The Stranger She Married

Review by Rachel Rager

I am amazed at how the act of reading helps me as a writer. When I read well written books, I want to be a better writer and I try to incorporate new writing techniques. I think it was Nicholas Sparks who said that the best way to be a better writer is to read, read, read!
I’ve heard of Donna Hatch’s book, The Stranger She Married, for at least a year now and am just barely getting around to reading it. I am so sorry it has taken me so long! I really missed out on a great story for a very long time! Donna Hatch is not only a gifted writer but a master storyteller. Her story is full of adventure, intrigue and deception! What better elements are there for a romance book? (I loved this book and am very excited to finally own it!)

When her parents and only brother die within weeks of each other, Alicia and her younger sister are left in the hands of an uncle who has brought them all to financial and social ruin. Desperate to save her family from debtor's prison, Alicia vows to marry the first wealthy man to propose. She meets the dashing Lord Amesbury, and her heart whispers that this is the man she is destined to love, but his tainted past may forever stand in their way. Her choices in potential husbands narrow to either a scarred cripple with the heart of a poet, or a handsome rake with a deadly secret.
Cole Amesbury is tormented by his own ghosts, and believes he is beyond redemption, yet he cannot deny his attraction for the girl whose genuine goodness touches the heart he'd thought long dead. He fears the scars in his soul cut so deeply that he may never be able to offer Alicia a love that is true. When yet another bizarre mishap threatens her life, Alicia suspects the seemingly unrelated accidents that have plagued her loved ones are actually a killer's attempt to exterminate every member of her family. Despite the threat looming over her, learning to love the stranger she married may pose the greatest danger to her heart.