Dovetail: A Novel

by Karen McQuestion

From the bestselling author of Hello Love comes a spellbinding new novel of enduring love, family secrets, and mysterious death.

Joe Arneson’s ordinary life is upended by troubling dreams of himself as a different man in another place and time. It isn’t until he visits his estranged grandmother, Pearl, in her Wisconsin hometown that a startling connection emerges.

Drawn into his family’s past, Joe discovers secrets weighing on the old woman’s soul: the tragic death of her sister Alice a half century ago and its ripple effect on all who loved her. Digging into the events of that summer in 1916, Joe is convinced that his recurrent visions relate to Alice’s untimely passing and to the beloved man she meant to marry. With the help of Kathleen, a local woman Joe’s fallen for, the puzzles of the past start falling into place.

As uncovered truths bring Joe and Kathleen closer together, they also reveal a new danger. For Joe’s dreams may be a warning—from one star-crossed couple to another.

• ISBN10: 1542042372
• ISBN13: 9781542042376
• Publish Date: 10 March 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Lake Union Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Perfectly Executed. This was an interesting take on the dual timeline approach, where the connection between the two timelines is both standard and... not. Standard in that the older characters in the more current timeline are much younger in the older timeline, not in ... exactly how the older timeline is revealed. This is a drastic departure from the feel-good story of McQuestion's 2019 work Good Man, Dalton, but is perhaps even more interesting because of it. Here we get much darker themes of possession, abuse, and regret, but we also get a seemingly accurate portrayal of life in rural 1916 and 1983 and the hope that could exist in both eras. Truly excellent work, and solid evidence of McQuestion's adaptability as a storyteller. Very much recommended.