Customer Reviews

Fighting for Bread and Roses: A Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lindsey Taylor is determined to live a normal life and that is not easy after the trauma she had just been through. Lindsey had witnessed a murder in New Orleans and had to testify against a dangerous crime family. Her life had been in an upheaval, but now it was time to move forward.
Lindsey is a writer and eager to complete her research on her next project; a writing about the "Bread & Roses" strike of 1912 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. As she travels to Lawrence to research she assures her husband that she will be fine, but she is almost dead wrong.
Lindsey begins to dig into the death of one Millworker, Anna Lopizzo and in doing she uncovers the story of Jenna Waverly who is said to have drowned in the frozen Merrimack River. How could that have happened and were these two women connected in someway? As Lindsey's investigation becomes more intense she finds someone is determined to keep certain secrets hidden and will do anything in their power to stop her. What a great read!

I have to tell you this is an exceptional book; taking us from the present and the happenings to Lindsey, to 1912 and emerging us into the lives of those deeply touched by the "Bread & Roses" strike. I was glued to the pages as the author craft-fully created the world that both eras lived in, brought it to life like a full screen movie and charged your emotions to a full time high. Outstanding! This work has history, well defined characters, sprinkled with the strength of God, suspense, romance and mystery. I simply cannot recommend this read highly enough. Bravo Ms.Coleman, you have a real winner here.

Fighting for Bread and Roses by Lynn A. Coleman is a suspenseful novel about a quest to discover the truth surrounding a historical event. Main character and novelist, Lindsey Taylor, uncovers secrets from the past while researching deaths that occurred during the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912--the topic of her next book. There is someone, however, will stop at nothing to ensure that these secrets stay buried. This story is full of twists and turns that make the reader eager to join Lindsey in discovering the truth.

Danger plagues Lindsey as she begins to uncover more about the Strike of 1912. She receives calls "encouraging" her to research another book, her hotel room is ransacked, and she quickly realizes she is being stalked. Problems only escalate from there; the more she researches, the more difficulties she experiences. The reader has the same questions as Lindsey: Who is it that doesn't want her researching this topic, and why is this person threatening her? Her determination and love of mystery cause her to continue pursuing the truth about the past, despite the dangers she encounters.

As Lindsey uncovers more about the Bread and Roses Strike, the reader is taken back to that actual time period and sees the story unfold in the perspective of the very people Lindsey is researching. This permits the reader to examine the details of what truly happened to Jenna Waverly, the mill worker whose past Lindsey is most interested in. The continuous shifting of time allows the reader to become involved with two separate women, and mystery and intrigue are a large part of both of their lives.

Fighting for Bread and Roses is an excellent novel. The mystery and suspense make it a fast and enjoyable book. Although the double storyline and abundance of suspicion can cause some confusion, Lynn A. Coleman brilliantly takes two stories from different time periods and intertwines them into a single fantastic novel. Anyone with a love of history and mystery will enjoy this book, and I recommend purchasing it. -- Andrea Burns, Christian Book Previews.com

Novelist Lindsey Taylor has a knack for bringing unsolved mysteries of the past into her present.
As Lindsey researches the Bread & Roses strike of 1912 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, she uncovers facts that some in Lawrence would rather have remained in history.

When Lindsey is followed, her hotel room broken into, and her computer stolen she begins to realize that someone wants to prevent her from discovering the truths associated with the strike.

Mrs. Coleman has woven a well-crafted tale of suspense while mixing history and fiction. Highly recommend.

Skillfully woven with history and suspense, this book keeps you turning pages. Novelist Lindsey Marc researches the famous Bread and Roses strike...and uncovers a mystery. She faces threats on her life. Because of her discovery?

I hope this heroine is the start in a series! I love suspense.

I received this book as a Christmas gift, sat down to read it on the morning of December 26th, and finished it that evening. I could not stop reading it. Lynn Coleman has woven two parallel stories into one gripping, seamless tale with just the right touch of suspense, romance, and mystery--along with historical and political facts that give the tale credibility. So much credibility that I wanted to look up the Bread and Roses strike on the Internet to see if the characters in this book actually existed.

