40% into the book and a few times before that, I thought why don't they just call or text? and We don't find out her profession until half way through the book, I would have liked to have gotten a picture of her life before and knowing what her profession was sooner would have helped.
One person found this helpful
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Kim Capstick
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016
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Great author - Love all her books - just wish she would have continued the Ophelia and Abby series
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Darlene @ Peeking Between the Pages
4.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Tale
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2013
The Widows of Braxton County by Jess McConkey is a haunting tale of deeply buried family secrets that leave us wondering if the sins of the father do, in fact, haunt the generations to come after. I really enjoyed this novel of generations past and present and the ghostly feel it had about it. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Coleen Marlo and she does a fantastic job. When I first started listening I wasn’t sure I was going to like her but it wasn’t long before I did and I’m sure that her telling of the story led to my enjoyment of it. She has that perfect tone of voice to lend to the mysterious and haunting quality of the novel.

Kate has left the city to join her husband Joseph on his family farm in Iowa which has been in his family for 140 years. Having felt suffocated for years living with her grandmother she’s anxious to make a life in her own home. Her excitement lasts only long enough to learn that her mother-in-law will also be living with them. Needless to say she’s not happy and even more so as she sees how overbearing her mother-in-law can be.

As Kate struggles to fit in with her mother-in-law and the community she finds that people are not all that warm towards the Krause family. More than that though is her shock at the shift in her husbands personality. Where he had been kind and caring he is now angry and becoming increasingly abusive. After a few instances Kate leaves to stay with a neighbour and see if she and Joseph can’t work out these issues. In the meantime she begins volunteering at a woman’s shelter and this opens her eyes even further.

All the while we are given glimpses into the past in the 1800′s where we meet Hannah who is also married to a Krause. Whereas Kate has somewhere to escape to, Hannah doesn’t. What links the two women together is two murders with disturbing similarities except that one occurred back in the 1800′s and one is in the present and is threatening to spiral Kate’s life completely out of her control.

Once again I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it, especially the audio version which I listened to. I have a fondness for books that go from the past to the present and especially books full of dark family secrets!
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Ginny
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2013
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The parallel stories were very interesting as well as captivating. They kept your interest making you want to keep reading and not put the book down.
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Top reviews from other countries

jeanne adamek
4.0 out of 5 stars A good story
Reviewed in Germany on January 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
The story really flowed. Contrary other opinions, I did not find Kate as weak, but in a situation that surprised her and because she really loved her husband she really tried her hardest to find solutions to what was going on.

I also like the character of Hannah. Unlike many, I did not find the ending surprising. I thought that the novel was well written, and reading the story was a experience I enjoyed.
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