Having just read the 2nd book in this trilogy last month, and having missed the first one, I was very pleased to read this 3rd and final book in the series. Just a delightful story with SO many pieces that twist together. I haven't read all of Chamberlain's books yet...thank goodness!! Many, many more to enjoy. ( )

Her Mother's Shadow perfectly finished the trilogy set in Kiss River which began with The Keeper of the Light. Lacey O'Neill watched her mother get murdered in the first book and in this final part of the story she finds her own path and learns how to trust and love again. These characters are beautifully written and I will miss my stay in Kiss River...until I return. ( )

I could not put this down. Although it is a "romance," and not my genre, and the writing wasn't "literaryish'" it had so many twists and surprises with a satisfying end, that i want to read more of Diane's books. Shared with me by Betty Ann. ( )

Wow!!!! The Kiss River Series was amazing!!! It belongs on the BEST BOOKS EVER (which I voted) and movie based on Her Mother’s Shadow. I was so sorry to see the trilogy end, as would love to see a continuation of all the loveable characters and the new ones. It is hard to say which one was my favorite as they are all unique; however, Her Mother’s Shadow was excellent and would have to say the grand finale was exceptional and the best!!!

It was a Nook book which I read in two days, and blew off work to head to the beach to see how it unfolded with no interruptions---as with all Diane’s books she is a talented master storyteller—maintaining the suspense from beginning, middle and ending. Her books keep you engaged, as though you were reading 3 or 4 novels in one. She has a talent of blending different settings, times, and characters into a seamless story!

The book was set in NC’s outer banks and picked up from the main character, Lacey’s past at the age of 13 yrs old when her mom was killed. She has had to deal with her mom’s past of Saint/Sinner and the disaster she left behind, along with the continuation of book 2 with her brother Clay and his wife Gina and adopted daughter.

Now, Lacey finds out her best friend from childhood has died and left Lacey with the care of her 11 yr old daughter which she has only seen a few times. Now, she uproots this confused daughter from Arizona to NC to live in the lighthouse with this extended family, and at the same time Lacey seeks out Bobby (she suspects is the father and a wild guy from her past).

To make it interesting, Rick Tenley shows up (Mr. GQ which is too good to be true), and the news Zachery (the man who shot and killed her mom) is about to be paroled. So many secrets and everyone in this book have them-- Rick, Bobby, Clay, Zachery, Jessica, Faye. The secrets unfold one by one and somehow they all fit together –especially loved the twist unfolding near the end of the book! This was definitely a page-turner-a story of forgiveness, redemption, love, hope and joy! A must read series!
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Diane Chamberlain is a master storyteller, able to blend romance with women's fiction in a seamless flow of words. In a trilogy set in North Carolina's Outer Banks, HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is the grand finale to a tale that began with KEEPER OF THE LIGHT and flowed flawlessly into KISS RIVER.

HER MOTHER'S SHADOW focuses on Lacey O'Neill, a woman in her late twenties who has spent the past decade molding herself into the image of her mother. When Lacey was thirteen, her mother, "Saint Anne," was fatally wounded in front of her, the result of a gunshot wound from a distraught husband coming to take his wife and son home from a women's shelter. For ten years, Lacey has done everything within her power to emulate the woman who could do no wrong-Annie O'Neill, the perfect mother, the doting wife, the community volunteer, the Mrs. America of North Carolina. She's living a good life, working as a stained glass artist with a man she admires, living with her brother, Clay, and his wife and daughter.

Lacey's life is thrown into turmoil, not solely with the arrival of an almost-teenager who resents being uprooted after the death of her own mother, but with the knowledge that her perfect mother, the bastion of North Carolina society, was not the woman she had thought her to be. Because suddenly everything she's ever believed to be true comes crashing down upon her.

Secrets are dangerous things to keep. And everyone involved in HER MOTHER'S SHADOW has secrets. Who is mysterious attorney Rick Tenley, and what is he doing in Kiss River? Bobby Asher, a fellow artist who brings out deep feelings in Lacey, spent a lot of time with Jessica, her young charge's mother. Could he be the father Mackenzie never knew she had? And what about Lacey's own father, the man who somehow forgot to mention for the last twenty years or so that his own wife engaged in acts with half the town's male population that were far less than saintly? Her boss and mentor suddenly takes on a new roll in her life, her brother, Clay, and his wife begin having marital problems over a young girl who should have nothing to do with them, and suddenly the lighthouse Lacey lives in is no longer the refuge it's always been.

HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is a wonderful book. Filled with characters as real as any you know in real life, it's a page-turner that will keep you reading long into the night. This book is a story of forgiveness, of redemption, of love, and most of all, of hope. How many children really know their parents? How many parents do outrageous things to keep their children innocent? And how many people, being as imperfect and human as they are, have secrets that are kept solely to protect those they love?

I'm sorry to see this trilogy end, but I'm looking forward to what Ms. Chamberlain comes up with next. HER MOTHER'S SHADOW is definitely not a book to be missed. ( )