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I'm a writer and library worker who wears many hats. I believe a good book and a good piece of chocolate are the keys to a happy life.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Sun Tunnels and Secrets by Carole Thayne Warburton



Have you ever wondered what the Golden Girls would have been like if they were LDS? That’s exactly what I thought of when I met “the sisters” in Sun Tunnels and Secrets by Carole Thayne Warburton. When I’m old and grey I want to wear purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go, and be just like LaRue, Mabel and Norma.



They actually reminded me a bit of my own grandmother before she passed. She didn’t want anybody sticking their nose in her business, kept her own secrets and wasn’t exactly playing with a full deck. (but that was okay, because cards were the tool of Satan and she wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that she had *any* much less having a few missing) J I just wanted to hug them.



There’s a lot going on in Sun Tunnels and Secrets. If you’ve ever lived in a small town you’ll know how hard it is to keep a secret in one, much less a series of them that come together in a tangle of coincidences. All I can say is it’s the type of thing that can only be pulled off in a place like Grouse Creek. I mean, you’ve got dead bodies on the side of the road, secret loves, secret children, secret cookie recipes and a dozen other things all wrapped up in a pretty book package. It was a fun, multilayered read.



Did I have any grumbles while reading? Well, there were times, especially at the beginning, when the information offered seemed a little heavy-handed. Not necessarily the dreaded “info dump” just a little obvious in places, just enough to distract me from the story but not enough to make me want to stop reading.



Pluses? As I’ve mentioned, I’m totally in love with the characters Carole Thayne Warburton created in the three sisters. I’m also itching to go see the Sun Tunnels for myself (after all, I’m not a Utah-ite so I didn’t even know they existed. I also enjoyed the touches of historical insight.



Who would I recommend Sun Tunnels and Secrets to? Hmmm. I think this one will appeal most to the older reader. It’s a pretty light read, but I don’t see the teen/early twenty crowd getting into it. Although, I can see a few of them wondering where their “Tony” is. . . .Also, anyone who’s been on the with the “widow patrol” at church. Great job, Carole!



It'sblog tour time for
Filled with zanny and loveable characters,family secrets, and of course mystery, Sun Tunnels and Secrets will appeal to every reader.We are giving away THREE copies. One lucky GRAND PRIZEWINNER will win a beautiful pot by Carole (who's also atalented potter)!Blog tour runs from December 1st--December 9th.

Want to win a copy ofSun Tunnels and Secrets? It's easy.
1. Visit the fabulous reviews and leave a comment letting us know whyyou're excited to read Sun Tunnels.Remember to include your email address.
2. If you tweet about the blog tour, or post about it on your blog orfacebook, leave the link in the comments section and you'll receive anadditional entry.
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On a trip to the Sun Tunnels in the Utah desert, Norma and her sisters finda body on the side of the road. But this awful discovery turns out to bethe least of their problems. Norma's husband just passed on, and she learnshe kept a secret from her for sixty years. LaRue is keeping a secret fromNorma. The sisters' young friend Tony is keeping a secret about his famousfather, and Tony's mother is keeping a secret of her own. Tony is secretlyin love with his friend Kelli, who recently escaped from a polygamist cult.And who is the mysterious young car thief with whom Norma feels a specialconnection? Everything converges in Grouse Creek at the Fourth of Julycelebration. Will secrets prove everyone's undoing?
November 30Alison Palmer--Tangled Wordsand Dreams
December 1Braden Bell--Braden'sBlog
December 2Danyelle Ferguson--Queen of theClan
December 3Jewel Adams--Jewel's BestGems
December 6Tristi Pinkston--*TrisitPinkston
December 7Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen--TheWrite Blocks
December 8Diony George--Diony George
December 9Marsha Ward--Writer in thePines

2 comments:

Marsha Ward said...

Since I've been getting a daily dose of small-town living for the last five years, I can totally relate to Carole's characters and "real life".

Thanks for the review, Alison. Good job!

Taffy said...

I really want to read about these "characters!"

How awesome to make beautiful pottery too!