I’m Beulah McArthur, and I’m Lily Ross’s mama.
If you live anywhere around Bronwyn County, you’ve more’n likely heard tell of Lily.
She’s Sheriff of Bronwyn County. Took on the job after her husband Daniel, who was sheriff before her, was killed in the line of duty back in 1925—may he rest in peace. I reckon it made sense for her to take on his role. They were living in the sheriff’s house at the time with their two sweet kids, my grandson Micah (now age 7) and granddaughter Jolene (age 9). Lily was jail matron, which meant record keeping, cleaning up the jailhouse (which was just behind their house), and cooking for the prisoners.
Now, Lily was supposed to temporarily fill the role of sheriff. That’s what she told me. But she went and ran for sheriff in her own right in 1926. And won.
I admit it—at first, I fussed at her a lot about taking on that job. Being sheriff is a mighty dangerous job, ‘specially for a woman, ‘specially for a mother, but Lily just goes on and does what she wants anyway. She’s always been stubborn, ever since she was a young one.
But you know, deep down I’m proud of her. Maybe not so deep down, come to think of it. When some of the ladies at church or at the Kinship Woman’s Club make side comments about Lily’s role not being fit for a woman, I put them right in their place. Lily’s solved several tough cases—murders!—in the past three years.
And truth be told, I help her, in my way.
You see, I’m a widow, too. My husband Caleb, may he rest in peace, died in a mine cave in. He wasn’t a miner—he ran the grocery in the county seat of Kinship—but he went to help with the rescue effort and got caught in a secondary cave in. I shudder when I think about it—so I try not to.
Anyway, after Lily and her young ones moved to a farm out on the edge of Kinship, I moved in with them, along with my son, a change-of-life baby, Caleb Jr., who’s the same age as Micah. I help keep an eye on Micah and Jolene when Lily is at work, and I do a lot of cooking and cleaning and tending to our large vegetable garden.
Of course, I worry about Lily and her work. It hurt my heart to lose my sweet Caleb, and my son-in-law Daniel—and years ago, in the Great War, my son Roger. I’ve had enough hurt and loss for one lifetime.
But I’ve come around to accepting that I can’t tell Lily what to do. The world has enough comments to make about a woman being a sheriff, running around the hills and hollers of Appalachia to bust up stills or check on folks in a bad way—or, as Lily has done, investigate murders and confront gangsters who want to bring big crime to our county! She’s not going to give up being sheriff anytime soon, so nowadays I support her as best I can—though I still give her a bit of side eye, every now and then, just in case it might nudge her to be a little more careful. She just smiles and shakes her head, though.
Mostly, though, when I’m worried, I say a prayer and hum a hymn and go bake something–pies or biscuits or bread. Or I work on my quilts. I have one now I’m working on from Roger’s old clothes. It’s for someone special—but that’s a whole other secret, and I can’t share it with you, until I share it with Lily, which I should have done years ago. But I’ve stubbornly held on to the secret. Huh. Come to think of it, I reckon Lily comes by her stubbornness naturally!
The Echoes, A Kinship Mystery #4
Genre: Historical
Release: March 2022
Purchase Link
The fourth in Jess Montgomery’s evocative Kinship series, The Echoes combines exquisite storytelling with extraordinary crime plotting.
As July 4, 1928 approaches, Sheriff Lily Ross and her family look forward to the opening of an amusement park in a nearby town, created by Chalmer Fitzpatrick—a veteran and lumber mill owner. When Lily is alerted to the possible drowning of a girl, she goes to investigate, and discovers schisms going back several generations, in an ongoing dispute over the land on which Fitzpatrick has built the park.
Lily’s family life is soon rattled, too, with the revelation that before he died, her brother had a daughter, Esme, with a woman in France, and arrangements have been made for Esme to immigrate to the U.S. to live with them. But Esme never makes it to Kinship, and soon Lily discovers that she has been kidnapped. Not only that, but a young woman is indeed found murdered in the fishing pond on Fitzpatrick’s property, at the same time that a baby is left on his doorstep.
