A Bend Of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake

Release: September 6th 2022
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Lake Union
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Audible,

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.

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.

About the Author:

Joy Jordan-Lake is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of nine books, including Under A Gilded Moon; A Tangled Mercy, an Editors’ Choice recipient from the Historical Novel Society; Blue Hole Back Home, winner of the Christy Award for Best First Novel; and two children’s books. Raised in the foothills of the southern Appalachians, she lived nearly a decade of her young adult years in New England, which she still misses―and jumps at every chance to visit. She holds two master’s degrees and a PhD in English and has taught literature and writing at several universities. Now living outside Nashville, she and her husband are startled to find the kids in college and launching careers, with only the ferocious ten-pound rescue pup still living at home full-time. Joy loves to connect with readers.

A Bend Of Light Review:

“A Bend Of Light” is a delightfully fun mystery thriller with a touch of historical fiction, drama, mystery, and past secrets that stands out in the genre.

Firstly, I loved how the author set up the plot with multiple storylines. On the one hand, you have Amie returning to town to locate her friend Jake and landing herself in a mystery involving a Bentley. On the other hand, you have a mysterious boy, Chester, show up, who Shibby takes in and tries to find out his background. Then, you have Tom in Boston, who doesn’t want his picture to show up in the papers for some reason. All these stories seamlessly merge as we see the characters intermingle. Amie, Shibby, and Tom were the highlights, and I enjoyed how the author progressed the mystery. Even Stella, Ian, and Desmond were mysterious, and I wondered about their true intentions. Stella and Tess, in particular, had a strong aura and made the story exciting. The story has a large cast of characters, and each of them brings something new.

Secondly, I loved how the story takes us back to the 1950s to the quaint setting of Maine. The author adds quite a few twists and turns that surprised me, and I enjoyed how charming yet exciting it was for the genre. Some of my favorite moments were when Amie meets Tess for the first time to show the sails and how the plot progresses toward the climax.

Overall, I enjoyed “A Bend Of Light” and didn’t notice the time fly. It is one of my favorites by the author, in addition to “Under a Gilded Moon.”