Black Rose. Thomas A. Cerra. 2014. Kim brought me this autographed copy of her friend’s book last summer when she came to teach icon classes. Cerra used the actual scrapbooks and journals of his family to write this novel based on the lives of his ancestors. He follows them from Ireland to New York and then to Pennsylvania. It is a suspenseful plot driven story. I found it fascinating and very readable, and I read it in 3 days! I do wish there had been more about the historical events that occurred during the time frame and squeamish readers should be aware of brutal sexual assault scenes and strong language. I loved the description of the dresses the Irish sisters made. ( )