Reviews

A Treasure of Gold by Piper Huguley

kjcharles's review

I am a big fan of this series, set in early 20th century America. Piper Huguley is a really gifted historical writer, and her detail and settings are always fascinating. I loved Jay, the numbers man, running an illegal gambling game

that serves as an unofficial bank for the black community, so he's not that bad

. I loved his superstition and resentment and his competence and hidden kindness, and his sharp angle to a rejecting, brutal world. I also loved that this sleazy no-good gets paired with an ultra-religious evangelist. /high fives author for perfect conflict set-up/

I also really liked the way the heroines and heroes of the first books become the antagonists here. We've seen Ruby and Mags through so much, we know what loving, caring people they are--but they are no more free of their cultural world view than anyone else

in thinking Nettie shouldn't marry because she can't have children

. It would have been very easy to put this antagonist role on another family member, and a lesser writer would have because we don't come out of this loving Ruby and Mags. But that's the point: that even the best people, even heroines, can hold blinkered, reductive, unchallenged, hurtful views that lessen other people. Like Ruby, like Mags, like you, like me.

This is an inspirational series, which may not be everyone's cuppa, and this is a particularly religion-heavy book. It's not usually my thing but it's a different and fascinating perspective for me.

I will say, this is a bit less well edited/proofed than I would expect from Samhain, with a fair few errors, and I hope they sort that out. The cover is glorious.