Customer Reviews

A Table by the Window

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

 

 

Ms. Blackwell has indeed penned a story that was exceedingly good and one that this reviewer highly recommends.

Carley has not had an easy life. Abused as a child and than a delinquent in her teens she manages to get her act together in a group home and becomes a teacher. She thinks she has little money, no family, and is stuck putting up with the hypocrisy that comes working at the private academy she teaches at when a visit from a P.I. changes everything. She now has money, family and the freedom to stand up for her beliefs.

Thinking she will just fly to Mississippi, sell off the house she has inherited before finding another teaching job back in San Francisco turns to staying in the charming southern town and putting down roots and getting to know family. She might even allow her heart to be touched by a man. With the sweet comes the sour when a murder mystery touches a little too close to Carley for comfort. Will she be able to stay one step ahead of a killer and still stay alive?

Without going into a deeper synopsis as this could give away storylines for the reader this book is filled with many twists and turns which will keep the reader fully engaged in the story. Although the reader is clued into who the murder is mid way through the story this in no way diminishes the suspense portion of the story. Carley is a very likable chacter and one readers should be able to identify with. This is not a preachy inspirational read and the use of faith here is done tastefully. The setting of this story was very nice. Having grown up in Northern California (Yuba City to be exact) Ms. Blackwell as done a very good job of her description of both San Francisco and so on. Readers will wish they could pull up a chair in Tallulah, Mississippi themselves. I highly recommend this read and look forward to reading Ms. Blackwell in the future.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

In A Table by the Window, author Lawana Blackwell takes on some difficult subjects and when you first look at the list, it seems a bit daunting. But Blackwell tackles the subjects with sensitivity, and at the same time manages to tell a story that will warm your heart. And when you've finished the book you'll yearn for more of Tallulah, Mississippi and its inhabitants. Even though Tallulah has problems, the residents are connected to each other and honestly care about each other.

Carley Reed's childhood was filled with abuse and neglect, yet she managed to become a schoolteacher and keep a pretty positive attitude. Her quiet life in San Francisco is turned upside down when a private investigator informs her that she's inherited her grandmother's estate in Tallulah, Mississippi.

Carley is charmed by the town, the people and the family she never knew. She decides to stay, creates a new career for herself, helps a young girl who reminds her of herself at age 17 and even finds some romantic interests. But a murder threatens her happiness and may even threaten her life.

The faith aspect of A Table by the Window is subtle; however, Blackwell neatly manages to convey faith through the character's honesty, integrity and strong sense of morality as well as faith-based statements.

I found myself wanting to trade in my busy life for the small-town serenity of Tallulah because it's a place where people know your name and care about you and your history.

I fell in love with Lawana Blackwell's characters and style with her Gresham Chronicles, and have enjoyed everything I've read since. A Table By The Window is something totally different from the Victorian England the author is so at home in. But I loved it. Her characters are skillfully drawn, flawed and real. Sometimes I lost track of the many family members flitting in and out of Carley Reed's life, but then, I often do that with my own relatives. I felt like a part of Carley's story, and as so many others noted, I couldn't help wishing I could spend more time in Tallulah, MS.

I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for any book whose main character opens her own cafe or bookstore, as food & books are two are my favorite things in life! And, having worked in both restaurants & bookstores, the storylines bring back fond memories for me.

The characters in this book are just wonderful and remind me of Jan Karon's Mitford books. The mystery that adds the line of suspense throughout the book was done well. While the reader begins to know early on who is responsible for the "mystery" death(s), it only adds to the suspense at wondering when Carley, the main character, will begin to put the pieces together. And while it is much easier to make your characters either "good guys or bad guys", Ms. Blackwell gives all her characters depth & humanity, even the person responsible for the hit & run death that is the center of the mystery.

Carley's belief in God but many questions about why He allowed certain things to happen in her life will speak to many readers.

I would recommend this book highly!

