Enemies of Doves by Shanessa Gluhm – Review by Maryn Belling

Enemies of Doves by Shanessa Gluhm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Enemies of Doves by Shanessa Gluhm – Review by Maryn Belling

Wow. From page 1, Enemies of Doves drew me in and didn’t let go. With a smooth narrative style on par with Wally Lamb, Joyce Carol Oats, John Grisham, or Dorothea Benton Frank, I look forward to anything else Ms Gluhm writes, because Enemies of Doves is the BEST book I’ve read this year.

If – like me – you had higher hopes for Where the Crawdads Sing, Lincoln Highway, Mexican Gothic, Hummingbird Salamander, The Good Left Undone, or This Tender Land – Enemies of Doves is the answer to those hopes.

The way the storyline alternates between World War II era life and the early 1990s, readers who were in junior high, high school, or college in the 1990s will find extra connections with their contemporaries.

Resonant “notable quotables” really make the book a keeper for me –

Here’s a lesson they won’t teach you at that fancy college of yours. Life ain’t a fair boss. It don’t always hand you the paycheck you earned.

She said Wyoming with the reverence people usually reserved for discussing heaven or the New York Yankees.

You were missing from my porch swing, from my passenger seat, from the pew beside me at church. And it was no wonder my life had always felt so empty.

Any other quotes I share would spoil the story. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve read a book this wonderful. Thank you Ms. Gluhm for sharing your book with the world.

Tags: Enemies of Doves, Shanessa Gluhm, Review, Itsy Bitsy Book Bits, Historical, Mystery

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