Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

The Unknown Beloved

Amy Harmon

Publication: April 19, 2022

I am such a fan of Amy Harmon. It doesn’t matter if the genre is fantasy, historical fiction or contemporary, each one is a masterpiece and this one is no exception. The Unknown Beloved has the perfect balance of mystery, romance, suspense, and historical fiction all intertwined with a touch of magic that feels so real that you wouldn’t even question the supernatural aspect of the book. The characters are brilliantly fleshed out and while Eliot Ness (and even Michael Malone) were actual people, everyone in the book feels so real.

Fifteen years have passed since Dani’s parents were murdered and Michael was a young detective on the scene. Both Dani and Michael have suffered great loss in their lives so when fate brings them together again there is a genuine connection between the two. Dani has a gift of being able to touch cloth and she is able to “read its story…” which could help catch the serial killer Michael is investigating. Michael fights her help, his attraction, and his feelings. I truly enjoyed how Dani gradually breaks down those barriers simply by her gentle honesty and caring ways. The dynamics between the characters—perfection! The romance, the friendship, the family relationships…so, so well done! I highly recommend this book!!

5 Stars

What a great book! Amy Harmon is one of my favourite authors. She writes such intriguing novels with captivating subjects, vivid descriptions and engrossing characters. This is the kind of story that once you start it will be hard to put the book down. There is everything from mystery, suspense, crime, romance and a little bit of the unexplained wrapped up in this great novel.

Dani Flannigan is just 10 years old when her parents are shot to death leaving Dani an orphan. Michael Malone is one of the police officers at the scene of the crime. He becomes responsible for accompanying Dani to her aunts that will care for her in Clevland. It’s during this time that we understand that Dani has a special gift.

Flashforward 15 years into the late 1930’s and Dani is now 25 years old working as a seamstress / tailor along with her elderly aunts. Michael Malone is assigned a case in Clevland which brings Dani and Michael face to face once again. This time Michael’s job is to find out as much as he can about the “torso killer”. This part of the book is loosely based on the real life murders that took place in Clevland during this time period with Eliot Ness as the safety and security director of the city. I spent a bit of time on Wikipedia while reading this as the book opened my eyes and I wanted to know more about Eliot Ness and these murders.

The Unknown Beloved is a great read. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy. Thank you to Amy Harmon for writing another great story.

I am always blown away by Amy Harmon's ability to tell a captivating story, regardless of genre. She has not disappointed me yet. The Unknown Beloved really hooked me from the first chapter and didn't let go until I finished it. There is something for everyone in this story. Murder, mystery, history, romance, and even some supernatural bits thrown in.

What I am most impressed with is that this book is loosely based on true events. The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run was a real serial killer in 1930s Cleveland. A lot of the characters in this story were real people. You can tell that extensive research went into this book and Amy wove the fictional love story into the true pieces so wonderfully.

The story begins in 1923 Chicago. Ten year-old Dani Flanagan sneaks out of her home to check on a litter of kittens. When she returns, she finds her parents dead and her home an active crime scene. Officer Michael Malone is tasked with transporting Dani to her only remaining family in Cleveland.

Fast forward 15 years and Cleveland has a serial killer running rampant that no one can seem to catch. Having been involved in the takedown of Al Capone and believed to be one of the best in the business, Michael Malone is assigned to the case to try to uncover any information about the murders.

While in Cleveland, Michael's close friend and colleague Eliot Ness books him a room at the home of a family of seamstresses. Upon his arrival, he meets Daniela Kos who just so happens to be the same Dani that he helped 15 years before. He is instantly transfixed by her and she, him. Over the course of the story, Malone finds that Dani has skills that may be useful in his search for the Butcher. As they try to solve the mystery of the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, their romance blooms and it's slow and sweet and torturous all at the same time.

Big thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of “The Unknown Beloved” to read and honestly review!🙌🏻

“The Unknown Beloved” is a precious book, one that is heavily influenced by themes of remembrance, love and loss. It is one tender, beautiful love story, unfolding in the midst of a deadly chase for one brutal murderer. Amy Harmon combines the true story’s elements with fiction perfectly, creating one absolutely riveting book. A murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end, the story is guaranteed to grip you from the first line, along with its absolutely wonderful, unique characters. Dani and Malone were both entirely unforgettable, and I would quite frankly enjoy nothing more than to read more adventures of them.

