The Canary Cage

De: Evelyn J. Wagoner

Narrado por: Andrea Garrett

The Canary Cage is more than a saloon. It’s a place of intrigue, lost love, and regret. As Lily soon discovers, once you enter its doors, you may lose more than your reputation.

It’s 1899 and socialite Melissa Forrester has traveled from her home in Norfolk, Virginia, to Guthrie, Oklahoma. She’s there to visit her sister’s grave and learn why Augusta shot herself. Now alone in the world, Melissa is angry at God and at Tyler Buchanan, the man she holds responsible for her sister’s death.

Impulsively accepting employment at the Canary Cage, the saloon where her runaway sister had worked as a singer named “Roxie,” Melissa adopts an assumed name herself, and, for a time, lives a saloon girl’s life as “Lily.” She’s determined to seek out Buchanan, the man Roxie claimed to have loved. Lily’s bitterness burns, and she fully intends to make him pay for rejecting her sister.

Buchanan, Guthrie’s most successful newspaper publisher, turns out to be a tougher adversary than Lily expected. Tyler has his own demons to wrestle. Years earlier, he had fled Charleston, South Carolina, leaving scandal behind, and started a new life in Guthrie. When Lily arrives, he’s irresistibly drawn to her, and a familiar battle between head and heart resurrects. The more he tries to avoid her, the more she seems to be everywhere. With an aggressive, marriage-minded debutante added to the mix, Tyler has his hands full.

Lily grows closer to those who inhabit the Canary Cage and finds she has more in common with their dreams, struggles, and heartaches than she could have imagined. Experiencing intolerance firsthand, she begins to see herself and those around her in a different light.

She discovers more about the circumstances surrounding her sister’s suicide and Tyler’s shadowy past and wonders - could there be another, darker explanation for Augusta’s death? Perhaps there are even more important questions. Will the price Lily has to pay for her subterfuge be too high? If she continues to harden her heart, harboring unforgiveness and resentment, will she lose her true self and become someone she doesn’t want to be? Will her willfulness rob her of the friendships and the love she’s finally found in Guthrie? Will she, like other seemingly lost souls, be unable to escape the Canary Cage?

©2019 Evelyn J. Wagoner (P)2020 Elk Lake Publishing, Inc.

Well-woven Tale of Love and Intrigue

The Canary Cage has it all: murder, revenge, and true love both lost and found, all set in the early days of Guthrie, Oklahoma. The plot twists often and the characters are well defined and developed. (Spoiler alert!) Though life looks bleak for the would-be lovers at the end, Evelyn Wagoner delivers what we all want - a happy ending. Wonderfully, skillfully narrated by Andrea Garrett, from whom we'll be hearing more, no doubt.

Captivating story & loved the narrator!

We couldn’t wait to find out what happened next as it is full of unexpected twists and turns. The narrator’s voice is perfect, soothing yet engaging, and easy to listen to like a master storyteller. Highly recommended!

Such Fun

I laughed at many rhings and enjoyed the story line. i love Oklahoma so was happy to enjoy the fiction with some real history mixed in

Fun clean old fashioned love story!

Excellent story with intrigue and plot twists. You get a really good picture of all the main characters. The narration was really good too!

Worth listening to

I have listened to many nonfiction audio books, but this is my first foray into audio fiction. I was pleasantly surprised. Usually I prefer to read text, either in print or on my Kindle, but Andrea Garrett's narration added a dimension that heightened the overall experience. Her character interpretations injected life into the characters, and her warm and welcoming cadence continued to draw me in to the story. I thought the main characters were fairly one dimensional and their plot line was too contrived, so I was not particularly invested in their love story. However, I did enjoy many of the supporting characters. There were also a few surprises and funny moments in the story which were refreshing. I am not sure whether I would have finished this book if I had it in print, but it is perfectly suited to be an audio book. The further I got into the story, the more eager I was to know what would happen next. No spoilers here, but I do think the ending was anticlimactic. Overall, it was fun to listen to and I recommend it as a wholesome distraction.

Great Romance and Murder Mystery

The unfolding layers of a romance and a murder committed, in this compelling story, pulls you alongside Lily, the main character in this wonderfully descriptive and unpredictable story! A great book for Christian Romance lovers!

Sweet Story

it was a good hallmark type book which I love.
The narrator was very creative.