Having loved both What the Wind Knows and Where the Lost Wander it was a no brainer for me to ask for this one from NetGalley. Both of Amy Harmon's other books were five star reads for me. I am so pleased to be able to say "Oh how I love Amy Harmon's writing." She managed to make a book about about grizzly murders flow and sound so beautifully, that is a testament to just how good she is. This story really ticks a lot of boxes as is isn't just about the murders. It also adds a touch of magic and a bit of romance into the mix as well as being historical fiction.

I loved that this was also based on a true story and that it included the ever famous and popular Eliot Ness. This fact made the characters feel real and truly believable to me. But I must warn future readers that this story is gruesome in parts so it isn't for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy a good serial killer mystery, with some amazing writing, this book is definitely for you. All. The. Stars.

Heartfelt story, and I really liked the main characters of Michael and Dani and how they learned how to live and risk. Crazy how the events were based on a real historical murder mystery of the Kingsbury Run Butcher, with so many real details.

I loved so many of the statements of how difficult it is to be known - vulnerability is such hard and frightening thing and the relationship between Michael and Dani portrayed that excellently. I loved how Dani said what she felt without any manipulating, hiding or fear, and how Michael had to learn to do the same. The sixth-sense/science fiction aspect was a little odd for me but I didn’t hate it. It added some layers to the book of what ifs to how things are seen and felt.

Great historical fiction makes you go and learn more about it from other accounts, and this book did exactly that. I stopped multiple times to Google and read the real accounts and details because I’d never heard of it. Ms Harmon did an excellent job at wrapping up the unknown ending with a plausible outcome.

Thanks to Netgalley for and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well well well. What an interesting book. This one took me completely by surprise! Did I foresee myself staying up until 2am to finish this? No. No I did not. But it did in fact happen.

Once I started this book…I could NOT stop. It is compulsively readable. Here are some things about this book that I appreciated:
-grumpy/sunshine romance YEP thank you!! ALWAYS.
-This book is based on real life events! (With creative liberties of course) I honestly didn’t know that until the afterword from the author. Made it all the more chilling.
-I cannot for the life of me figure out what genre to classify this. I guess mostly historical fiction…but also it was largely a romance! And a little dabble of fantasy/magical realism (?) thrown in there. And also true crime. And thriller. I can get down with a book that is doing it all and doing it well.
-I feel like she really got the 1930s vibes down, from the way the characters dressed and talked to the pacing and interactions of the romance…I felt transported.

Major props to this author. I felt like she took what could have been a pretty intense storyline and made it…fun??? Like I was having a genuinely pleasant time reading about an undercover cop and a cute seamstress falling in love with a dash of serial killer on the loose.

My main critique is that the character development fell a littttttle bit flat for my personal taste. But I think the author had SO much going on with the plot that it would have been hard to do both thoroughly. But even so, the two MCs were really lovable! Malone’s character was the most fleshed out; his backstory, motivations and fears were the most realistic to me.

Overall a super solid book. Read if you’re into serial killer documentaries, like the grumpy/sunshine trope, or really vibe with Peaky Blinders.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The unknown beloved - By Amy Harmon

A peculiar and intriguing story!

I want to start this review saying that of all Amy's books, this is definitely the most unusual, and yet, it has the author's mark with poetry, reflexions about life (and in this case, death) and, of course, a beautiful and well developed characters story, all combined with misterious and peculiar gifts and a series of crimes in the late 30's city of Cleveland as a background.

The latest release of Amy brings to Us the narrative of Dani Flanagan, an east europpean descendent girl who faces tragedy of her parents death in an early age and has to deal with a life as an orphan in another city with her aunts. But She's not an average girl, cause a gift of seeing and knowing things by touching clothes can tell her about the clothing owner's life, but only in disconnected pieces, and also specially if there's dead involved. That draws the attention of Young Michael Malone, a patrolman who was one of the cops in charge of Dani's parents murder case. He himself has a lot of life burdens to bear being a cop, but he never forgets about little Dani.

Almost two decades late, a misterious case led Mr. Malone back to the same city where A lovely young woman Dani is living now, and happens to be exactly the place where murders are happening without any solving, so Malone end being a boarder at Dani's house, bringing them close again. And Perhaps, her gifts may be helpful to Malone's job, but dangerous for his dormant and broken heart.