All in all, “The Unknown Beloved” was a delightful, absolutely enthralling read, packed up with one truly memorable love story that is sure to capture the reader’s heart. It will certainly linger in my mind. 4 stars⭐️

4.5 stars

I love how Amy can take real people, real events from history and weave them into an amazing story. This is what this book is. In her acknowledges she goes through it all and it’s so fascinating!

It’s mostly slower paced book, which I enjoyed. It took you on the scenic route where you got to know the ins and outs of the characters. I loved the dual pov. I loved the how they fell for each other.

Dani knows who she is and I adored that, that didn’t falter the whole book and that Malone had to work on himself and overcome his past. The two of them together, I wasn’t sure I was going to like that age gap, but they fit perfectly. I couldn’t get enough of their interactions together!

If you love a slow burn, historical, murder mystery romance then this one is definitely for you!

Amy Harmon wrote yet another masterpiece.

While I have not had the pleasure of reading all of her novels so far, I have read enough of them to already be aware of how great she is at writing and telling stories. Although I do believe What the Wind Knows will always be a favorite of mine, alongside Making Faces, The Unknown Beloved is another proof of Harmon’s natural talent. I am grateful for the day she decided to bless us with her novels, truly.

The thing about Amy Harmon isn’t only that she writes wonderful stories beautifully. What makes her novels so magical, so unforgettable, is how empathetic she is. The Unknown Beloved was phenomenal—it created a bubble of emotions in my chest that threatened of bursting almost every page. I don’t know how else to explain it. But one thing seems to be clear to me, Harmon pours her soul into her work. And it made The Unknown Beloved all the more fascinating.

Truth be told, I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book but I was pleasantly surprised. And yet, not so surprised as I know that Amy Harmon always manages to capture me heart and soul with her stories. It did not take me long, not at all, to come to love Dani and Malone. Firstly, as characters, especially Dani’s peculiar yet deeply lovable personality and gift (a gift that I found so interesting and touching). Secondly, as a team because they made such a good one. And finally, as a couple with such a beautiful relationship.

Amy Harmon is a great storyteller, I cannot say it enough. And The Unknown Beloved was a breathtaking story. It kept me fascinated and involved from the first to the last page. I was engrossed in the story. And I am deeply admirative of it. Harmon is a master at weaving facts with fiction, and she did it so well with this story. I loved that she gave life to Dani but I most of all loved that she brought Malon and Eliot Ness back to life, back from the past, that she shed some light on them (especially Malone who isn’t as well known, I did know about him only because I had a passionate professor in college and took a class on the Prohibition period). And I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t been attracted to the part of the story on the Torso Murders. Being a psycho-criminologist and being someone who has had a fascination for serial killers since childhood (I was a weird kid ;)), I knew of the Torso Murders but I had never read a work of fiction featuring them and yet again, Amy Harmon and her great talent did an amazing work. I could not stop reading.

I will finish this review (or this rambling, more like) with a fun-ish fact. I always read Amy Harmon’s author's note at the end of her books, especially her historical novels. I love reading this part almost as much as the actual novel. I enjoy learning about her choices and her researches, and how she shares important pieces of knowledge… She is passionate and if somehow she couldn’t convince you with her story, she definitely would with the author’s note. And this should be the last needed (or not) proof that you should read The Unknown Beloved and its author’s note (and any of her other novels if you still have not done it) when it is published in April.

Enticing . . . knocks it out of the park. In the hands of a master life-storyteller, this compelling read shows the intimate side of Michael Malone, which otherwise would've remained hidden .
The nature of reading for me is to become deeply absorbed into the created world so much so that you laugh with them, cry with them, feel the joy and grief and everything in between.
Amy Harmon is a master at it. As always her books swallowed me whole
The race to find the killer or become his next victim was pulse pounding. It kept me on tenterhooks throughout with racing heart.

“Oh goodness, we are a pair, aren’t we? I see everything and you refuse to see what is right in front of your face,”

I had to take breaks while reading it, to try to settle from the wealth of emotions this storytelling evoked and yet at the same time needed to know what came next.
The worst part of finishing an Amy Harmon book is the hangover. The journey through the story feels like a pilgrimage. Sacred and pious. And as is with all things holy, it becomes your subconcious desire to kneel in awe of her storytelling prowess.
This book is historic & historical. Her thorough research gave me an insight into a dark chapter in history, unleasing of a crime spree in Cleveland in late 30's. The era is volatile. War looms on the horizon, America is being lambasted in the world, Crime is still on the rise despite the biggest fish, AL Capone, in the net.
Not much is known about the man in shadows of Elliott Ness, the most famous Prohibition Agent, his T Men Teamer- the Elusive Michael Malone.

