Book Recommendation:
A talented young trick rider finds unexpected community in a traveling carnival, only to discover secrets in the shadow of the Big Top.
Kentucky, 1954. Sixteen-year-old Charlie has no memory of being abandoned as a toddler―only the life she’s known with Mama Rose and Papa Arlo, the rigidly devout couple who raised her as their own. But when Papa Arlo’s rules begin pressing tighter by the day, and Mama Rose reveals a long-buried secret, Charlie realizes the truth of her past lies elsewhere. So she runs.
Disguised as a boy and dreaming of a future beyond the hills, Charlie follows the Ohio River to the Southland Carnival, where her fiery red curls and daring trick riding skills catch the owner’s eye, and Charlie is transformed into a featured act. As “The Irish Princess,” she soars beneath the Big Top, thrilling crowds and finding family among the carnival’s kindhearted misfits and wounded souls.
Back in the hills of rural Kentucky, police chief Curtis Cates has his hands full with the disappearance of three local girls when he receives the call that Charlie has gone missing. As he begins investigating, the evidence leads in a shocking direction, calling to mind an unsolved murder that has haunted him for thirteen years. When the trail takes him to the Southland Carnival, Charlie’s hard-won freedom collides with the secrets she fled, forcing both of them to face truths that have waited too long to be told.
Award-winning singer-songwriter Cindy Morgan, author of “mesmerizing” and “atmospheric” (Historical Novel Society) Southern fiction, delivers a coming-of-age story threaded with mystery and heart that’s perfect for fans of Donna Everhart and Ellen Marie Wiseman.
Standalone Southern women’s fiction in the vein of Kim Michele Richardson and Lisa Wingate. Captivating historical fiction set in the 1950s that’s perfect for book clubs. Features a horse-riding heroine, a cold-case mystery, and themes of adoption, forgiveness, belonging, and found family.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading The Dogwood Gospel, a historical coming-of-age novel set in the 1950’s in a small town in Kentucky. Charlie is a talented horse rider who’s adopted and feeling suffocated by the harsh and rigid religious rules being imposed on her. She’s sixteen and looking for freedom and a place that feels like home.
When Charlie is given information about her past, she’s determined to discover the truth. Difficult circumstances culminate in Charlie running away. She’s on a quest to find a circus that might hold the key to unlocking her past.
Cates is the police chief in Hurt, Kentucky, who’s haunted by a cold case murder he couldn’t solve thirteen years earlier. A few young girls are missing, including Charlie, and their missing persons cases might be connected to a circus.
I loved journeying with Charlie in the story and I appreciated the satisfying story ending. Multiple characters were on a faith journey in the story. There were characters who were experiencing hardship, including abuse. Charlie had to deal with her emotional baggage from being raised in an environment that included spiritual abuse and domestic violence.
I was intrigued by the multiple mysteries in the story and the behind the scenes insights into the nomadic life of circus performers and their entourage. I loved the quirky side characters and animals who played important roles in the story.
I recommend The Dogwood Gospel to historical fiction readers who like small town Southern 1950’s coming-of-age novels with women’s fiction themes, multiple mysteries including a cold case murder, a circus, found family, and strong faith elements including forgiveness themes.
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Many thanks to Tyndale and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.
