I would especially like to thank Outskirts Press, Inc. and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.

In reading this book one learns that life is never static, that when you think you have all your control, everything breaks down and the life you once had goes in unimaginable directions. This book is about loss, healing, estrangement and reconciliation.

It is about the young Kate who is in shock, her missing daughter is in the hospital in San Francisco. It's been ten years since she last saw her as a teenager. And she is dying.

A book read in one sitting, I was so hooked on the story, so moving, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters. I love the author's writing.

This book from Netgalley was such a disappointment. The prologue was interesting and showed some promise, but once Kate was introduced in chapter 1, it was downhill from there. Kate is not very likable, judgmental, and a bit dense. She continually shares too much information with some people, and not enough with the ones who can actually help. She is closed off and unwilling to share herself with others, and seems unable to access her own emotions without blaming others or providing ulterior motives for their actions. From the start, it is obvious that she should not be seeking Glory’s father, but she is obstinate, despite warnings from others. In fact, she retorts: "I'm well aware that if I found her father, he could take her away, and I might never see her again. Nevertheless, I feel Glory's father should know where she is, that he has a right to be a part of her life if he wants to be. And I don't know that he was abusive or that Ally was trying to get away from him. I don't know why Ally did what she did. I just don't think I should take anything for granted. I think both Glory and I will be better off knowing the truth instead of hiding from it."

I think part of the problem is that this book tried to be too many things. It could have just been a mystery/thriller, but the author decided to throw in some vague romance as well as try to turn it into literary fiction. Discussions of religion were perfunctory—the type of thing you might expect from college students just testing out their beliefs. Naturally, there is some discussion of cults, but this doesn’t dissuade Kate from trying to locate Glory’s father. As a main character, Kate is annoying and not very sympathetic. Although I cared about Glory, probably simply because she was a child, I didn’t much care about anyone else. Characters were two-dimensional and insignificant. It was all about Kate, and I began to understand why Ally got the hell out of there the moment she could. Also, and this is just one more reason to dislike this book, there were way too many dangling particles. The ending was abrupt and not in the least edifying. I kept trying to turn the page, but it was an ebook and clearly, there wasn’t any more to it. I’m giving this two stars because it was readable, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Very well written book on a difficult subject. It is not funny or entertaining, but very informative and interesting. It was not easy to read during the virus epidemic.

This is a wonderful debute. Kate get a call that her daughter Ally is in hospital on the otherside of the country. She haven't seen her daughter in 10 years. Of course Kate drops everything and goes to see her. Not everything goes as she thought it would and the events lead to a search about what happened. The prose is beautiful and the characters feel like real people. There were a lot of twist and turns that kept the story interesting. The ending came too sudden and it felt like it left me hanging.

My sincere thanks to Outskirts Press, NetGalley and Patricia Hamilton Shook for the chance to read and review Seeking Glory. In this time of Pandemic house arrest, it was wonderful to have and enjoy a book as interesting and fast-paced as Seeking Glory. I simply devoured it.

Glory is a four year old whose mother, Ally, has died of sepsis. She is unable or unwilling to speak when she is placed with her grandmother, Kate. Kate, the owner of a gallery and shop on Cape Cod, had been summoned to a San Francisco Hospital by a social worker to take custody of Glory.

Kate brings the child back with her to the Cape and integrates her into her life there. She seeks out psychological help for the silent Glory.

It is clear that the author knows her stuff. When Kate takes her to a therapist she uses puppet play with the mute child to determine what has caused her unwillingness to talk, a usual method in such cases.

Perhaps less authentic is the depiction of Glory less as a severely traumatized child than an unbelievably easy and well-behaved one. Be that as it may, the reader can relate to both Kate and Glory. In Kate's quest to find the backstory of Ally's fate and Glory's trauma, she successfully plays detective to get answers.

Very gripping and readable, Seeking Glory is worth reading even when you are not quarantined. My sincere thanks to Outskirts Press, NetGalley and Patricia Hamilton Shook for the chance to read and review Seeking Glory. In this time of Pandemic house arrest, it was wonderful to have and enjoy a book as interesting and fast-paced as Seeking Glory. I simply devoured it.

Glory is a four year old whose mother, Ally, has died of sepsis. She is unable or unwilling to speak when she is placed with her grandmother, Kate. Kate, the owner of a gallery and shop on Cape Cod, had been summoned to a San Francisco Hospital by a social worker to take custody of Glory.

Kate brings the child back with her to the Cape and integrates her into her life there. She seeks out psychological help for the silent Glory.

It is clear that the author knows her stuff. When Kate takes her to a therapist she uses puppet play with the mute child to determine what has caused her unwillingness to talk, a usual method in such cases.

Perhaps less authentic is the depiction of Glory less as a severely traumatized child than an unbelievably easy and well-behaved one. Be that as it may, the reader can relate to both Kate and Glory. In Kate's quest to find the backstory of Ally's fate and Glory's trauma, she successfully plays detective to get answers.

