Morning Glory by Sarah Jio, a Mysterious Review.

Review: In a story of two lives, fifty years apart, Morning Glory by Sarah is a novel of love and grief, deception and mystery.

Due to the shattering loss of her husband and child, Ada Santorini left her job as deputy editor of Sunrise magazine and moved from New York in June 2008 to Seattle. She yearned to run away from her grief, and hoped that a solitary life about a houseboat would dull the pain of her personal tragedy. She leased a houseboat, No. 7, on Lake Union's Boat Street. The boat had previously been owned in the late 1950s by Penny Wentworth and her artist husband. He traveled extensively, leaving Penny alone much of the time. In 1959, during a Boat Street party, Penny mysteriously vanished, never to be seen again. Her husband was questioned, but at no time was accused of anything involving her disappearance. The closely knit community refused to discuss the situation with outsiders; indeed, they rarely talked about it amongst themselves. It is on houseboat No. 7 that Ada's own apprehension about her future and Penny's mysterious past come together.

The narrative of Morning Glory alternates with chapters from the perspective of Ada and Penny. Aside from the fact that both women experienced great unhappiness in their lives, they apparently had nothing in common. When Ada finds an old trunk on the houseboat, she is able to peer into Penny's past and in doing so, giving her an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life, and maybe even save her own.

Ada and Penny are two exceptional characters, fresh and appealing, and their individual experiences are both sad but surprisingly endearing. The beautifully rendered setting provides the perfect backdrop for the storylines. This is a wonderful book, both as a mystery and as a one of promise and hope.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Morning Glory.

Morning Glory

A Novel of Suspense by Sarah Jio