"Michael Malone was, I believe, the greatest undercover agent in the history of law enforcement," said Paul Camacho, a former head of IRS criminal investigations in Las Vegas and an unofficial agency historian. "This was the riskiest assignment you could ever think of. People were dying left and right, witnesses were dying left and right. Nobody wanted to be with these guys."

Malone infiltrated Capone's gang and worked undercover for nearly three years, Camacho said, passing himself off as a wiseguy from Philadelphia who had migrated to Chicago. He gained the mobster's trust to the point that he was invited to a going away party when it appeared Capone"

He meets 10 year old Dani Flanagan when her parents die in Chicago, then a decade and a half later in Cleveland.
Dani inadvertently ends up helping him in search of the serial killer terrorizing Cleveland, Mad Butcher Of Kingsbury Run
The fact that he's subtle operative with incomprehensible intents and purposes, helps him blend in the background. His proclivity for accents gives him a chameleon skin and he can infiltrate any place with relative ease
ALL that shatters, all his facades smash and his inner soul lies bare & naked in presence of Dani. She can peer right inside his heart and mind, reading his thoughts and feelings.
I've never felt so much love for a heroine before. She just hypnotized me with her mismatched eyes full of compassion and generosity. Sometimes to the point of martyrdom. I wish she was a real person and I could meet her.

"You're like an ancient Oracle"

The forbidden couple's fate seems doomed yet kismet keeps throwing them together for a reason.
To hold hands on an emotional journey in the midst of murder and danger lurking at every corner. The patience and tenderness Amy has intsilled in the characters is remarkable.
Amy is a formidable story teller. She transports you into the era with her brilliant writing & a well researched plot. The whole city, it's landmarks, the chronology of events, historical figures and personalities are authentic. What Amy adds is an extra dimension of emotions.
Rigorous & Intimate, Amy has succeeded in giving the real ‘Mike’ the literary legacy his life
& story he richly deserves.
5 Glorious Stars for The Undertaker and The Spy

A blossoming romance that takes place during the hunt for a serial killer in the 1930s becomes the backdrop of Amy Harmon's newest book. Amy Harmon, the author of this novel, seems to be able to write a gripping story in almost every genre possible. She has written historical fiction, mystery, romance and fantasy. She has written about subjects such as war, music, and the Wild Western frontier to name a few. It is no surprise that Amy Harmon is a bestselling author. She is adept at weaving a story from the headlines that seamlessly blends fact and fiction, and this book is no exception.

Ten year old Dani Flanagan first meets Michael Malone, a young policeman in Chicago in 1923, when he arrives at the scene of the brutal murder of her parents. Fifteen years later they meet again when Michael is called to assist Elliot Ness on a hunt for a killer in Cleveland. Michael rents a room at a boarding house where Dani now lives, that is owned by her two aunts. In spite of their age gap, Dani and Michael form an emotional and romantic connection that has them both involved in the search for a macabre murderer. The gruesome killings provide an incongruent setting to the push and pull of the couple's slow burn romance, but also makes this a compelling read.

I didn't love this book as much as I did Where the Lost Wander or What the Wind Knows, but it definitely held my interest throughout the story. Amy Harmon is one of my "go to" authors and I am always on the lookout for her next book.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review. Publication date: April 19, 2022.

Ok, Amy Harmon can write anything. This author is a must read for me no matter what the subject matter is, but a serial killer had me second guessing for just a minute. I am a sweet happy romance type of book reader. I do not want to be scared and I don't want gory details of murders. Even though this story is about a serial killer, it is not meant to scare only to inform and for the suspense of finding the killer, which does not bother me. Some of the details of the killer cutting up his victims was a little too much for me, but it did not take a away from the story. I loved the slow burn of the two main characters which is always my favorite part. Another great read from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 49%. I love AH’s writing and have absolutely adored some of her other books. I had trouble connecting with the characters and plot of this particular story.

I was so happy I was able to review an ARC of The Unknown Beloved!! Thanks NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Amy Harmon. The Unknown Beloved is a phenomenal historical mystery/thriller read. I loved that it includes a real crime story/people. Loved the slow burn and age gap between Dani and Malone. I love this book and I recommend you read it and that's my honest opinion.

I’m grateful to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read The Unknown Beloved from one of the best authors I’ve ever encountered, Amy Harmon.

This is a spine-tingling romance set against the backdrop of 1930’s Cleveland where a serial killer named The Butcher hunts the streets.

Based on a true story.