Very gripping and readable, Seeking Glory is worth reading even when you are not quarantined. My sincere thanks to Outskirts Press, NetGalley and Patricia Hamilton Shook for the chance to read and review Seeking Glory. In this time of Pandemic house arrest, it was wonderful to have and enjoy a book as interesting and fast-paced as Seeking Glory. I simply devoured it.

Glory is a four year old whose mother, Ally, has died of sepsis. She is unable or unwilling to speak when she is placed with her grandmother, Kate. Kate, the owner of a gallery and shop on Cape Cod, had been summoned to a San Francisco Hospital by a social worker to take custody of Glory.

Kate brings the child back with her to the Cape and integrates her into her life there. She seeks out psychological help for the silent Glory.

It is clear that the author knows her stuff. When Kate takes her to a therapist she uses puppet play with the mute child to determine what has caused her unwillingness to talk, a usual method in such cases.

Perhaps less authentic is the depiction of Glory less as a severely traumatized child than an unbelievably easy and well-behaved one. Be that as it may, the reader can relate to both Kate and Glory. In Kate's quest to find the backstory of Ally's fate and Glory's trauma, she successfully plays detective to get answers.

Very gripping and readable, Seeking Glory is worth reading even when you are not quarantined. My sincere thanks to Outskirts Press, NetGalley and Patricia Hamilton Shook for the chance to read and review Seeking Glory. In this time of Pandemic house arrest, it was wonderful to have and enjoy a book as interesting and fast-paced as Seeking Glory. I simply devoured it.

Glory is a four year old whose mother, Ally, has died of sepsis. She is unable or unwilling to speak when she is placed with her grandmother, Kate. Kate, the owner of a gallery and shop on Cape Cod, had been summoned to a San Francisco Hospital by a social worker to take custody of Glory.

Kate brings the child back with her to the Cape and integrates her into her life there. She seeks out psychological help for the silent Glory.

It is clear that the author knows her stuff. When Kate takes her to a therapist she uses puppet play with the mute child to determine what has caused her unwillingness to talk, a usual method in such cases.

Perhaps less authentic is the depiction of Glory less as a severely traumatized child than an unbelievably easy and well-behaved one. Be that as it may, the reader can relate to both Kate and Glory. In Kate's quest to find the backstory of Ally's fate and Glory's trauma, she successfully plays detective to get answers.

Very gripping and readable, Seeking Glory is worth reading even when you are not quarantined.

When Kate receives a call from a hospital  on the other side of the country that her estranged daughter has been admitted and is asking for her, she drops everything and immediately flies out to San Francisco.  There's no denying that she hopes to finally heal the rift between them.

Unfortunately, Kate arrives at her daughter's bedside just moments before she dies, her last word "Glory".

With the irrevocable loss of her daughter, Kate finds a troubled granddaughter.  Picking up the meagre pieces of the life Glory and her mother shared, Kate is faced with more questions than than answers.  But the indisputable truth is that perhaps Kate needs Glory as much as or maybe more than, Glory needs her grandmother.

Interestingly, the picture Shook paints of Kate isn't one that's sympathetic to me.  Much as I'm usually predisposed to like the main character in a novel, liking Kate didn't come automatically.  She doesn't quite trust her best friend and business partner to run their shop well without her.  Twenty years later, she still has no real friends in the town she moved herself and Ally to in her bid to start fresh after a divorce. 

But, faced with the death of her estranged only daughter, and finding herself with a four year old granddaughter, Kate is determined to find out where Ally was and what happened to her in the ten years between leaving her home in anger, and Kate finding herself with a troubled four year old who needs her now.

Shook's story is engrossing.  As Kate sets out to find the truth, she is determined to help her granddaughter.  It is perhaps a chance to redeem herself for what she sees as her failure with her own daughter.

I spent the day in company of this book.  I simply could not stop reading till I too knew Ally's story and that Glory would be safe.  I found the ending a bit open though.  There are many unanswered questions still, though the bigger mystery is resolved.  I'm not sure I'm happy with the way the story simply stopped.  I'm hoping there will be a sequel. 

[Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.]

Haunting Story, Fantastic Ending
This is a great story. It could be called women's fiction. The plot is haunting in a heartache sort of way. I could put myself in the position of so many of the characters in the story. I am still spinning from the surprise ending. There are so many places in the book that I just wanted to cry. It would make a great movie. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Outskirts Press for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own. Kate receives a phone call about her daughter Ally, whom she has not seen for ten years. Ally is in the hospital, and unfortunately she dies. Kate is left with her granddaughter, Glory, who does not speak. So begins Kate's quest to find out what her daughter has been doing the last ten years and why didn't she come home or contact her family. I loved this story-it was very well written and hooked me right from the beginning. I highly recommend this book! You are in for a treat!.