Mixing ficctional and factual happenings, Amy pleases Us with another historical narrative, but now with a plus of misterious police cases, and an intriguing search to find the killer. I loved the premise and the paranormal vibe that the book has, since Dani has a gift that is not common, but is useful to help solve the case. The characters are well built and created, so the atmosphere found in the story is mistic and vintage as well. And obviously, the slow burn romance is great made, altough don't be the highlight of the story, In my opinion, and that shows a slightly difference from others Amy's books. But don't get me wrong. It's not bad. Indeed, is a good changing because it's another prove to the reader that the author can swimm through several genres and nailed it with honor in the making.

In "The unknown beloved" the message to get Us reflecting about it comes stronger than the characters dilemma, that one more precisely being the process of living and grieving, the paradox about life and death and everything in between and How many times human beings throws away average people's stories in the dark of the omission and oblivion. it has the comprehension that a lot of people use to live lonely lives without anyone who cares to them, and if this is in fact a good way to live a life or if they had a choice, firstly. futhermore, how the concept of heroes and villains, and every pain, acts of heroism and acts of horror can remain still in the unknown. And because of that realization, my negative point to this book- that being the fact of the romance not being the most important element, and also a little disconnection with the male character that never have happened in the other books- is demolished byt this sense of meaning from this story.

So, one more time I Highly recommend this masterpiece of a book to detective story lovers who likes a good mistery case to be solve, with a pinch of vintage supernatural touch, and a true story all mixed into one good odd compelling narrative.
4,5/5 stars

Thank You netgalley for the advanced ARC !

Don’t let the cover of this book deceive you. The Unknown Beloved is a gripping true crime mystery that will have you turning the pages as you are immersed in the hunt for a notorious serial killer.

Dani, 10 years old, comes home to find the police at her house and her parents brutally murdered. Malone, one of the officers on the case, has an inkling that things aren’t what they appear to be but he is quickly dismissed by senior officers. Malone notices that there is something special about Dani, she has a gift and it makes him uneasy. How is it possible that she knows the things she knows? Fast forward 15 years, Malone is put on the case of a serial killer who has managed to evade the police for over 2 years. Fate leads him back to Dani and so begins their mission to catch a serial killer. Dani’s rare gift may be the exactly what is needed to crack the case and Malone may be exactly what Dani needs!

Incredible as always @amy.harmon.author ! 🥰 Thank you to @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. ❤️

#bookadoration #bookstagram #canadianbookstagram #theunknownbeloved #amyharmon #netgalley #lakeunionpublishing #lakeunionauthors

WOW! Well that was just magnificent! Amy Harmon is an exceptional writer and story teller and The Unknown Beloved did not disappoint! This story has elements of true crime, mystery, thriller, family dynamics, discovering ones true self, super powers, and best of all, a great love story! I loved Dani and Michael, I was captivated by them both right from the beginning. Dani's mysterious talent is like nothing I've read about before and never felt cheesy or put-on. Michael has so many layers and it was interesting watching him peel those back throughout the story. I loved the aunts too, they made me laugh out loud a couple of times! Fabulous book I could not put down. It's all based on true events which of course made it even more intriguing! Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Amy Harmon just has a magical way of storytelling. It is evident that she takes inspiration from the world around her, sprinkles in believable otherworldly traits, and weaves true events from history into a thing of beauty. This book is no exception!

An ex-cop turned private investigator is unexpectedly reunited with an intriguing woman from his past. She was only a girl then and he met her in the wake of a tragedy, but now she's grown and has a hidden talent that may help him solve some gruesome murders. But at what cost? The killer is still out there...

This was a trying time in our country full of mob style crime, politics, and an economy that was at rock bottom and this book reflects all of it. Yet the humanity and hope that I've come to expect from Amy Harmon's books shines in The Unknown Beloved.

I love knowing I will actually learn something about history from these works of historical fiction. My excitement to get to the author's notes to find out what was fact and what was storytelling builds up until the very end. She has a special knack for taking very heavy content and making it bearable to read without tiptoeing around the topic. At this point I do not need to read the blurb to know if I want to pick up her next book.

