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Paulette Kennedy masterfully captures rich elements from the gothic genre and its subgenres in The Artist of Blackberry Grange. The setting and timeframe of Kansas City, Missouri and Eureka Springs, Arkansas in the 1920s provide a wonderful backdrop for this tale of many, many layers about a plucky heroine named Sadie. An undercurrent weaving throughout is caregiving for a loved one with dementia which many readers (including myself) can identify with.

With shades of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and undertones from Daphne du Maurier, The Artist of Blackberry Grange is truly gothic lightning in a bottle and I did not want it to end. Overall, this is a novel of stunning achievement.

(I so appreciate being listed in the acknowledgements as this work and its elements are very near and dear to my heart.)