THE BLUE CLOAK book review

the Blue Cloak 
by Shannon McNear

Book Description:
Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror as the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?

MY BOOK REVIEW:
5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating
         The horrors inflicted by the Harpes are unimaginable, and yet they are based on true facts, while the account is fictionalized.  I was appalled even while compelled to continue reading.  I simply could not fathom what drew Sally to Wiley Harpe to begin with, and yet I understood the sheer terror that held her there.  And still, there is romance contained within the pages.  Romance that leads the reader to hope.  
        Readers will likewise be drawn to this American crime fiction novel.  I highly recommend it.
        I received a digital ARC of this book from netgalley and Barbour Publishing.  All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author:


Shannon McNear has been writing one thing or another since third grade and finished her first novel at age fifteen—but waited more than thirty years for her first book contract. In the meantime, she graduated from high school, attended college, met and married her husband, birthed nine children, lost one, taught five to drive, revised that first story innumerable times, and completed six others.

Her first published novella, Defending Truth, in A Pioneer Christmas Collection (Barbour, 2013 & 2015), was a 2014 RITA® nominee. She writes regularly for Colonial Quills, is a member of ACFW and RWA, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Transplanted to North Dakota after more than two decades in Charleston, South Carolina, she loves losing herself in local history. When this homeschooling mom isn't sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the northern prairies.