The eye for detail that author Willee Amsden demonstrates in every paragraph creates a gritty but beautiful recreation of 1930s America, helped in no small part by the authentic cast of characters led by Dexter and Lu. Both protagonists feel fully fleshed out and realistic as their aspirations and flaws pull them ever closer to the center of the engrossing mystery at the heart of this narrative. Overall, Dream Girl uses a many-layered approach to its mystery that allows for the protagonists to delicately peel away lies and intrigue, with each freshly peeled layer giving a deeper insight into the world around them. An authentic slice of American history with a deep and exciting mystery at its center. I’d highly recommend this book to all…
K.C. Finn reviewer Reader’s Favorite
Dexter Davis, a down-on-his-luck handyman in Bangor Maine has started having troubling dreams about a young woman who is in some kind of trouble. When Etta Slade, a farmer’s wife, asks him to find Amos, her missing husband, the troubling dreams start to take on a new and sinister meaning. Then another dream girl walks into his life, and this one is flesh and blood. Lu is a waitress with long legs and a past. Witty enough to keep up with him and a gal who will go fishing at the drop of a hat. She’ll even make the sandwiches, as long as she doesn’t have to bait her own hook.
Can he and Lu find the missing farmer and the young girl in time? The answers may be in Bangor Maine or perhaps across the border on the reservation. To make matters worse, Etta’s mentally challenged son may be the only witness to the disappearance, or is he somehow involved?
Meanwhile, a pandemic is raging across the country. School systems have shut down and the Republicans and Democrats are fighting like cats and dogs while millions are out of work. People wonder if we’ll ever get back to normal. Yup, between Polio and the depression, 1937 is one tough year.
But Dex has seen tough times before. After the big war he came home a damaged man, clinging to his sanity and living in a barn with his horse, Ed. Lu’s father is missing at sea, and she is living with her over-bearing mother while she saves up for her own place. A recent relationship ended badly, and time is not on her side, as her mother often reminds her.
Nothing comes easy. A crooked cop, a madam, and a couple of her henchmen try to stop them from finding the truth. Everyone is looking for Amos Slade, or maybe just his money that disappeared along with him and his young sweetheart.
Visit 1937 Bangor Maine, a city known for its rowdy past as a lumber town where wood cutters from the lumber camps came to let off steam and spend their hard-earned cash. Canadian whiskey flows across the border. Guns are easy to come by and the lives of a couple of locals don’t mean much to some.
