Release Day Review: The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon
From the bestselling author of Where the Lost Wander and What the Wind Knows comes the evocative story of two people whose paths collide against the backdrop of mystery, murder, and the Great Depression.
Chicago, 1923: Ten-year-old Dani Flanagan returns home to find police swarming the house, her parents dead. Michael Malone, the young patrolman assigned to the case, discovers there’s more to the situation—and to Dani Flanagan herself—than the authorities care to explore. Malone is told to shut his mouth, and Dani is sent away to live with her spinster aunts in Cleveland.
Fifteen years later, Michael Malone is summoned to Cleveland to investigate a series of murders that have everyone stumped, including his friend and famed Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, now Cleveland’s director of safety. There, in a city caught in the grip of a serial killer, Malone’s and Dani’s paths cross once again.
Malone is drawn to Dani and her affinity for the dead and compassion for the destitute. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that she could help him solve his case. As terror descends on the city and Malone and Dani confront the dark secrets that draw them together, it’s a race to find the killer or risk becoming his next victims.
Chicago, 1923: Ten-year-old Dani Flanagan returns home to find police swarming the house, her parents dead. Michael Malone, the young patrolman assigned to the case, discovers there’s more to the situation—and to Dani Flanagan herself—than the authorities care to explore. Malone is told to shut his mouth, and Dani is sent away to live with her spinster aunts in Cleveland.
Fifteen years later, Michael Malone is summoned to Cleveland to investigate a series of murders that have everyone stumped, including his friend and famed Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, now Cleveland’s director of safety. There, in a city caught in the grip of a serial killer, Malone’s and Dani’s paths cross once again.
Malone is drawn to Dani and her affinity for the dead and compassion for the destitute. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that she could help him solve his case. As terror descends on the city and Malone and Dani confront the dark secrets that draw them together, it’s a race to find the killer or risk becoming his next victims.
**ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Amy Harmon is one of the few authors who always exceeds my expectations. She can deliver super original stories with the most unique and intriguing characters. She can create stories that make you feel so many different emotions. The Unknown Beloved is a suspenseful and beautiful historical fiction/romance novel. I absolutely loved the setting of this book and I found it very interesting to read about how police work was done back in those days. The characters were the highlight of this book and I was fully invested in the relationship between Malone and Dani. I loved how they met and were reunited many years later. I enjoyed seeing them become friends and seeing that bond grow into love.
The characters were just so amazing. I especially loved Dani, she was so sweet and selfless. My heart broke for what she went through as a child. I thought the balance between romance and suspense was great. I enjoyed that the story tackled a serial killer case, and I was very invested in seeing how everything would develop. There were moments where I was on the edge of my seat with suspense and moments that had me smiling. Dani's ability to help Malone with the case was very unique and I loved everything about it. I didn't want this book to end, and I personally wouldn't mind if Amy decided to turn this book into a series where Dani and Malone work together to solve cases. Amy Harmon has shown again that she can write absolutely anything and hit it out of the park. I already can't wait to see what story she'll write next.
About the author:
Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in seventeen different languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.
Amy Harmon has written sixteen novels - the Washington Post bestseller What the Wind Knows, the USA Today bestsellers The Bird and The Sword, The Smallest Part, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as the #1 Amazon bestselling historical From Sand and Ash, Where the Lost Wander, The First Girl Child, The Queen and The Cure, The Law of Moses, The Song of David, Infinity + One, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times bestseller, A Different Blue. Her latest novel, The Songbook of Benny Lament, a historical romance, is now available.
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