5 Stars Out Of 5!!!
“They would know there was a murderer loose on Stonehall Estate.”
“I don’t always understand the answers—I can’t say I always like them—but I’m always more at peace knowing I’ve turned the outcome over to God. It lifts a lot of the weight off my shoulders when the burden is heavy.”
“Here was another path. One she hadn’t counted on. One she hadn’t seen coming. A detour she never intended to make from her grand design. But she suspected it was absolutely, positively the right path to go down.”
Another winner from one of my favorite authors, DL Wood. As always, she blends a perfect mix of suspense, mystery, faith, and humor. There’s even a little romance, that is tasteful and realistic. Oh, and throw in a search for hidden treasure and you have a wonderful Unintended Detour novel.
Unintended Detour is book 3 in the Unintended series, though it could be read as a stand-alone. Chloe is back as well as her husband, Jack (love Jack!!) as they head to the Hudson River Valley to celebrate their second anniversary in a mansion resort called Stonehall Estate. The book starts off on New Years Eve of 1930 with a robbery gone bad where a treasure goes missing and then pivots to the present day the week after Christmas. Chloe and Jack are thrown in a bad situation where weird things are happening at Stonehall Estate, including a dead body. Can they help figure out the villain and find the treasure?
What I loved about this book was the mystery and the setting. There were plenty of red herrings and I loved learning the legend that DL Wood created. I had no idea who the villain was and even though I figured out in advance where the treasure was hidden, it did not deter the journey that DL Wood took me on. It all comes together perfectly. And what makes her a fantastic writer is all her descriptions of scenes and the action. You feel like you are there with the characters experiencing all the things that they are.
I wouldn’t classify this as a cozy mystery but there are a lot of cozy aspects that are done really well; from the food to beverages to the weather to the clothing to just the overall atmosphere. I felt like it was a perfect read for winter and even autumn. Drink some cider or cocoa and eat some s’mores in front of a roaring fire as you read this!
There is a lot of great faith aspects as well. The theme revolved around patience and how sometimes we are in a season of waiting for answers from God. It was a great reminder to: “Trust in the Lord, with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
DL Wood is an author I always rush to read when a new book come out. This one did not disappoint and I devoured it in only two days. Well done!
I received this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.
