Snark & Sensibility

FICTION FRIDAY

A REVIEW OF THE DARK GUEST

BY

SARAH HAMAKER

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Seshva Press LLC (May 15, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 15, 2022
Print length ‏ : ‎ 392 pages
My rating: *****

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Have you ever had one of those stories that won’t leave you alone? For me, it was the story for The Dark Guest. As a teenager in the late 1980s, I was intrigued by the Cold War, especially the harrowing escapes from East Berlin to West Berlin over, through, and under the Berlin Wall. When thinking of the plot for The Dark Guest, I revisited those days by setting the central mystery/suspense in 1980s East Berlin. While not a time slip novel, the characters d0 have to dig into the past in order to preserve their future.

Before I was a published fiction author, I worked and reworked this story, entering it several times in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis contest for unpublished writers. To my delight, The Dark Guest entry won the Genesis in the romantic suspense category in 2015. But even though the story garnered an award (and the attention of my agent), traditional publishers passed on acquiring the manuscript.

So I put The Dark Guest away for a while, focusing on writing other stories, some of which eventually found their way to a publisher, and others I decided to put out under my own publishing banner, Seshva Press LLC.  Violet and Henry’s story wouldn’t leave me alone, and I found myself wanting to bring The Dark Guest into the world, the first of in my Cold War Legacy series that will include The Dark Atonement (fall 2022) and The Dark Reckoning (early 2023).

I hope you enjoy this award-winning story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

MORE ABOUT THE DARK GUEST

When Violet Lundy isn’t cleaning rooms at Happy Hills Assisted Living Facility, she loves spending her free time with resident Rainer Kopecek. Hearing his stories of the dangerous life he led behind the Iron Curtain in East Berlin makes her own life seem more tolerable. But when Rainer is found dead and his room in disarray, Violet suspects foul play.

Dr. Henry Silverton lives among his books, teaching and writing about the Cold War. A letter about an East German traitor known only as “The Wolf” propels Henry out of academia and into Violet’s life. Together, they embark on a perilous quest to uncover the truth about Rainer’s death and the traitor’s identity.

Can Violet and Henry uncover the secrets of the past before one 

of them ends up as The Wolf’s next victim?

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ABOUT SARAH HAMAKER

Sarah Hamaker loves writing books “where the hero and heroine fall in love while running for their lives.” She’s written romantic suspense novels and nonfiction books, as well as stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes. As a writers’ coach, her heart is encouraging writers. She’s a member of ACFW and ACFW Virginia Chapter as well as Faith, Hope, and Love. She is the president of Capital Christian Writers Fellowship. Her podcast, “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” can be found wherever you listen to podcasts. Sarah lives in Virginia with her husband, four teenagers, a preschool foster child, and three cats.

WHERE TO FIND SARAH HAMAKER

Website: sarahhamakerfiction.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsarahhamaker
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/sarah.s.hamaker/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-hamaker-7295a01/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sarah-hamaker

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1804799.Sarah_Hamaker

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002TIARBS

Twitter: @sarah_hamaker

MY REVIEW *****

More twists than a Law and Order episode. I enjoyed every page of this book. The author demonstrates she has definitely done her research on the cold war. She put her characters in danger many times over. I rarely offer a five-star review, saving the highest ranking for those books I have trouble putting down. Henry and Violet are believable and I found myself rooting for them. Henry worries no woman could truly see him beyond his disability, and Violet fears a family past will never allow her to find peace. While Henry has held to his faith, Violet has wavered. Their struggles bring them into a close relationship, but can romance survive the tumult? 

I was given a copy for my honest review.