Coleman's skillfully told story, believable and sympathetic characters, and vivid descriptions of place (Lowell, MA, circa 1911/12 and present day) will pull readers into this tale and won't let them leave until the last page. I highly recommend Fighting for Bread and Roses.

Lindsey Taylor,(aka Lindsey Marc) a famous author is in Lawrence Massachusetts doing research for a new book. She is looking into the famous mill strike of the early 1900's. What she is not expecting is for someone to be targeting her, her past experiences in New Orleans flood her mind and threaten to overwhelm her with fear, but she leans hard upon the Lord, fighting the fear. Knowing that there is a secret to be uncovered in this small Massachusetts town.

What do drug rings have to do with a century old strike and death? Lindsey is not sure, but she will find out if there is a connection. Hopefully she will not be injured while she does so.

Flipping back and forth between the historical setting and today's time this story was very interesting. Normally I do not enjoy books that do this, because I am easily distracted and find myself having to re-read parts to keep the story straight, but Lynn Coleman did an awesome job telling this story in the present and the past. I enjoyed it so much it was very hard to put down. Definitely a great mystery, and a great love story also. 268 fascinating pages. 4 stars!!

This book was provided for review purposes only by Kregel Publications, no payment was received for this review.

I received this book very quickly and have already read it. It's an excellent book and a good place to buy it.

All I can say is WOW!!! I never expected to love this book so much! A friend recommended it to me ages ago, and I procrastinated for a very long time before I decided to pick it up and read it. Let me tell ya...you better get to steppin', and do the same! You will not be sorry!

I love historical fiction, but I really love historical fiction with a mystery. Even more, I love historical fiction that is told in conjunction with a present-day story. All of that is wrapped up perfectly in this book. The history in the book is based on true events that I had never even heard of until now. I did a little internet searching to see if any of the characters ever existed, and so far, I've found info on two. In retrospect, that just made this book so much more interesting. I mean, we all know the Civil War happened, but I feel that I can relate to a story more when I know that the characters I'm reading about actually existed and aren't fictitious.

Then, there's the mystery, and it's a good 'un--not only in the historical account, but in the present-day drama that is Lindsey Marc's life. I had the mystery pretty well solved on my own, but there were a few things that crept up that I didn't expect to happen. Honestly, the whole book is a roller-coaster ride, but it kept me on the edge of my seat as a reader from page one clear to the end.

Since this book was written 2005, my guess is that the author didn't have any thoughts on a sequel, or even a series featuring Lindsey Marc. But honestly, that would be such a great idea! The sky's the limit on stories like this combining the past with the present, and I'd be an instant fan for sure.

4.5 Stars

This is a great story as only Lynn Coleman can tell. Lindsey Taylor is a writer of historical mystery and she is always on the go researching her stories. She has just got our of a mess in New Orleans and is not heading straight into another one.

She goes to Lawrence, Mass to research the old story of the mill workers back in 1912, and the strike that was called "Bread and Roses" but she had no idea of what she was going to uncover. She talks and makes friends with all the older residence and goes into attics and finds old diaries and papers, which tie the people together that did not even know they were related.

As always she gets into trouble with people following her in her car, to being shot at, someone breaking into her hotel room and so on. Her husband is a lawyer back in Miami and is wanting her to come home before she gets hurt.

This book was sent to me by Kregel Publishing for Review

Fighting for Bread and Roses held my attention to the end. It isn't the catchiest title, nor does it reflect how good this book really is, so I ended up liking more than I had anticipated. I can get easily distracted while reading but found myself reaching for this book every chance I got. The twists and turns are compelling. I suspected what happened and was correct, but the author did such a great job with red herrings that I had my doubts all the way to the end. The author balanced out the past with the present very well, though I enjoyed the historical piece more. That often happens when I read this type of book because I love history.

Political intrigue, mystery, suspense, action, love, passion, romance, and family secrets contained in diaries all played a part in making this tale exceptionally enjoyable for me. If you like mysteries with twists, romance with passion, and a portion of intriguing history mixed with faith, you'll love this book as much as I did. It was compulsively readable and I highly recommend it.