In 1934, Ruth escapes the psychiatric hospital in Tuscaloosa where she was born and raised after one of the orderlies tries to force her into an unwanted marriage. After taking a job caring for an ailing, elderly man — who gifts her with a rare coin and then dies — she becomes half of the Hawthorn Sisters, two women who claim they can heal people through touch and prayer. When her other half falls in love with the evangelical preacher they have partnered with, Ruth needs to reinvent herself one more time.
In the present day, Eve Candler, granddaughter of Dove Jarrod, a famous faith healer, manages her late grandmother’s charitable foundation — even though Dove told her the truth (or fiction) about her faith healing before she died. When back in Tuscaloosa to film a documentary about the foundation, Eve is violently assaulted by a man who tells her that Dove’s death wasn’t natural and he wants the missing coin… or else.
I liked the duel timeline in this book. I love when books use this format because it usually lets the reader explore the characters’ lives more deeply and lets us see a lot more of the background. And, I also liked the light mystery in this book — who hurt Eve and Dove? Who were the Hawthorn sisters? What is so important about the coin? I enjoyed how the author teased all this out.
However, I felt like a lot of the character development was more superficial, especially with Eve and her relationship with her grandmother. I wanted more. I wanted more about Ruth, too. I wanted more description, more feeling, a bigger sense of urgency in her situation. I liked these characters, but I don’t think we were ever fully invited into their lives — we made it right through the door, but got trapped in the foyer.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.