Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston

Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston
Cedar Fort, 2009

Reviewed by Heather Moore

Fans of Tristi Pinkston will be delighted with her new venture in fiction: a cozy mystery. Agent in Old Lace is a far cry from Pinkston’s award-winning historical fiction books, but there’s not a disappointed reader here.

In fact, I can picture the author sitting with her hands poised over the keyboard, chuckling at the banter between her two main characters—Shannon and Rick, aka Aunt Anita. They are truly funny when together.

I must confess, I read the first couple of chapters with a bit of a sigh. I didn’t want this book to be a carbon-type mystery where the girl is kidnapped, escapes, then has to go undercover, etc. etc. But from the moment FBI agent Rick Holden entered the scene dressed as a woman, I was hooked.

Agent in Old Lace is full of humor, intrigue, and a down-right good mystery. Although I was sort-of able to predict a few things, most of it was unforeseen. For a quick, entertaining summer read, you’ll enjoy this novel.

Season of Sacrifice

Recently I finished reading Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston (critically acclaimed author of Nothing to Regret and Strength to Endure). I first based on the lives of the author’s great-great grandparents. At first I was a little nervous. Everyone has a great story somewhere in their family, but an entire novel’s worth? Diving in, I immediately liked how Pinkston put the location and date at the beginning of the chapters. I felt grounded from the beginning as the story opens in 1867 Wales.

Ben Perkins is a young coal miner who is saving his money to immigrate to America. But weeks before he’s set to leave, he courts Mary Ann, who he promptly falls in love with. He has to leave her behind but writes her frequently—through another person since he can’t read or write.

Almost three years later, Ben has saved enough to bring the rest of his family to America, including Mary Ann. What unfolds is a tender love story set against the background of the rugged terrain of Utah.

Next we meet Sarah, the younger sister of Mary Ann. Through several unfortunate hardships, her family makes the choice to leave Wales and travel to Utah—hoping for a fresh start and reunion with Mary Ann. In Utah, Sarah struggles to accept the unfamiliar surroundings and live in the Mormon culture (of which she has yet to convert). But her trials multiply when she agrees to travel to San Juan with Mary Ann and Ben and help establish a new Mormon settlement. When Sarah is faced with the prospect of becoming a second wife in a plural marriage, her faith is shaken to the core.

The story was exciting and kept me reading without hardly putting it down. When finished, I read the chapter notes and was very surprised at how little the author embellished the general events. Here was a true family saga that could be made into a novel, keeping a picky reader hooked until the very end.

This book is for sale several places on-line, but you can get an autographed copy through the author’s website: www.tristipinkston.com

Nothing to Regret by Tristi Pinkston

I love a well written historical fiction novel and this did not disappoint. From the eyes of a Japanese American we see what it was like to live in America during a time of hatred and people being scared. I hate racial prejudice (I have an Asian son and a Black son) so his book hit home with me.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Ken Sugihara was a student at Berkeley at the time of Pearl Harbor. He is shocked to hear about the attack, but even more shocked when he discovers that all people of Japanese ancestry in the United States, especially those living on the West Coast, are now considered suspects in the attack. He and his parents are taken from their home and sent to a relocation center in the Utah Desert.

While living in Topaz, Ken's old friend Colonel Beaumont comes to see him, and asks him if he will go on a mission of espionage to Japan to hunt down information on Japanese aircraft. Ken is reluctant at first to serve the country that wrongfully imprisoned him, but realizes that he has a chance to make a difference, and agrees to go. The experiences he has change his life forever.

This is a story of prejudice and acceptance, dignity under the worst conditions, and the power of the Atonement to heal us all.