A Bend of Light is a historical fiction mystery mashup done really well. Five years after the end of the war, Amie returns to her hometown having left the job she was expecting a promotion at. Her hometown doesn’t quite feel the same as when she left with the ghost of her best friend still haunting her. Amie reconnects with her surrogate mother and her new ward, an adorable 6 year old boy dropped off with a note saying he needs looking after. When too many mysterious things start to catch Amir’s eye after the body of the aloof woman she met while out taking pictures is found, Amie calls upon her skills from the war to help put together the puzzle pieces.

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I really enjoyed this story once it picked up. The beginning of the book starts out rather slow but it picks up around 35% of the way in and then it has you hooked. Amie was a great main character and adorable Chester and Hopkins the dog were so cute together.

Short Synopsis: Set in a quite town in Main 5 years after WWII, Amie and Shibby a mother figure to her find an abandoned boy with a note asking for him to be watched over. Amie is trying to take care of him when she finds a dead body in her barn.

My thoughts: This was quite a blend of genres, mystery and thriller mixed with historical fiction. I liked watching as America fought to rebuild after the war, but some things were just too hard to overcome so easily. This was such an atmopheric read that kept me wanting to find out what really happened!

I thought it was a fun perspective to have a photographer from the war. I got a little bit of Agatha Christie vibes, watching Amie solve the mystery using the skills she acquired while in service.

I loved this small town setting in Maine, I've always wanted to visit the state and after reading this want to plan a trip immediately! I love when a book can transport you to a different place and time, and it feels so real. The author did a great job at that.

Read if you love:
- Quiet coastal towns
- Post WWII hist fic
- Mother figures
- Mysteries
- Blend of genres

If this book could narrate itself, it would do so in a Mid-Atlantic accent. You know, the way they talked in old black and white movies. You get that whole vibe with the way certain people, events and places are described in the book.

The story starts out all little confusing, but eventually pulls itself together, only to get a little manic again at the end. Overall, it was a really good mystery. Amie is a great character, a very strong woman. The good characters are are extremely likeable, the bad guys dastardly, as it should be, and then the not-really bad guys can redeem themselves somehow. My favorite character was the little boy.

It was an engaging story, and held my interest. I really liked the Kennedy connection. I'll eave that for you to discover.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine and freely expressed.

A Bend of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake

Publication date: September 6, 2022

Date read: December 16, 2022



Five years after the war, Amie Stilwell, a photo interpreter for an Allied unit in England, returns to her hometown in Maine. Jobless and discouraged but stubbornly resourceful, she’s starting over in the same coastal village where her life once went so wrong. Waiting for her is Shibby Travis, the surrogate mother with whom Amie never lost touch. But the unexpected also awaits.

A silent, abandoned boy is found with a note from a stranger pleading that he be watched over. Amie and Shibby take him in, but the mysteries multiply when a Boston socialite is found dead in Amie’s barn and an old friend, believed to be a casualty of war, suddenly reappears. Trained to see what others cannot, to scan for clues, and to expose enemies, Amie uses her skills to protect a child, solve a crime, and find the motive behind a veteran’s masquerade. But through the hazy filter of a town’s secrets, Amie must also confront her own painful past.

This book was a surprise, in that it starts out as a pretty typical historical fiction novel about starting life over after the war, and turns a corner into murder mystery. While I wasn’t expecting it, I really enjoyed both aspects of the plot and thought that they were both done very well. My only complaint about the plot was that Tom Dornay’s story seemed very out of place and slow at the beginning. I knew it would tie in to the rest of the story, but waiting for it to do that was a little distracting.

I thought that the murder mystery was interesting and well-written. I didn’t guess what was going to happen in the end, but thought that it all made sense when it was explained.

The characters were really fun and well-developed. Not all likable, but all interesting. I loved the small-town aspect of the story and how everyone’s lives intertwined. Everyone was so distinct and their various personalities and quirks made the historical fiction aspect of the plot really fun to read.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable story. The mystery was interesting and the more character-driven plot points were just as enjoyable. The slow, slightly distracting Tom Dornay storyline only took away a little bit from my enjoyment, and once things begin to tie together more, it was quite a page-turner.

I would recommend this to both historical fiction readers and mystery readers. Both aspects are well-done and I think genre readers of either would enjoy this.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content warnings: sexism, attempted suicide, war, murder, homophobia, child abandonment, blood, violent death, bombing, sexual assault

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I really tried to get into this historical fiction story by a new to me author. It was an intriguing story about an abandoned boy and a mysterious dead body but overall I struggled to really get into it. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

A great setting, a coastal village in Maine, after WWII. With a mystery at it's heart and a slow romance, this story will pull you in, slap you around a bit before offer a satisfying ending.

