My first disappointment of the year, Double Crossing by Meg Mims simply did not measure up to what I hoped for. This is a 2012 Spur Award winner for Best First Novel, and I was expecting a much better book than I got. The story was predictable, the characters one dimensional, and to make matters even worse, there is obviously meant to be a sequel as the storyline was pretty much left hanging.

The plot sounds like it might have come from an old 1950’s TV western involving as it does the missing deed to a gold mine, a young, headstrong heiress torn between a earnest young missionary and a wild Texan cowboy. The action takes place mostly on trains as the various characters travel west from Chicago to Sacramento. There were a few characters that were introduced along the way that I am sure will be appearing in future books.

That this book is a Spur Award winner led me to believe I was going to be reading a well written, intriguing story but what I read was more of a light romance with Christian overtures that happened to take place in the 1870’s. I could have accepted that much more graciously if the writing had shown more promise. Instead I can definitely state that I will not be following along with this series. ( )

Reviewed by April
book provided by Meg Mims

Vivid historical fiction mixed with murder, suspense and a lovely dash of romance makes Double Crossing by Meg Mims an out of the ballpark hit.

I have to admit that for me, Double Crossing is a bit different than the books that I normally read. However, I was curious to give it a try and can honestly say that I would have missed out on an amazing book if I had not! Author Meg Mims delivers a story that is not only amazingly vivid, clear and engrossing, but she takes readers into a another time and place with her details.

It truly never ceases to amaze me to read what life was like centuries ago for women. They were to be “looked after” by a man (or a chaperone) and to become learned was out of the ordinary. In short, women were to be obedient and more or less a puppet of sorts. The main character in Double Crossing, however, is nothing like this. Lily Granville is an incredibly intelligent and strong willed woman, whose courage and perseverance is highly admirable.

When Lily’s father is murdered, she happens to catch a glimpse of his murderers as they flee from the house. It is her desire and heartfelt duty to find and confront the killer. This, however, is anything but simple and Lily quickly learns that she can trust very few people.

As I mentioned before, Meg Mims does an outstanding job in her descriptions. As I crossed the countryside with Lily and her friends (and unknown foes), I was thrilled to learn and read what the land once looked like. The fact that peppermints and fruits were such an amazing treat made me stop and think how different things were in that time compared to now. The way the lifestyle of that era was brought to life sucked me into the book deeply.

The majority of the story takes place on train and during its stops. This was another aspect that I found interesting and fascinating. The suspense was drawn out throughout Double Crossing perfectly and the blossoming romance between the “bad boy”, Ace (who Lily hired to help her get to her destination and keep her safe), was enthralling. I truly cannot think of a single aspect of this story that I would change. It is perfect and wonderful. The ending was also written in an excellent manner that leads the reader to believe that a sequel is on its way (fingers crossed very tightly!). I highly recommend Double Crossing by Meg Mims to anyone looking for a superb story – whether a lover of historical fiction or not! ( )

This book was full of very pleasant surprises. It had twists and turns that I had not expected. Majority of the book content taking place over a train ride from Chicago to California was very interesting and a murder mystery as well as a little bit of love also helps to thicken the plot. ( )