A Stillness of Chimes- Book Review

A Stillness of Chimes is the first novel by Meg Moseley I have read.  If this novel is an indication of her work, I will definitely add her other books to my reading list.  Meg is originally from California but moved to the south and worked as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution for four years.  As a fellow Georgian, I appreciate that she sets this novel in our state and describes it full of southern charm (and doesn't make characters into a caricature of  uneducated hillbillies and buffoons) - even the kudzu sounds charming!

The plot revolves around Laura Gantt's return to Prospect, Georgia after her mother's death.  As Laura stays in town to clear her mother's house, she is reunited with former sweetheart Sean and best friend Cassie. Laura's father, Elliott, was presumed drowned in a fishing accident twelve years before, but his body was never recovered.  Rumors of Elliott sightings begin swirling around town, and Laura sets out to find out if her father could possibly have survived all those years ago.  Sean tries to support and protect Laura at the same time, but he has his own reasons for keeping Elliott a ghost in the past.

I really enjoyed Meg's storytelling in this book.  There are threads of several stories woven throughout the book, and the last few chapters really tied all those ends together well.  I liked that there were some resolutions spread throughout the book.  I'm not a big fan of having a bunch of questions that carry on until the last page, and I enjoyed having some bits of information fed to me throughout the book.  For example, you do not have to wait until the end of the book to learn Sean's secret.  There are vivid descriptions of both Laura's mother and father, and even though they are dead (or are they?), you learn a lot about them as people from flashback scenes and descriptions from the other characters.  The only tiny issue I had was a subplot involving Cassie and her husband.  There seemed to be a build up to some relatively large plot point involving them, then it kind of petered out.  I don't know if that was a casualty of editing, or if I placed too large an expectation on what troubles Cassie may be having.  Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fiction surrounding relationships and mysteries.

This is Christian fiction, so characters attend church, reference God and voice prayers.  As you might expect, there is no cursing, little violence (not graphic), and no sexual scenes.  You can read the first chapter here, and visit Meg Moseley's website here.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review, but all opinions are my own.