A killer is playing macabre games with Cleveland police.

When patrolman, Michael Malone is sent to the home of a known gangster, he isn’t surprised to find the man lying dead in a pool of blood, though it saddens him that the man’s wife was caught in the crossfire. And worse than that, the couple’s ten-year-old daughter, Dani, barely avoided becoming a victim herself.

He feels a connection to the girl and her seeming ability to read emotions from bolts of cloth. Reeling from the loss of his own child, Malone comforts the child and sees that she arrives safely at her spinster aunts’ home in Cleveland.

Years later, Malone is called back from a job in the Bahamas to help his old friend, Eliot Ness, now the Safety Director in Cleveland. It seems they have a monster roaming the streets, randomly choosing victims to behead, chop to pieces, and distribute around a vagrant’s area of the city known as Kingsbury Run. Malone is uniquely suited to the investigation as a member of a group called The Unknowns- men who work under the radar and answer to The President of the United States. He specializes in listening and can fit into any environment- including the areas haunted by The Butcher.

Eliot has a room rented for him in a beautiful old Victorian, the home and seamstress business of the Kos’s, Dani’s family.

She was little more than a child the last time he saw her, but Dani Flanigan has grown into a beautiful young woman in the intervening years. She’s a distraction when he should be focusing on his job. Malone lost his wife and two children, he’s seen the worst of humanity, but there’s something about the sweet innocence of Dani and her inquisitive mind that draws him. He’s afraid. Scared she’ll be hurt when he leaves. Frightened he’ll be lost without her.

It’s horrifying to think monsters like The Butcher use the poor and downtrodden to slake their heinous hunger for depravity. This story gives insight into their behaviors and what makes a psychotic act out on their fantasies. It would be a dark read if not for the budding romance between a man who fears he has nothing to live for and the woman determined to prove him wrong.

The Uknown Beloved is a five+ star read.

Dani Flanagan is orphaned at the age of ten when both of her parents die under suspicious circumstances one night in Chicago. Michael Malone, the kind and compassionate officer assigned to her, escorts her to Cleveland where she will live with her great aunts. In 1938, fifteen years since that fateful night, Malone is called to Cleveland to help investigate a series of murders. He's surprised to find that his landlord for where he is boarding is Dani Flanagan, all grown up. Michael is immediately drawn to the woman that Dani has become and he knows that there is something special about her. Dani has a particular set of skills that might help Michael in the investigation but as he begins to fall for her, he must make difficult decisions to use her to find clues to solving the case or to protect her.

Master storyteller Amy Harmon does it again! She sucked me into this story like she has done with all of her other books that I've enjoyed. For the four days that I read this book, I felt like I was transported in time to 1938 Cleveland. This novel is based on the true crime story of the Cleveland Torso Murders. Many of the characters in the novel are based on real figures in law enforcement history. I am in awe of Harmon's well-researched detail in this book. She breathed life into these figures in history and I loved that although they are fictional accounts, she did a great job of giving their characters the essence of their real-life counterparts.

The romance that this book is centered around warmed my heart. Michael and Dani were an unlikely pair in personality, age, and everything else. They had this intense and inexplicable connection that had me burning up while reading their story. Although Michael fought his attraction to her, I knew he was a goner from the moment he re-entered his life. He didn't know that he needed it, but she saved him from himself. He had been floating around too long, not allowing anyone in and it was time for him to find happiness.

This novel is a combination of many genres - historical fiction, mystery, romance, and paranormal. It has a little bit of something for everyone and I highly recommend it!

⚠️: death of a loved one, murder, grief, suicidal thoughts, body dismemberment, mention of stillbirth

I'm honored to have been given the chance to read The Unknown Beloved early!

I eagerly await the chance to dive into the mind of Amy Harmon as soon as she announces she will have a new release coming. Her historical fiction releases are continually top-notch. I was especially excited for this book, knowing Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall offered inspiration as Amy's characters in this story.

This book is proof Amy can write any genre. I would consider this a Historical Thriller, with touches of magical realism and romance added to the mix. It's a true one-of-a-kind story that doesn't need classification, only to be read and enjoyed! The entire story was beautifully layered, offering one of my favorite romances to date between Michael Malone and Dani Flanagan. The slow-burn between these two was carefully crafted and the pace of the entire plot was utterly perfect! Amy's writing, again, left me in awe and with many passages highlighted to reflect upon later. I especially love the wisdom she infuses into her characters, which allows them to feel like living-breathing people.

