Tag: Appalachian Mountain Mysteries

Welcome the Little Children (Appalachian Mountain Mysteries: Book 3) by Lynda McDaniel

On By JolieIn book review, Lynda McDaniel Books, Non ARC1 Comment
Welcome the Little Children: A Mystery Novel (Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Book 3) by [McDaniel, Lynda]

4 Stars

Publisher: Lynda McDaniel Books

Date of publication: November 15th, 2018

Genre: Mystery

Series: Appalachian Mountain Mysteries

A Life for A Life—Book 1 (review here)

The Roads to Damascus—Book 2 (review here)

Welcome the Little Children—Book 3

Where you can find Welcome the Little Children: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis:

Missing mother. Neglected children. Lost love. Abit and Della have their work cut out for them.

Meet Astrid, a sprite of a girl whose mother goes missing from her isolated log cabin. Abit Bradshaw and Della Kincaid get entangled in the investigation, searching for answers from the mountains of N.C. to the streets of D.C. Along the way, they come face-to-face with the lies and secrets plaguing their own families. Meanwhile, Abit struggles with a decision that could cost him everything he holds dear.

Welcome the Little Children is the third book in Lynda McDaniel’s internationally acclaimed Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series. Reviewers have compared her work to To Kill a Mockingbird and her storytelling style to that of Fannie Flagg. If you like page-turning dramas without over-the-top violence—but packed with suspense and character-driven stories—you’ll love this series.

My Review:

Welcome the Little Children is the last book in the Appalachian Mountain Mystery series. Abit has graduated from The Hicks and is doing well for himself. Della is wondering if she should pack up and move to Washington D.C. with Alex. That is when Astrid appears. An eight-year-old who seemed years older, she tugs at Della’s heartstrings. Then Della finds out that Astrid’s mother has disappeared. Using her investigative reporter skills, Della tries to find her. Along the way, Della is forced to face secrets that are haunting her own family. Will Della find Astrid’s mother? What are the secrets that Della will uncover?

Welcome the Little Children was a fantastic end to the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries. I was excited to read it. I couldn’t wait to see what Della and Abit would get themselves into. I wasn’t disappointed!!

The storyline that involved Della, Astrid, and her family was heartbreaking. I liked that Della was going to find out where Astrid’s mother was. And when she did, man did the fireworks start. I loved it. I also liked that the storyline was resolved in a way that made sense to me. It was realistic.

The storyline that involved Abit and Fiona was a heartbreaker. I cried more during that storyline than I did in the other books. I felt awful for Abit. The decision he had to make was a painful one. But he wasn’t going to be pressured into doing anything he didn’t want to do. What I liked about this storyline is that it came around full circle. I’m not going to say what but I will say that Abit and Fiona did get their happily ever after.

The characters in Welcome the Little Children were wonderfully written. From the main characters to the secondary, they all added depth to the storyline. Della’s crisis at the beginning of the book struck me. I have had similar situations before, and I have questioned myself too.

The end of Welcome the Little Children was good. The storylines were wrapped up in ways that I liked. I will say that I agreed with Della on Abit’s mother’s deathbed confession. I would have contemplated the same thing.

I would give Welcome the Little Children an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is mild language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Welcome the Little Children. I would also recommend this book to family and friends

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Have you read Welcome the Little Children?

What are your thoughts on it?

Let me know!!

The Roads to Damascus (Appalachian Mountain Mysteries: Book 2) by Lynda McDaniel

On By JolieIn book review, Lynda McDaniel Books, Non ARC2 Comments
The Roads to Damascus: A Mystery Novel (Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Book 2) by [McDaniel, Lynda]

4 Stars

Publisher: Lynda McDaniel Books

Date of publication: February 5th, 2018

Genre: Mystery

Series: Appalachian Mountain Mystery

A Life for a Life—book 1 (review here)

The Roads to Damascus—book 2

Welcome the Little Children—book 3

Where you can find The Roads to Damascus: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Book synopsis:


Abit is back! Four years after that fateful summer in “A Life for a Life,” Abit Bradshaw faces the biggest challenge of his life in “The Roads to Damascus,” the much-anticipated second book in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries trilogy. When a family of con artists fleeces his school and casts suspicion on him, Abit, with the support of his friends Della Kincaid and Alex Covington, sets out to find them and get payback. He takes a life-changing journey from Washington, D.C., through the mountains of Virginia, and finally home again to Laurel Falls, N.C. Along the way, he draws on every bit of courage and faith he can muster as he encounters a slew of characters—from sinners to saints—who help him come to terms with his rightful place in the world.

My review:

The Roads to Damascus takes place four years after A Life for A Life. Abit (or VJ) is home after being expelled from The Hicks. A family of con artists takes his school for a large amount of money. They also set Abit up to take the fall. Abit decides that he needs to find them and their other victims. His journey leads him through Virginia and back to North Carolina. During this journey, Abit learns that not all smarts come from the brain and that there was a place in the world for people like him. It is up to him to embrace who he is.

The plotline for The Roads to Damascus was straightforward. It follows Abit as he pursues the family of con people who took his school for a lot of money. It was well written with memorable characters. I didn’t like that the book was told only from Abit’s POV. The back and forth between Della and Abit in the first book was lacking here. But, I could see why the author decided to only write from Abit’s POV. It was his journey that needed to be told. And what a journey it was!!

I loved Abit in this book. I loved watching his character grow in this book. I knew that I was in for something special when he went to Washington D.C. to with Della and started on his journey. The bumbling, childish manchild morphed into a mature man who knew his worth. I loved it. Of course, he made mistakes along the way. He learned from them and moved on. His journey, which first started being about him, ended up being about other people.

I was a little afraid for Abit at points in the book. He didn’t exactly keep it on the down-low that he was after Mama, Clarice, and Clayne. Some of the situations that he got into scared me. There were points in the book where I kept saying to myself “Abit, GO home.” Of course, I knew that he couldn’t.

I wouldn’t call The Roads to Damascus a mystery. There was next to no mystery in the book. The only mystery was when Abit was going to catch up with Mama, Clarice, and Clayne. But there was plenty of adventure and plenty of action. I would say that it was a good fit in those genres instead.

There was romance in The Roads to Damascus!! I wasn’t expecting it, and I loved it. I thought that Fiona was a perfect match for Abit. After what Clarice put him through, I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to trust anyone again.

The end of The Roads to Damascus was pretty typical. I knew that what happened was going to happen. I liked seeing Abit show up everyone who had doubted him.

I would give The Roads to Damascus an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is language. There is violence. I would suggest that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread The Roads to Damascus. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Have you read Pray for the Girl?

What are your thoughts on it?

Let me know!!