This Wild, Wild Country by Inga Vesper- Blog Tour and Book review

I’m so pleased to be part of the Random Things Blog Tour for the Wild,Wild Country by Inga Vesper- historical fiction featuring unsolved murders in two fascinating periods- the Gold Rush and the hippie movement.,

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publication date: 4^th August 2022

Source: with thanks form Manilla Press and Random Things Tour

Perfect for Fans: Historical fiction featuring interesting woman and complex family dynamic, historical  murder mysteries .

1933. Cornelia Stover is headstrong and business-minded – not the kind of woman the men of Boldville, New Mexico, expect her to be. Then she stumbles upon a secret hidden out in the hills . .
1970. Decades later, Joanna Riley, a former cop, packs up her car in the middle of the night and drives west, fleeing an abusive marriage and a life she can no longer bear. Eventually, she runs out of gas and finds herself in Boldville, a sleepy desert town in the foothills of the Gila Mountains.
Joanna was looking for somewhere to retreat, to hide, but something is off about this place. In a commune on the outskirts a young man has been found dead and Joanna knows a cover up when she sees it. Soon, she and Glitter, a young, disaffected hippie, find themselves caught up in a dark mystery that goes to the very heart of Boldville, where for too long people have kept their eyes shut and turned their heads away. A mystery that leads them all the way back to the unexplained disappearance of Glitter’s grandmother Cornelia forty years before . . .

Review

 I don’t think I have read many books set during the hippie movement, so I was so pleased to be invited to the blog tour The Wild, Wild Country by Inga Vesper. This book has it all strong ,interesting women, a decade old mystery ,murder and corruption

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion

The story is told from the points of view of three women, who are in a way victims of the time they were born in. We have Cornelia a strong and bold woman trying to make a success of her business in the 1930s but the little town of Boldville is not happy with this woman’s ambition. Joanna, a talented former cop in 1970, who has given up her career and life just to be trapped in an abusive marriage. Then we have Glitter ( aka Lauren), a young hippie who appears to be living a life of freedom and passion but is just as much a victim of abusive men as the others.

While the book opens with a murder and the mystery of Cornelia’s disappearance is an important part, I thought the book’s strength is the bonds of friendship and womanhood. I almost shouted in joy when the women ( not just Joanna and Lauren)all come together in a glorious confrontation with Joanna’s abusive husband.

The book also explores the conflicts between each generation’s beliefs and ideals, something that resonates today with all the conflicts we see on Twitter between the so-called Boomers and Millennials. I confess, it took a while for me to remember that the idealistic hippies in the book are now our Grandparents and like the author wonder about the real impact of the hippie movement.

Mysteries buffs will enjoy the complicated reasons behind the disappearance of Cordelia.

Content warning

Domestic abuse, sexual assault, racial slurs.

About the author

Inga Vesper is a journalist and editor. She moved to the UK from Germany to work
as a carer, before the urge to write and explore brought her to journalism. As a
reporter, she covered the coroner’s court and was able to observe how family,
neighbours and police react to a suspicious death. Inga has worked in Syria and
Tanzania, but now lives in Glasgow, because there’s no better way to find a good
story than eavesdropping on the chatter in a Scottish cafe on a rainy day.

Read more: This Wild, Wild Country by Inga Vesper- Blog Tour and Book review