Diamond Duo

Title: DIAMOND DUO
Author: Marcia Gruver
Publisher: Barbour Books
October 2008
ISBN: 978-1-60260-205-2
Genre: Inspirational/historical romance

Bertha Biddle has been in love with Thaddeus Bloom for a long time, and she’s tired of waiting for his hand. When a flashy woman, Annie Monroe, comes to town, Bertha hopes Annie will teach her how to use feminine wiles to catch Thad’s heart so that he won’t leave to go to college, but instead stays and marries her.

But there is something strange about Annie. She goes by multiple names. Her husband seems very jealous, and so Annie sneaks out when he’s passed out to visit with Bertha, and otherwise pretends not to know her. And she refers to herself as “merchandise” even while implying that her life is in danger.

When a woman’s body is found in the woods by a local woman, the whole town is thrown into an uproar. Love and faith are tested.

DIAMOND DUO is book one in the Texas Fortunes series. Based on an actual unsolved murder in Jefferson, Texas, the story was interesting to read. I was a bit thrown at first by Annie’s multiple names (it took me awhile to figure out she used aliases) and that the murder occurs almost at the end of the book. However, it does help to ground us in the characters, inciting sympathy, and helping to form opinions as to who might have murdered the victim.

Bertha was an interesting heroine, spunky and quirky, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. A well rounded cast of secondary characters filled out the story, supporting it and not intrusive. Don’t miss DIAMOND DUO. $10.97. 288 pages.