I was fortunate to win a signed copy of LYING BENEATH THE OAKS by Kristin Wright in a giveaway sponsored by The Debutante Ball. Established in 2007, the DB is a group blog for authors making their debut in the literary world. They are currently in their twelfth season of celebrating up-and-coming authors. Former Debs include bestsellers in the genres of women’s fiction, mystery, literary fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and more. This link will tell you more about it: https://www.thedebutanteball.com/

In her debut, the Kristin Wright has written an entertaining and tightly-paced novel, which includes sympathetic characters with distinct voices, well-written dialogue, and enough suspense to keep a reader turning the pages. Another reviewer used the words "Southern Gothic" - but I'm not sure that's accurate, as there are no real supernatural elements, derelict houses, or other things I would associate with that genre. In any event, it has a Southern (Charleston, SC) setting, and I definitely enjoyed that aspect of it.

The main character, Molly Todd, has secrets. A lot of secrets. Somehow she finds herself waking up married in Vegas to a stranger - a Southern gentleman lawyer from a well-respected family named Cooper Middleton. Neither remembers any of it. Deciding to return home to Charleston to see about getting an annulment, Molly finds herself staying at Cooper's family home, and keeping even more secrets.

I enjoyed the fact that the author takes her time in unveiling all of the mysteries in this novel. A few I figured out before the end, but that didn't diminish the reading experience. Molly also has some amnesia about a traumatic event in her past, and the unraveling of that mystery was one of the big payoffs for me as a reader.

There's a antagonist in this book (I sometimes refer to them as "evil bads") who is almost over-the-top in his evil-ness, but not every character sees it right away. One of the major plot elements is Molly trying to find a way to convince others of how bad the guy really is, as he's very good at keeping it hidden.

The romantic element is a slow-burn, with a few spicy encounters. I'm not an author, but I imagine writing love scenes can be a challenge. This first-time author definitely doesn't write like one, in any way, in this debut. Authors such as Linda Castillo and Sally Kilpatrick have given this novel nice reviews, and you can find more reviews and information about the book on the publishers website: https://bellarosabooks.com/

All in all, LYING BENEATH THE OAKS was an entertaining read, and I will definitely look for more from Kristin Wright in the future. ( )