This was absolutely AMAZING! 👏 Amy is one of my absolute favs and I love how all her books are different but still packed with the most amazing characters, emotion, writing and history!

This one was a mystery of a murderer on the loose set in Cleveland in the 1930s and it was FASCINATING! I love how Amy uses real life history to inspire her stories! You can tell she does her research. This would make an amazing movie!

The main characters stole my heart!! 😍 Amy always write the most loveable characters. The romance was the sweetest, slowburn that had me majorly SWOOONING! Did I mention it's an age gap with an undercover cop?! *Clutches pearls... Bats eye lashes* Malone was absolutely precious! But oh gosh I couldn't get enough of Dani. She's such a sweetheart!!!!! I loved them both so much!! I highlighted so many parts because I couldn't stop smiling my face off at their interactions!!

It was just PERFECT! I'm so sad it's over! Amy is such a phenomenal writer! I can't recommend her books enough! This is one you'll definitely wanna preorder especially if you like a good true crime mystery with a sweet, chemistry filled slowburn! Alllll the butterflies! This was not quite as emotional as some of her others (meaning I didn't sob) BUT I still teared up! It was so wonderful!

CALLING ALL THE CRIME SHOW JUNKIES!! This one’s for us!! And oh boy did it deliver.

We have body parts showing up everywhere.

We have a mysterious serial killer hacking people up.

And a sweet, angsty, swoon-worthy romance that steals the show!!

It’s a testament how these things can be written together and be a total home run, because when I think of a cute love story, dead body parts don’t usually come to mind. But Harmon can’t write anything bad and this book is utterly fantastic.


Quick summary:

Dani is sweet, a bit shy and misunderstood. Micheal is older, jaded, and obsessed with his work and doing everything he can to avoid tender feelings toward anything. His detective work throws them in each other’s path and they have to work together to uncover a mystery and uncover some….feelings ;) Sprinkle in some supernatural elements (done tastefully of course) and some gross physic killer and we have ourselves a winner winner story here folks!

Quick take:

The characters had an age gap that totally worked, honestly didn’t even really notice it. Their relationship was so freaking sweet and I’ll even admit, a bit angsty! But done in in a total mature adult kinda way, NOT the YA kinda angst. Harmon’s books give me all the feels!
It was just so perfectly done that I couldn’t see the characters being fleshed out any differently.

When homegirl Amy writes a new book, I demolish it in one sitting. And once again, I lost a whole night of sleep because I’m a freak and couldn’t put it down.

Not my first Amy Harmon book, and certainly not my last. I really enjoyed The Unknown Beloved after reading the acknowledgement section and learning how much of this story was based on real people and real events. I liked Dani but I really didn’t care for her relationship with Malone. He was just blah to me. It moved a little slow in certain parts, the buildup to who the butcher was, was a little lackluster. But now that I know the torso murders were real and Michael Malone, Eliot Ness were also real people, it adds to the story. Great little mystery involving Cleveland in the 1930’s.

An enjoyable read. It was very quick to get into the story however I did feel that certain parts were a little slow, too descriptive. The story line was good and the main characters were interesting.

Another amazing story by Amy Harmon! I love everything she writes and this was no exception. Her characters are multi-faceted, the story riveting, and the romance sweet. I would read her grocery lists.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

This is a part novel, part true story of the Butcher and the hunt to find and stop him. A true mixed in with an unusual love story. It was written in a way that felt old fashioned but fit the time period it took place in. More of a romance than a mystery .It was a little slow at times and detailed but interesting

This book was simply terrible!

At 40% I'm done with this one!!!! The blurb sounded very interesting and the beginning had promise. Unfortunately it went downhill very quickly. I enjoyed the time period and the setting but the characters were unbelievable and not relatable.

The worst part however is the crime that they are trying to solve. This criminal is called "The Butcher" and for a good reason. The crimes are described in all of their gory, disgusting detail and truthfully made me sick to my stomach. And it keeps on coming, I was on victim #6 when I quit!!

I don't know what the author was trying to do with this book. It was historical fiction, with a terrible crime and unrelatable characters.