I loved the small town feel being set on the coast of Main in the 1950s. It seems more personal when something happens that affects the whole town. The character’s were the highlight for me, they had great development and personalities. I especially loved the secondary characters Shibby and the young child Chester. Sometimes, the transition from past to present wasn’t the cleanest. It took a couple sentences to know that Amie’s thoughts traveled to the past, but once I was used to the writing style it was easier to pick up on. The mystery was set up nicely and I liked how Amie used her skills from the war to help piece together the culprit. There was a little bit of a second chance romance woven in and it rounded out the story well. I enjoyed this one

Thank you @getredprbooks @joyjordanlake_books @netgalley and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭!

An immersive story with a bit of everything; historical fiction, a murder mystery, romance, a fantastic setting, delightful characters, a multi-layered story that I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and Get Red PR for this tour invite.

𝗔 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 by Joy Jordan-Lake released September 6, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Amie has returned from the war to her home town on the coast of Maine. She is reconnecting with her foster mother, Shibby, when sweet, silent little boy is abandoned with a note pinned to his chest. Amie and Shibby take him in and Amie goes to work trying to find out more about him. Then a socialite is found dead and everyone is a suspect!

There are a lot of moving parts to this story and it just kept getting better and better as I moved along. I enjoyed the small town Maine setting in post war 50s. Plus, the mystery and all the secrets really keeps the reader guessing. And Amie….she is one of my favorite characters. She is tip top smart! I never knew about photo interpreters. I loved learning about this area of the war. And of course I had to look it up!

Need a good mystery full of secrets…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher of a honest review.

A Bend of Light is the newest book out by @joyjordanlake_books! I enjoyed her last book, Under a Gilded Moon, which was all about the Biltmore Mansion.

This book takes place in quiet coastal Maine in a post WWII era. Amie is back in her small hometown after working as a photo interpreter in England. She finds an abandoned boy that she helps take care of while trying to solve a series of mysteries that follow.

I loved getting to know Amie; she had such wonderful skills and the 50s time period was a wonderful setting. It was difficult for Amie as a woman in this time because of workplace sexism. Growing up in a small town myself, I know how secrets can spread quickly! The author was inspired by Kennebunkport, one of my favorite towns ever! It is such a beautiful town and has a wonderful Christmas festival that is taking place this weekend called Prelude.

Thank you so much to @suzyapprovedbooktours @lakeunionauthors and the author for my gifted copy. A Bend of Light is out now!

Amie returns to her hometown in Maine after the end of WWII. She served in Europe as a photo interpreter. She is very observant and it isn't long before some strange happenings grab her attention. When a young boy is found in her adopted mother's barn and the body of a young woman is found the small town is stunned. Amie uses her skills to protect a child, solve a crime, and find the motive behind a veteran’s masquerade.

This book was beautiful. I wasn't expecting it to completely suck me in, but it did almost immediately. Amie was such a strong character and Shibby was an absolute treasure, but my favorite was little Chester. The heartbreaking drama, lies and secrets were so well written and this is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time.

This is an atmospheric historical mystery set in the fictional town of Pelican Cove, Maine but has many similarities to the real Kennebunkport. The time is 1950 which seems like it would be a time of prosperity after WWII, but this book has characters that come back from the war broken and changed who are just trying to get some semblance of their pre-war life back.

The mystery itself is intricately woven as Amie Stilwell, one of our primary characters has returned back to Pelican Cove after being passed over for a promotion in Washington, DC for a male with less experience.

As soon as she drives into Pelican Cove, she saves an unidentified person from purposefully getting their car hit by an oncoming train.

There is also a child named Chester who won’t speak that has been abandoned, a mysterious death, a suspicious fall, a best friend back from the dead, and a man of means that could be a catalyst for all of these events.

The book gives very Americanized Agatha Christie vibes with its interwoven relationships set in a small village.

The character of Amie is excellent and I found it fascinating that her job during the war was to spot details in aerial photographs. This skill helps her in her quest to find the bad guy.

I really hope that Amie and Pelican Cove will not be a one and done book as I found the mystery elements interesting and the town with its characters worth coming back to in a future read.

I adored BLUE HOLE BACK HOME. It was one of the very best books ever. I guess I expected the same from this one. I was so let down. It started out ok but just fell short for me. I found so much of it unbelievable. It just fell short for me. I’m so so sorry.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. This is my own thoughts about this book.
3 stars..

