Today I am happy to say I have The Vanished Days by Suzanna Kearsley on the blog. Massive thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and Simon & Schuster UK for my copy of this novel to take part with my honest thoughts.
A sweeping love story set against the Jacobite revolution from much-loved, million copy bestselling author Susanna Kearsley.
There are many who believe they know what happened, but they do not know the whole of it. The rumours spread, and grow, and take their hold, and so to end them I have been persuaded now to take my pen in hand and tell the story as it should be told…
Autumn, 1707.
Old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to carry the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger.
Queen Anne’s commissioners, seeking to calm the situation, have begun settling the losses and wages owed to those Scots who took part in the disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier.
When Lily, the young widow of a Darien sailor, comes forward to collect her husband’s wages, her claim is challenged, and one of the men who’s assigned to examine her has only days to decide if she’s honest, or if his own feelings are making him blind to the truth, and if he’s being used as a pawn in an even more treacherous game.
A story of intrigue, adventure, endurance, romance…and the courage to hope.
The Vanished Days is a rich historical fiction novel which is a genre I never tire of. Set in Scotland with a dual timeline. Told from the 1700s with flashbacks to the late 17th century, I was so captivated by the vivid details.
Sergeant Adam Williamson is drawn into an investigation of a woman’s claim that she is entitled to claim her dead husbands wages. The flashback chapters tell us the backstory of the woman in question, Lily. We see Adam and his partner investigate. Adam begins to believe Lilys story but his partner thinks Adam is getting personally involved and that it is clouding his judgement.
I have heard of Suzanna Kearsley but never had the pleasure of reading her books. After reading this I am adding books to my tbr list. This is a story that is so rich in the historical detailing. The depth of research into Scottish history that the author has gone into is easy to see.
This isn’t a book I could read and watch TV too, no, this is a book that requires 100% of the readers attention. There are many characters, and also the intricate detailing of the history, means this isn’t a easy read just for entertainment.
Lily is a character I really admired. Her life has not been easy but nothing stops her from getting on with life. The times her life are set in are not easy ones. Everyday is a battle to survive and there are battles over everything as well as so much intrigue threaded throughout.
I thoroughly loved getting to know much more about Scottish history when reading this. I do know some but this book has shown me I am seriously lacking on my Scottish history. The turbulence of the times is so apparent, the battles and intrigue make this such a educational, thrilling in parts and an interesting story.
A novel that brings exceptional world building and characters that are so detailed that you feel they could be real. The background of 1700s Scotland adds so much more tension, with everything the time period brings. There is a twist in the tale that just puts the ‘cherry on the top’, so to speak. I couldn’t recommend this more of you love an indepth, historical novel with plenty of romance.
Author Bio
New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley is a former museum curator who loves restoring the lost voices of real people to the page, interweaving romance and historical intrigue with modern adventure. Over 1.5 million copies of her books have been sold and have been translated into over 25 languages. Her writing career began in 1993 when her then-unpublished novel Mariana won the Catherine Cookson Fiction Prize. Since then she has written twelve novels and won various awards, and has twice made the final of Romantic Novel of the Year awards. She lives near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Social Media Links
https://www.twitter.com/SusannaKearsley
Publisher
https://www.twitter.com/simonschusteruk
Random Things Tours
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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