The Belles of Solace Glen [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Susan S. James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

On Flip Paxton's cleaning day at Leona Bell's antebellum mansion, the matriarch of the town's most prominent family succumbs to a heart attack right before her eyes. Before Leona dies, she implores Flip to find three letters hidden by the Bell family women for over a century, and give them to her niece. Flip has no idea that the letters, which reveal the torrid love affair of a famous Civil War general, will bring out the dark side of Solace Glen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A moving, charm-filled novel of lost loves, mysterious old letters and small-town friendships."
-- Earlene Fowler

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587247704
• ISBN-13: 978-1587247705
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,851,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining mystery with a historical twist, July 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Belles of Solace Glen (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

A light, entertaining mystery with an engaging protagonist, and TWO mysteries -- one present-day, one historical -- for heroine Flip to solve. My only problems: first, somebody needed to proof this book (there are several problems with the punctuation, specifically unnecessary apostrophes). Secondly: Flip's insistence on believing that ALL single women are secretly unhappy souls longing for children got more than a little annoying. Watching Flip go through the family Bible, aching for every single woman who died unmarried/childless, and making up little stories about their undoubtedly sad, useless lives, got really old really fast.

Aside from those quibbles, a quick, fun read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feel-good Cozy, September 5, 2005

By 

Jean Barley "series lover" (Carlisle, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Belles of Solace Glen (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

This is a delightful series and hope the author has many years of "Solace Glen" and Flip Paxton. It's refreshing to have a series of the heroine being a "working stiff" and has the compassion for the older generation. It is a lot like the Jan Karon series, but so what? I love those books and look forward to her next installment. Ms. James characters are so well written you feel like they're your friends and neighbors and become concerned with their "lives". Rock on, Susan. Your series is enjoyed by this "old working stiff".

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A COZY (mystery), October 13, 2004

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Belles of Solace Glen (Prime Crime Mysteries) (Paperback)

I say that because the mystery part of this is minimal -- it's more of a Jan Karon sort of book. This author has a lot of potential, but she needs a good editor and some people to read her book before publication to tell her when something doesn't work. In addition, there are some huh? problems -- like the town has a big Thanksgiving picnic each year where people lay on the ground (this is set in the Baltimore area, remember, not Hawaii), but right before Christmas, it's snowing right on cue.

What didn't work? Well, there were a couple of themes in this book that wore very thin very quickly -- one was "I'm just the town maid" whining from Flip, the main character; the other was "I'm not married and have no family" -- also coming from Flip. Honestly, if I were that desperate for family, I'd either get pregnant and have some kids or move someplace where my chances of meeting someone were greater (she keeps saying that there are no eligible single men in her small town).

OK, I've got that out of the way. This author is a great storyteller and does COZY very well. I think with more editorial guidance, she could become a very successful author (this is her first). She creates a fictional small town that everyone wants to live in -- yes, it's phony and unbelievable, but it's a great place to escape to. She creates memorable characters, each of which stands out (you don't have any trouble remembering who is who in this book). I enjoyed reading the book, even with my irritations with Flip. If you like cozy and don't require a real mystery and can live with what I've described, you'll probably like this book. I think the author has a lot of potential.