I was surprised to learn how much of this story was based on historical facts, with fictional elements woven in. I loved the chance to learn about historical people and events I would not have otherwise become familiar with if it weren't for reading this book! There are parts that were gruesome and sad, but as always, Amy was able to make the most disturbing dignified. This fact speaks to her character as a person, as she's able to take the saddest situations and infuse them with light. I always feel cleansed and whole after I read her books, wishing to see the world more positively, despite darkness often obscuring the view.

I highly recommend reading The Unknown Beloved upon its release in April 2022! It's a stunning and unique read I won't soon forget.

There are authors who are prolific yet their work ceases to capture my interest after the first novels. I always feel their best stories had been building over years and the masterpiece flows into the world like a lovely cool creek on a warm summer day. It’s refreshing. The words are beautiful. I’m spellbound. Then, I seem to lose interest in subsequent books. Or their work changes enough that it doesn’t speak to me anymore. My first review is about the new book from a woman who has become my favorite author. Her gift of writing has not ebbed but only grows more beautiful with each year.

Amy Harmon.

The Unknown Beloved.

Let me just take a minute to sigh and breathe in the last pages of this new book and bask in all the feelings.

I received an ARC (advanced reader’s copy) of Amy Harmon’s newest book The Unknown Beloved. Having been in a book slump caused by a different book (that review will come when I can finally finish it), I was hesitant yet excited to start The Unknown Beloved. I adore Harmon’s books and I was afraid the slump was in me and would sully this new book. I discovered that I am not the cause of the slump. The Unknown Beloved sparked my love of the written word again and I was quickly lost in Dani and Malone’s world.

There is a style of review I try to avoid. It gives an entire synopsis of the book and ruins it for me. So I’m going to hit highlights because you just need to READ THIS BOOK yourself when it is published on 4/19/22. Write that on your calendar or better yet, go preorder it right now

It opens in 1920’s Chicago with Dani as a young girl. She encounters a young policeman after a tragedy. Her strange gift comes to light early in the book and is an essential theme. The story advances into the future when Dani and Malone meet up again in Cleveland during the height of the Cleveland Torso Murders in the 1930’s. And that’s all I’m going to to tell you about the story itself. Because, AGAIN, just read the book. You’ll love it and I need people to talk to about it. :)

This story was intriguing because it is based on real life people and crimes. Michael Malone was a real life law enforcement officer under Eliot Ness - who YES! Was also in this book! Add Ness in with some ancient Slavic Aunts and one old cat and the book is full and balanced and beautiful. It’s a mystery and a love story. There’s a strong theme of responsibility that flows through it very quietly. I’m left wishing I had never started it so I could begin it for the first time again. Since I can’t change time, I’ll spend tomorrow reading up on the Torso Murders just so this book won’t end for me.

Then, when I’m done doing my current day investigation of the 1930’s Torso Murders and playing armchair detective, I’ll go back and re- read some of my very favorite Amy Harmon books. (Because I’m weird like that. Books are friends and need to be visited from time to time) What the Wind Knows might be the most soul touching thing I’ve ever read. Making Faces is one my 20 something daughter loved when we read it together a few years ago, then again when we read it again this past summer. It might be time for another re-read. One thing for certain, you will never find a slump in Harmon’s books. What you will find is your spark for adventure, love and mystery inside her beautiful stories.

Three and a half stars. I love how Amy Harmon has a gift for making the impossible feel so real and understandable. She does it again in The Unknown Beloved.

The story takes place in the mid 1930's. AL Capone has been caught and locked up and the man responsible for putting him behind bars, Eliot Ness, has another mystery to solve. Who is the serial killer known as the "Butcher" that is murdering people and leaving body parts for clues all over Cleveland? Eliot calls on an old friend from Chicago, Michael Malone, who worked with him on the Capone case for help.

Dani has an inherited family gift. She is able to know things about a person by touching an item of clothing they have worn. When Dani's mother and father are found dead in their kitchen, Dani meets a young beat cop by the name of Michael Malone who is given the job of looking out for 9 year old Dani.

Years later they run into one another again, this time in Cleveland. As they learn to trust one another, a relationship develops but how far can it go?

While the story was interesting, I just wasn't as captivated as I usually am by Amy's characters. It took too long for Michael to warm up for me. I also would have liked to know more about the Butcher and his motives. I enjoyed the story, it just wasn't my favorite.


Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Hunka Munka..........This one has bite.

