Book Synopsis:
Three women. An isolated town. A decades-old mystery.
They hate me down there, in Boldville. I can read it in their eyes, smell it on their noxious breaths. That dreaded little town hates everything about me: not just my personality and form, the clothes I wear, but the way I think.
The things that I know.
1933. Cornelia Stover is headstrong and business-minded – not the kind of woman the men of Boldville, New Mexico, expect her to be. Then she stumbles upon a secret hidden out in the hills . . .
1970. Decades later, Joanna Riley, a former cop, packs up her car in the middle of the night and drives west, fleeing an abusive marriage and a life she can no longer bear. Eventually, she runs out of gas and finds herself in Boldville, a sleepy desert town in the foothills of the Gila Mountains.
Joanna was looking for somewhere to retreat, to hide, but something is off about this place. In a commune on the outskirts a young man has been found dead and Joanna knows a cover up when she sees it. Soon, she and Glitter, a young, disaffected hippie, find themselves caught up in a dark mystery that goes to the very heart of Boldville, where for too long people have kept their eyes shut and turned their heads away. A mystery that leads them all the way back to the unexplained disappearance of Glitter’s grandmother Cornelia forty years before . . .
A captivating, atmospheric new novel from the lauded author of The Long, Long Afternoon, This Wild Wild Country simmers with secrets, lies and terrible betrayal, unravelling the lives of three women at the mercy of their times.
My Review:
This Wild, Wild Country is an intriguing and inspiring read that I really enjoyed.
Firstly I loved the setting in this book which was so vividly described I felt I was actually there able to feel the heat and dust for myself. From the start the reader is aware of the slightly sinister, strange atmosphere surrounding the town. The sheriff was an ominous leader and the fear from the town’s people was almost palpable at times.
The story is told in two timelines one set just after the gold rush and the other during the hippy movement. I hadn’t read much about either period so I really enjoyed learning more about them. It was particularly interesting to learn how the hippy movement impacted women as I hadn’t thought about that before. Did the idea of free love and sharing everything extend to women’s bodies? I hope it didn’t but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case for some people.
Overall I really enjoyed this book which gripped me from the start. There are some fantastic, strong women characters which I enjoyed watch grow throughout the book. There are some tough subjects mentioned but I found it very inspiring to see how the characters dealt with it. The ending was very satisfying, though I do wish the book had continued a little bit longer so I could find out what happens to the characters afterwards, especially Joanna.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Inga Vesper is a journalist and editor. She moved to the UK from Germany to work as a carer, before the urge to write and explore brought her to journalism. As a reporter, she covered the coroner’s court and was able to observe how family, neighbours and police react to a suspicious death. Inga has worked in Syria and Tanzania, but now lives in Glasgow, because there’s no better way to find a good story than eavesdropping on the chatter in a Scottish cafe on a rainy day.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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