Lemoncholy Cured by a Red Door

[Christine L]

THE LEMONCHOLY LIFE OF ANNIE ASTER by Scott Wilbanks.
 

When you open a door you always expect it to lead you somewhere.  When Annie opens her red door I was as surprised as Annie to discover exactly where this door led.

It was fate or happenstance or whatever name you may choose to use to explain Annie’s discovery of the red door in the antiquities shop.  She saw it and knew this door absolutely had to be the new back door to her house.  She had no way of knowing that she and this intricately carved door already had a history – but she was sure about to find out.  Annie’s house was in modern day San Francisco and the door opened to 1890’s Kansas … to a wheat field that separated her home from that of a slightly bitter old woman.  What could it possibly mean that the door put these women in each other’s circle?  Through letters and with the help of some really good friends these two women were about to find out.

Mr. Wilbanks has given his readers all the elements necessary to keep them turning the pages – suspense, magic, a little time travel, some secrets, a budding romance and a villian bound and determined to make sure it all goes sideways for Annie and her friends and straight in his favor.  With the exception of the definitely dastardly villain there was not one character in this book I didn’t fall in love with as I read.  Each had quirks, habits, secrets and personalities that were easy to like.  Each was a bit of a “misfit” until they came together, then it seemed as if they each had a special place and purpose in their little group.  The mystery was light with a satisfying dash of twists and turns that kept me on my toes trying to figure out what was going to happen next.  The adventure moved along at a nice crisp pace.  When I turned the last page I was a little sad to be leaving Annie’s world but was quite satisfied that everything and everyone were going to be okay.  What more could I ask for?

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a nice mystery and can suspend plausibility for a little while in order to enjoy a good, well-written story.

* I received this ebook at no charge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website) 

Scott is an American expat living in New Zealand with his frustratingly perfect husband. A former national title holder in the sport of gymnastics whose left arm is an inch shorter than his right—the result of a career-ending accident—Scott ditched the corporate world to “see where this writing will take me.” He is the author of THE LEMONCHOLY LIFE OF ANNIE ASTER, a commercial fiction novel with a fantasy premise releasing August 1, 2015 through Sourcebooks that tells the story of two pen pals who are fighting against the clock to solve the mystery behind the hiccup in time connecting their homes before one of them is convicted of a murder that is yet to happen… and yet somehow already did.