You know what keeps me awake at night? Not Dracula, not ficticious ghost stories, not Scooby in pursuit of the disguised bad guys in haunted houses. It's the REAL people doing really bad things.......in multiples. People who have disguarded their humanity and prey upon the weak. The demented of society who seem to be poppin' up more and more and on a grander scale.

Amy Harmon has created a winner of a read here boxed up from the seed of true crime. The Unknown Beloved is based on actual happenings in the 1930's in Cleveland, Ohio during the Great Depression. We all remember Eliot Ness who locked horns with the infamous Al Capone back in Chicago. Capone was involved in murder, mayhem, bootlegging, and syndicated crime. After Capone was jailed for tax evasion, Ness was sent to Cleveland as the Safety Director.

The position of Safety Director was now being brushed with broad strokes. Cleveland's Kingsbury Row, a once prosperous part of the city, was suffocating under the clenches of The Butcher, a serial killer who dismembered the victims and left them at random in empty lots. Ness and his band of men known as The Unknowns (like the Untouchables) were coming up empty. Crime fighting was making advancements, but DNA was unimaginable back then. The only unifying clue was the fact that the majority of victims appeared to be poor and homeless with no family connections.

Eliot Ness calls in one of his men from Chicago, Michael Malone, who worked under cover and was responsible in corraling Capone. Malone will be boarding at a home in the Czech neighborhood owned by three women tailors. Malone will have a connection with Daniela from his Chicago days. It is here that the story will take on an even wider expanse with "Dani" stepping forward. We will come to know of her remarkable gift as this story unfolds.

The Unknown Beloved will grip you from the beginning pages. Believe me, I was gripped. And what weaves through this storyline is the element of its true crime. Don't dare research this crime yet until you've read this book. Harmon has done a remarkable job in keeping to the real facts while inserting some fictional characters here and there. Read the Author's Note. And then purchase a little nightlight from Walmart........ya gonna need it.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to Amy Harmon for the opportunity.

THE UNKNOWN BELOVED is a book I read in one sitting – no surprise there. Without break because I couldn’t put it down. It was captivating beyond words, and features one of the most understated heroes.

Michael Malone is the MAN!!!! He was swoon worthy above all else, and a man to fall in love wiht so easily, it was ridiculous. Michael is everything I love about a great hero, like Dallas from WAIT FOR IT!! He snuck up on me and made my heart sing – THANK YOU Amy Harmon for writing such an incredible character.

But beyond the man is a story that bespelled me.

Not just the story, but the characters too.

Dani Flanagan is a heroine whose character and personality I admired. The way she buckled down and got things done. Strong in character and mind, especially in mind because she knew what she wanted, and Michael was the man for her. Together they made sense. And were the heart and soul of the book.

Their love story was a quiet one at the beginning. A slow burn that built and strengthened until there was no denying it anymore. I love these kind of love stories the most. No insta burn, lust or love. Instead there is a colliding of minds and hearts until they are fused together and can’t be broken anymore. There is this one scene at the end, when Michael breaks down, and it overwhelmed me and filled my heart to the brim. So much HEART!!!!!

When it comes to story telling Amy Harmon is an expert. She weaves fact and fiction in such a way that I can’t tell anymore what is fiction and what’s not. And the real life murder mystery had me glued to the pages. The book is a perfect blend of romance, historical fiction, and mystery and I was there for it from beginning to end. I already can’t wait to read her next book and know without a doubt that I’ll be as fascinated by it as I was with THE UNKNOWN BELOVED. I just know it. At this point it’s a given. Amy Harmon writes books that weave spells and don’t let go until the end.

Oh, this book. Amy Harmon writes so beautifully, her emotional moments read like lyrical prose. Her writing makes me swoon and makes my heart sing. It is simply magnificent. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. This book has it all- mystery, murder, history, ROMANCE! We love to see it! As a Cleveland girl myself I loved the setting, and what an era! I will be recommending this book to absolutely everyone I know, as I do all of Amy’s incredible work. Thank you for your words, Amy! I loved getting swept away by Dani and Malone, and I can’t wait to meet them again in the pages. Please write me all the things!

Good god, Dani.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like it so bad. It has everything that I love - mystery, supernatural, serial killer, history and a bit of romance. Unfurtunately, I felt like it's going nowhere. I read, and read but only got bored and mad about the characters. Dani was snoopy and childish and Malone was always suprised about Dani's powers, like he doesn't know about it for like fifteen years.
Their conversations felt awkward to me, and I was delighted whenever the aunts were around for a little bit of spice and humor. The aunts are simply gold!
Maybe I'll try to read this book on another time, and hopefully my review will be different.