Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE

The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It’s an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when the image leads to his big break, the consequences are devastating in ways he never imagined.

Haunted by secrets of her own, secretary Lillian Palmer sees more in the picture than a good story and is soon drawn into the fray. Together, the two set out to right a wrongdoing and mend a fractured family, at the risk of everything they value.

Inspired by an actual newspaper photo that stunned readers across the nation, this touching novel explores the tale within the frame and behind the lens—a journey of ambition, love, and the far-reaching effects of our actions.

Paperback, 344 pages

Published August 28, 2018

 by Sourcebooks Landmark

4/5 stars

I’ve had this book on my shelf for a number of years, I was hesitant to pick it up because of that cover. To me it spells heartache, sadness and could be a depressing read.

It’s 1931 and both Ellis Reed and Lillian Palmer work for a newspaper. As they both strive for newsworthy events they also both have secrets and guilt from the past. But when a picture draws them together and sets them on a journey to heal a fractured family they get more than they bargained for.

This is my first time reading a Kristina McMorris book, she wrote this book inspired by an actual newspaper photo that stocked a nation. The author did her homework and depicting the time vividly. There were the struggles of the depression along with the desperation of families and those that take advantage of them.

Sold on a Monday is a story of family, redemption and righting wrongs. It will tug at your heart strings and draw you right in to its captivating ending.

I listened to the audio book and which is almost 10 hours long narrated by Brian Hutchison, who did a great job.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill  at  Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.   

 This week I am waiting for:

Paperback, 340 pages

Expected publication: November 24th 2015 by Kensington

From New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes an ambitious and heartrending story of immigrants, deception, and second chances.

On a cold night in October 1937, searchlights cut through the darkness around Alcatraz. A prison guard’s only daughter—one of the youngest civilians who lives on the island—has gone missing. Tending the warden’s greenhouse, convicted bank robber Tommy Capello waits anxiously. Only he knows the truth about the little girl’s whereabouts, and that both of their lives depend on the search’s outcome.

Almost two decades earlier and thousands of miles away, a young boy named Shanley Keagan ekes out a living as an aspiring vaudevillian in Dublin pubs. Talented and shrewd, Shan dreams of shedding his dingy existence and finding his real father in America. The chance finally comes to cross the Atlantic, but when tragedy strikes, Shan must summon all his ingenuity to forge a new life in a volatile and foreign world.

Skillfully weaving these two stories, Kristina McMorris delivers a compelling novel that moves from Ireland to New York to San Francisco Bay. As her finely crafted characters discover the true nature of loyalty, sacrifice, and betrayal, they are forced to confront the lies we tell—and believe—in order to survive.

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“Will grab your heart on page one and won’t let go until the end—and if you’re like me, not even then. I absolutely love this book, and so will you.”
— Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants

“Compelling, resonant and deeply moving, The Edge of Lost is an absorbing tale of deceit and self-deception, survival and second chances, the ties that bind and the lure of the unknown.”
— Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train

“In The Edge of Lost Kristina McMorris takes us on a thrilling ride . . . I found myself thoroughly immersed in her richly evocative settings, just as I was captivated by the pure humanity of her characters. A wonderful read!”
— David Gillham, New York Times bestselling author of City of Women

“A beautifully told story about a young man’s journey through adversity and loss with an exhilarating ending that I couldn’t put down and stayed up well past my bedtime to finish.”
— Charles Belfoure, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Architect

“With prose as lyrical as the music woven through its narrative, and boasting impeccably observed historical details, The Edge of Lost is a thoroughly mesmerizing novel. I adore everything that Kristina McMorris writes and this book is no exception.”
— Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of Somewhere in France

“The Edge of Lost takes readers on an enthralling journey . . . right up to a tense, edge-of-your-seat ending that left me breathless. An absorbing, addictive read.”
— Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Violet Grant

What are you waiting for?