Amie Stilwell had a difficult war. Peace hasn’t been great for her, either. So she returns to her hometown in Maine to find a fresh start under the watchful eye of her surrogate mother, Shibby. But Amie hasn’t even made it into town before a series of dangerous events begins to unfold, events that will test her wartime skills and force her to confront the painful past she’d hoped to leave behind.

This latest historical fiction offering from Joy Jordan-Lake was, unfortunately, a big disappointment for me. It promised some of my favorite things: a flawed but sympathetic main character, a colorful cast of supporting characters, a fascinating premise, an atmospheric small–town setting. And it did deliver on some of those things. I loved Amie, her friends, and their community. You could practically feel the cold seeping into your bones and smell the cinnamon wafting from Ian’s bakery. The premise, however, is where the wheels came off.

There are several things about the story that bother me. Too many plotlines, with many that are introduced and either barely touched on or dropped altogether; too many under-developed characters; characters with unreasonably erratic behavior that is not sufficiently explained. I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

There are really two main problems I have with this book. First, the entire story is based on the idea that half the women in the book are willing to kill themselves or other people for the sake of an utterly loathsome, irredeemable slimebag. Not even an actual character, the author chose an unoriginal, two-dimensional caricature to be the catalyst of her entire novel.

Second, the ending came out of absolutely nowhere. There were no clues throughout the book; the ‘bad guy’ was discovered through a massive coincidence. Both of these things are indicative of lazy writing and I have no patience for that. Some authors write books, some crank out books for money; this book seems to be the latter.

I’m rating this book 2 stars only because I was invested in the characters enough to partially read, partially skim the whole book to find out what happened. But I don’t recommend it to anyone.

About the book: “A quiet coastal village in post–World War II America is shaken when the secrets of the past and present collide in a riveting novel by the bestselling author of Under a Gilded Moon.”

Amie previously worked as a photo interpreter, and she’s just returned home to Maine after the war. Shibby, a mother figure in her life, waits for her return. A young boy is abandoned on her doorstep, and after that, things become even more mysterious for Amie and Shibby.

I loved the post war 1950s atmosphere of the story, especially with the small town Maine setting. This hist fic title is heavy on the mystery that will keep the reader guessing with each turn of the page. It’s a thoughtful portrayal of this time in history as the world began to rebuild and attempt to heal in the aftermath of a war that changed everyone.

I received a gifted copy.

A Bend of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake. Pub Date: September 6, 2022. Rating: 3.5 stars. Set in post WWII times along the coast of Maine, this novel brings the mystery, intrigue and cozy vibes. Amie returns to Maine after spending time working as a photo interpreter during the war. Upon returning, odd things start to happen to her. A young boy who appears abandoned arrives into her life, a death, a veteran with PTSD suddenly returns and an attempted murder takes place. This ongoing mystery requires solving and Amie is set on unraveling the mystery. This novel was a perfect blend of mystery and historical fiction. The lyrical writing with mysterious vibes allow the reader to strap in for a wild ride of a story. If you enjoy historical fiction with a little bit of intrigue and mystery, then this book is for you. Thanks to #netgalley and #lakeunionpublishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Joy Jordan-Lake's novel, A BEND OF LIGHT, drops readers deep into the thick of this New England small town's secrets and lies. With a deft voice, we grow to love her protagonist, Amie Stilwell, as well as the well-fined villagers who are her support system, especially the woman who raised her as an orphan, Shibby Travis. The mysteries have great tension and lead to a satisfying ending.

In my AUTHOR PROVOCATEUR podcast, Joy and I discuss her historical research, her approach to creating a small town with all its insular nuances juxtaposed with how its residents will open their hearts toward strangers; and why redemption is such a big part of her novel: https://apple.co/3wZK0o6

A Bend of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake is a well written historical fiction set in the 1950's.

Amie Stillwell was a photographic interpreter in the war and comes home to Maine. I live in Maine, so I am also thrilled to see a novel set in my home state. Amie comes back to Maine to get settled.
Seems like there are some mysteries to be solved here.

It was really interesting to learn about photographic interpreters during war time. These women would take pictures of different scenes and landscapes and look at the pictures to see if they could see weapons or soldiers.

I have read a lot of historical fiction and have not heard of this before, and I was thrilled to learn about another way in which women served in World War II.

This story was well researched. I loved the characters and the story.

Another fantastic story from Joy Jordan-Lake.

Great read ,what a great story! Is it a historical, mystery,romance or a woman's fiction can't really say falls in all.Just going to tell you to read it, bet you agree it was a great story. Thank you to Net Galley, the Author and Publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.