I don't think I'll be trying any other books by this author.

This was a buddy read with Mary Beth and we both gave up on it.

Since I did not finish the book I will not be publishing it to any purchasing sites.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel

I have read a couple of Amy Harmon's novels, and found that The Unknown Beloved was every bit as wonderful as some of her earlier novels and even better in many ways. Harmon's author's note at the end of the novel explains how she took history and blended it with fiction to create this exceptional novel.

Harmon took real historical individuals, made them come to life, and provided them with a wonderful blend of the real and the imaginary. I could not put down The Unknown Beloved and was trying to finish it late at night while my husband slept.

I do highly recommend this most recent Harmon novel. I thank the author and publisher for letting me read and review this ARC. I am not shy about complaining when I do not like a novel, but that is not the case here. The Unknown Beloved is entertaining and complex, with characters, who will stay with me long after the novel was finished. I appreciate that NetGalley has made so many terrific novels available to read. Thank you!

“Loving is the greatest burden of all. The heaviest burden of all.”

Amy Harmon transports you. She whisks you away and completely immerses you in her storytelling. Her words are magic. Her stories are unique, refreshing, absorbing and just so beautifully written. It is an absolute joy to get lost in her books. The Unknown Beloved is no exception. The story of Michael Malone and Daniela Flanagan is a trip back into 1930’s Cleveland, where pasts collide, a serial killer is on the loose and an unlikely romance is catching fire.

This story is filled with intrigue. As Michael rents a room in Dani’s house, he learns of her special ability to “read the cloth”. This prompts Dani to help with the case to capture the Butcher of Kingsbury Run. I loved the history in this book and it was quite evident that much research went into developing this story. It was so well done.

Beyond the suspense of the story we are also absorbed into the tender connection between the two main characters. Two lonely people filled with heartbreak and pain. One a cynic who buries his feelings and emotions to prevent further pain. The other has so much kindness and love in her heart which is frequently displayed by her care of the dead. I absolutely loved watching this relationship develop.

Suspense, mystery, romance, history…The Unknown Beloved has it all. Amy Harmon once again delivers a phenomenally crafted story that you will not want to put down. She has also proven that there is not a genre she cannot write. She is a truly gifted storyteller.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rated 4.5 Stars

The Unknown Beloved was an interesting read. It was a great blend of history and fiction. Although it was a bit slow but kept my attention. I was emotionally invested in Michael and Dani’s journey. I definitely enjoyed this book. Should the author feature these characters in another I’d definitely read it.

I have read several of Amy Harmon's book and this one did not disappoint. Growing up in lived about an hour's drive from Cleveland, had never heard of this story but it took place before I was born. I found this book to be very interesting and based on facts. The character of Malone and Danni are so very like able. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book it was a fast paced and gripping read that was chilling, atmospheric and unpredictable. It was well written with a good narrative, characters that were well developed and jumped off of the page and a good storyline. I couldn't put it down.

Treasury agent and former cop Michael Malone, is on a special assignment for none other than Eliot Ness! Ness is now Safety Director in Cleveland, and he assigns Malone with the job of finding the serial killer nicknamed The Butcher, who leaves victims body parts in different places, at different times around the city of Cleveland, with some of the victims having been dead for up to a year. The victims appear to be of the indigent population, those who are unlikely to be missed by anyone.
The police have been over and over the case with no luck, and the hierarchy are afraid they’re becoming the laughing stock. They want this person caught and Ness believes Malone is the man for the job.

Malone travels to Cleveland and Ness arranges lodgings for him, but on arrival the landlady, a young woman named Dani, recognises him which isn’t good as he’s supposed to be working undercover.

The two last met when Dani Flanagan was just ten years old and Malone was the young patrolman who had the unenviable job of telling her that her parents were dead. Dani never forgot his kindness though. She was sent to live with her spinster aunts in Cleveland, and it was Malone who escorted her there. Over the years Malone had thought about this kid, and now here she was, a fully grown woman.

The race to catch the killer is on, and Dani will become a useful tool in helping Malone discover who is responsible for these gruesome murders, and she does so in a most unusual way!

A truly gripping and atmospheric tale, based on fact, with some great protagonists, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. Highly recommended!