In the Summer of 1975, 24 year old Mo Lumen left his home in Virginia for a job at Bryant College in Rhode Island.  Mo's parents are both dead, he has a developmental disability that has left him with the intellect of an eleven year old and  his brother is being adopted by a foster family that has exiled him.  A family friend set up Mo with the landscaping position to make sure he would be well taken care of.  Mo sets off on his journey with an open mind, but without completely understanding the events that led to his departure.  Once he gets to Bryant College, Mo finds solace in his job outdoors, he finds friends among his colleagues and housemates.  However, soon after Mo's arrival, a series of missing girls and young women found murdered set the campus on alert.  Mo is aware of the killings, but much more focused on the Red Sox games.  FBI Chief Investigator Francis Palmer has just come off tracking Ted Bundy when he is altered to the string of murders in Rhode Island. Palmer's investigation places him directly in the path of Mo, but something seems off.  


A Disturbing Nature is a slow burning historical mystery.  The writing is detailed, but not boring, I didn't lose interest at any point within the story.  Carefully crafted hints are dropped throughout the narrative. With shorter chapters that alternate between Mo and Palmer, the pace of the story is kept up and details are divulged in slivers, a bit at a time.  Through the viewpoints of Mo and Palmer there is an intense character development and understanding.  I was pulled into Mo's narrative by his gentle nature and keen observations of the world around him.  As Mo's story unfolded, the sense of place and time intensified as Mo became aware of his father's racism, the school that said he wouldn't progress any further and the children and adults that belittled him.  Despite Mo's limitations, his ability to overcome and appreciate what he has is apparent.  Palmer's point of view took me a little more time to get into as he moved from the Ted Bundy case to the Pastoral Predator in Rhode Island.  I do wish Mo and Palmer's stories would have connected a little earlier as this is when the suspense really picked up.  The ending has several twists, turns and surprises and left me wanting more.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​Secret Service Agents Merritt and Argent are tasked by President Grant to retrieve his goddaughter, Mary Warner from her farm in Kentucky and bring her to Washington D.C. This seems like an easy task after their recent bust of a counterfeiting ring in Cincinnati. However, once Merritt and Argent arrive at that Warner farm, they find a young woman trying to keep the farm afloat after the death of the rest of her family.  Mary Warner is still reeling in grief.  Her actions and mannerisms don't reflect those of a young woman at the time.  She is very hesitant to leave her homestead and travel by train.  Mary is also very good at undermining any of Merritt and Argents' rules.  What should be an easy three-day train journey soon turns into a multi-week adventure as Mary's behavior challenges them and the Agents are pulled back into the counterfeiting trial.


With each chapter representing one day in Mary Warner's journey from Kentucky to Washington, One April After the War, provides a highly detailed account of Mary, Merritt and Argent's adventure.  Mary's circumstance and personality pulled me in from the beginning as Merritt and Warner arrived at her home to find everything out of the ordinary.  I liked that Mary challenged the Agents, showed her independence and demanded what she needed for her comfort while traveling. I was intrigued by her family's situation and the methods that Mary was using to cope with her grief as well as run the farm.  This book only covers half the journey and leads to interesting developments in the relationship between Mary, Merritt and Argent.  It seems like the Agents begin to figure out that Mary is a strong, independent, young women only to increasingly treat her like a prisoner.  The mystery of why Mary is being shipped halfway across the country to meet with the President becomes secondary to the mystery of why someone is out to get Agents Merritt and Argent at the end of the book.  With that, I'd love to finish Mary's adventure in the second book where she will hopefully make it to Washington D.C.


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.