Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters

By: Emily Carpenter

Narrated by: Kate Orsini

The bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer’s elusive and haunted past.

Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove’s death, Eve has maintained Dove’s charitable foundation - and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove’s darkest secret: murder....

Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made.

Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove’s friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?

©2020 Emily Carpenter (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Prepare to be up late with this one; Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is simply riveting. This is the kind of book where the past has a pulse - and teeth. It’s a page-turner for sure, with well-drawn, complicated characters whose choices linger long after the last page is turned.” (Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times best-selling author of Never Have I Ever)

Fantastic Read

This was a great story with fantastic twists, characters and story lines. Kate’s narration was spot on and you could see the story unfold in front of you.

Well-plotted story

Great characters, and the author managed to keep up the suspense while letting the somewhat circuitous story unfold in an unhurried manner.

Another Hit

I loved this story. I was so glad to learn more about Dove's story. I liked the duel time lines That allowed us to get to know Dove and her granddaughter. I was also happy to see Althea back from Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. I hope that the mention of her husband is setting up for a third book. Emily Carpenter is one of my favorites and this did not disappoint.

Way to go Emily and Kate!

One again Emily Carpenter told a nice story. She is very good at endings... this book seemed longer than the rest but the two story lines were easy to follow.
Once again it was a scavenger hunt if a novel. What does this random collection of items mean?...
Kate is a joy to listen to. She uses great inflection and personality. I went back and listened to the Honeysuckle Girls before I listened to its sequel. It is sad to hear Althea sound so much older in just 8 years and for a new soul to embody her voice, but kudos to you, Kate, for pulling it off.

Quite the wordsmith

Emily Carpenter's writing does not disappoint, I enjoy listening to/reading her books, and her delicious ways of describing things. This book was good. It held my interest.

Great story, great narrator

The narrator's southern accent was spot on. Of course. some people won't appreciate that... They also may not appreciate the religious aspect, even tho it is definitely not a religious book. The Hawthorne Sisters sang at church and revival meetings in the 30s and performed "healings". Most of the songs mentioned were familiar to me. Did the sisters have a real "gift" or was it all fake? And why was a preacher from one of the girls ' past trying to kidnap her?

Excelente narración

La historia se me hizo adictiva gracias a la narración, además la trama me pareció interesante.

Did not like

Why did I do this to myself? The synopsis of the book made this story out to be a great mystery but the execution was just not there. The plotlines were all over the place. All I really got was something magical about a coin. The "romances" was just not there for me.

I do not recommend.