As the two crimes interweave, Lily must confront the question of what makes family: can we trust those we love? And what do we share, and what do we keep secret?
About the author
Jess Montgomery is the author of the Kinship Historical Mysteries, set in 1920s Appalachian Ohio and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. Under her given name, she writes the “Level Up Your (Writing) Life” column for Writer’s Digest. She is a three-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Literary Arts from Ohio Arts Council, a two-time recipient of the Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District (MCAD) Artist Opportunity Grant, and has been a John E. Nance Writer in Residence at Thurber House (Columbus, Ohio). When not writing, Jess of course loves reading, but also spending time with family and friends, crocheting, watching film and television, swimming, spoiling her cats, baking, and occasionally hiking and fishing. Reach Jess via her website at jessmontgomeryauthor.com or her Facebook Author Page at @JessMontgomeryAuthor.
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Jess has generously offered to give away one signed copy of The Echoes. To enter, please leave a comment below about your favorite part of the morning. One entry per person and the giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends April 4, 2022. Good luck everyone!
All comments are welcomed.
Thank you Beulah and Jess
Our pleasure! 🙂
I love this series and can’t wait to read THE ECHOES. Yeah! Another great few days with the Sheriff Lily. Jule Selbo
So glad to hear that!
Our book club read The Widows, and we all really enjoyed it. Lily is a great character. Can’t believe there’s already a book 4 in the series!
I enjoyed the first two books in the series, I’m looking forward to catching up on the series.
Thank you to you and your book club!
This sounds interesting. My favorite part of morning would be the mornings I don’t have to get up and go to work! Otherwise being woke up by my cat rubbing on me, wanting her ears scratched, is pretty cute.
Your cat sounds delightful! We have three cats and love them all.
My favorite part of the morning is feeding the deer that congregate every morning at our back fence. This series sounds like something I need to check out. Thanks Dru Ann and Jess for the giveaway!
The deer sound beautiful. What a great way to start your morning!
I love the idea of a female sheriff back then, and can’t wait to read this.
Thank you! It’s fascinating to think about (and write about!)
Since I am an early riser my favorite part of the morning is when the sun rises. This is a beautiful start to a lovely day.
So peaceful!
My favorite part of the morning is having my first cup of tea. It is soothing and gives me much to appreciate in life.
A perfect way to start–the tea (as Nana in my series says, “Life is hard! Have tea!”) and taking a moment for gratitude.
My favorite part of the morning is hearing the birds outside on happy spring mornings! Love this series!!
I love the sound of birdsong too!
I love this series! I am not a morning person. On those rare occasions I get up early I enjoy the quiet.
Thank you! Morning quiet is special.
Great post! My favorite part of the morning is when the sun is just coming over the horizon, and you can still see the moon too!
Thank you! That is a lovely image; the sun and the moon in the sky at the same time.
New series for me, sounds good. My favorite part of the morning is my first cup of coffee!
My favorite part of the morning is having my coffee and reading whatever book I happen to be reading that day. I usually start most mornings this way. I love early mornings and the peace and quiet. Before any other people are awake. Would love a chance to read this book. Haven’t read any by this author. But need to check the others in the series out. Thanks for a chance to win.
I love the special kind of quiet of mornings. This sounds like a great read. Thank you for the chance.
I hop you enjoy reading my series! A good cup of coffee is a great starter. I drink decaf now, but really savor the flavor.
Thank you, Teresa! Glad to be a new series for you!
It sounds like a really interesting book. My favorite part of the morning is not having to get up early and staying in bed a little later.
There is something so cozy about just staying in bed for more time than usual.
Wow, that is a great synopsis! So much going on that I want to know more about. Congrats on the new release! My favorite mornings are those I get to see my 14 month old nephew. His smiles and hugs make my day. 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad you’re curious to read more! 🙂 Your nephew sounds so adorable. What a treat!
I’m looking forward to reading the latest installment in the well-written Kinship series!
Thank you, Cheryl! I love that compliment: “well-written!” <3
Thank you, Dianne!
**** WINNER ****
The Echoes is Celia Fowler
Congratulations!