Lawana Blackwell did a fantastic job of creating a contemporary story in quaint Mississippi. Her character development was superb with the complexities of Carley's and Brooke's characters. Carley Reed is a teacher in California, living the life she fixed for herself after her unstable mother, Linda dies. She focuses on her teaching trying to forget her rough upbringing until one day a P.I. arrives, saying her grandmother has died and left her quite a sizable heritance. After being fired from the prestigious school, Carley decides to travel to Mississippi, to the little town of Tallulah to see her grandmother's estate for herself. After meeting the local people and seeing the quaintness of the small town life, Carley decides to stay and open a cafe. Then comes Brooke, a high-school dropout whom Carley takes under her wing after learning about Brooke's almost identitical rough start in life as Carley, herself. To add to the suspense in the story, there is a unsolved hit and run of the local pastor's wife and the murderer could be closer to Carley than she realized. Then there is Carley's refusal to attend church with other believers because of the horrific ordeal she has gone through with a "believer". Will Carley turn her heart back to God and trust His believers? Will the murderer be found before Carley finds herself in an even worse situation than ever before? I loved this story very much and I am so looking forward to Lawana's next contemporary book.

In San Francisco, twenty-five year old Carley Reed, an English literature teacher at the Emerson Preparatory School catches four of her students plagiarizing. Her boss wants her to drop it because the grandfather of one of the pupils is the school's top donor. That night private investigator Dennis Wingate informs Carley that her grandmother Cordelia Walker passed away three months ago. Carley is sad feeling all alone and wishing she had met the woman, but her late mother insured that never happened. Shockingly, Carley learns she inherited a home in Tallulah, Mississippi.

Angry with the school's cavalier treatment of cheating in which they try to make her feel guilty, Carley resigns from the school and heads south. In Mississippi she meets her Great Aunt and other relatives who she never knew existed. Carley also wants to help heal a new friend, who is still grieving from a hit and run death of a loved one that happened six years ago and never was solved. However, an unknown person pressures her to back away from the Gweneth Brown vehicular homicide.

This is an inspiring tale that focuses on the human need for nurturing, belonging and actualization from friends and family something that Carley never received from her mom or anyone else until she came to Tallulah. The hit and run mystery adds suspense that Lawana Blackwell blends nicely into the prime theme, but also takes away from Carley's efforts to adapt to a reengineered world in which people care about her and if she can learn to accept that she would never be alone again. Ms. Blackwell provides a deep character driven novel on the importance of being loved.

Harriet Klausner

I have to say I had high hopes for this novel. I love small town stories and characters but other than the main character, we are not given the chance to learn or really like much about the other people who change her world. The storty reads more like a made for t.v. movie. If you are looking for a good 'small town read' find a Fannie Flagg novel and enjoy.

I am a great fan of Lawana Blackwell's other books, especially the the London & Gresham series. Carley and her relatives are more two-dimensional by comparison. I guess I was just unable to develop the same love for the characters in A Table by the Window. One reviewer compared them to those in the Mitford series, which is a far stretch. For those who have never read Ms. Blackwell's books, all other books by her are much better and definitely worth your time. For true fans, reading this one is worth your time, but it is not her best book by far.

As stated the book is in excellent condition, and arrived in about five days. This is not my first purchase from bacobooks. I have been very pleased with the books and the service. If I find an item I want and they are offering it, I'll buy from them every time. Thank you Annabeth Jones

When I read the review on this book, I knew I had to read it! I had already read most of the Gresham Chronicles and had fallen in love with Lawana Blackwell's characters and wonderful writing! I, too, was an English teacher and could identify, oh so much, with Carley's experiences with students. I also have always wanted to open an eatery. I love to cook simple, tasty meals and bake delicious treats. The mystery and redeemed characters in the book are great, too. I have been able, in my life, to help others to become better through teaching them from the Bible and providing for needs they might have. Ms. Blackwell certainly hit in this novel on all the aspects I love, and I read it with great pleasure.