The Devil and Mrs Davenport by Paulette Kennedy

 

My thoughts

As much as I loved THE WITH OF TIN MOUNTAIN by this author I have to whole heartedly admit that this book is her best yet. It had me reading until the wee hours of the night. I literally did not want to put this book down. It will be in my top ten of the year I have no doubt. 

A story of a family. What they go through. What the abuse of a man does to, not just his wife but his children. And not being able to just leave makes it all the more heartbreaking. In this day and time a woman had no rights. Unless she could prove beyond a doubt that her husband was cheating, abusing, or drinking, she would not be given a divorce. Women had NO RIGHTS. No credit cards. No bank account. Nothing in their names. They had to have the permission of a man, whether their husband, dad, brother, uncle or a distant relative, to open a checking account. Sad isn't it? It makes my skin crawl knowing that I was born during this time. That the women in my family possibly endured some of these things. 

Loretta was married to Pete and they had two children. A boy Luke and a girl Charlotte. Pete was a professor at a college. He didn't allow Retta to work. She would not make him look bad in from of the other professors. His answer to everything. Retta had started getting some kind of powers. A kind of being able to see what happened to people who had died. Pete said it was from the devil. Retta thought it was maybe from god. I say it was just what it was. A gift. 

When a young woman, a teen, went missing Retta was able to tell the police where to look for her body. Of course she had to do this in secret. Not give a name. But the girl's body was found. Who would have done such a horrific thing? How sad that this young lady was killed. Possibly buried alive. 

Pete claims to be a very religious man but to me his is one of the worse human beings anyone can be. Of course he was doing what society allowed him to do for the most part. A man could have his wife put in an institution if he so chose. A place for mentally ill women. And all he had to do was say she needed the help. That is what happened in this story along with other things. But Loretta was a bit smarter than Pete gave her credit for. Yes she was very young when he married her. She didn't have a high school education. She was just a wife and mother. But she was smart. She was a good mother and a good wife. She was also gifted. She could write and write she did. I love a book about writing books, or in this case stories for a newspaper. But still...

This is a heartbreaking story that will bring you to tears. But it will also let you see what this woman did. What she went through and how she managed to get her life and the lives of her children on track. To pull herself up and do something important. To finally find a happiness that her and her children deserved.

I loved Retta. I hated Pete. I also loved Dr Curt Hansen. I loved meeting Barbara and Vera. They were very important to this story. Things got better for women after the late 60s and early 70s but I'm afraid that we are headed back to the times before if we are not careful...

Thank you #NetGalley, #PauletteKennedy, #LakeUnionAuthors, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this wonderful book.

FIVE huge stars from me. Grab this one and devour it as I did. You won't regret it.

About

The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure—from the living and the dead.

The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.

Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquillity—until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real—and frightening. Defying Pete’s demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse.

With Dr. Hansen’s help, Loretta’s life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he’s worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work. As Loretta’s powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself.