On a recent trip to the mountains of North Carolina,
my husband and I “accidentally” found a craft fair, with more vendor tents than we’ve ever seen. Making our rounds, we saw the beauty and talent of the people of the mountains.
At one tent in particular, I found a lady with a rack of books. Of course, I made a beeline to her tent because, well, books. That’s where I met local author, Leanna Sain.
I struck up a conversation with this lovely author, by asking her to tell me about her books. Her reply was, “Do you like suspense?” Then, as any writer should, she was happy to tell me about each of her books and their individual storyline. Intrigued, I listened, taking in each word, asking the proper questions, and some she may not have expected. That is, until she discovered she was conversing with a fellow author. I believe it was instant friendship, as we dove deeper into the ins and outs of writing and publishing books…and I love that.
If you know anything about me, you know I love to support other authors, and I was doubly happy to meet one in my beloved happy place, the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. And, of course, I bought a book, which my new author friend was happy to sign!
Below is my review of Leanna Sain’s, Gate to Nowhere.
Gate to Nowhere
In Gate to Nowhere, artist Emma MacKinley Franklin finds herself the sole beneficiary of her late grandmother’s estate, Golden Apple Farm. Still trying to figure out what to do with her life after having lost her husband the year before, Emma decides this is a prime opportunity to pack up and relocate from Atlanta, Georgia to MacKinley, North Carolina, (named for a past relative, some great-great-great, how many greats? somebody) and start a new life.
However, when she finally finds the rundown homestead, it’s nothing short of a disappointment. Yet, it’s intriguing and a bit mysterious at the same time.
Just being there gave her an eerie sense of, she wasn’t sure what. And the faint aroma of apple blossoms fed the mystery surrounding the homestead.
And what was up with that lonely, rusted gate in the middle of the yard?
The Town of MacKinley
In Emma’s endeavor to find out more about the town which shares her family’s name, she discovers townspeople who are less than inviting (okay they’re downright rude), which makes Emma all the more determined to find out exactly what happened to cause such a black cloud over this historic town.
Although there is a statue of her great-great-great… relative, Gavin MacKinley, in the town square, Emma feels a dizzying pull toward his statue. But how can she? He lived over two hundred years ago. Standing there, looking at him, she feels such a strong connection to a man she wishes she knew more about.
Leaving there, she decides to stop at the local grocery store to get food and stock her pantry. What she discovers is a townspeople who are less than friendly, and downright rude when she introduces herself. In fact, they walk the other way rather than acknowledge her. What’s going on in this town? She feels as if she has walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Apple Blossoms and the Rusty Gate
Back on the farm, Emma begins to explore and clean the dusty, old house. In her search, she also moves some furniture, including a beautiful, old desk, in which she inadvertently finds some old journals, written by Gavin MacKinley himself. What she finds is more mystery.
She discovers that something odd happened which caused even Gavin to question why the townspeople suddenly turned against him, including his own hired hands.
The last entry in the last journal ended with Gavin stating he thought he knew what was going on. Then the entries abruptly stopped.
What happened to Gavin MacKinley?
What happened to the town he was so named for?
What was going on around here?
Why did she keep smelling apple blossoms?
And what was up with that rusted gate?
The Rusted Gate and a Moonlit Night
Intrigued, and more than a bit obsessed with the rusted gate, Emma tries everything short of breaking her hip to get that gate to open, with no success. As the sun goes down, she leaves it, determined to find the secret to opening the rusted gate.
Inside, Emma takes herself to the dusty attic to see if she can find any answers that maybe her grandmother had left her. All she finds are a couple of dusty, old trunks, with more mystery and more of a sad background… which leads to more questions.
However, on this moonlit night, she glances out a window and in the light of the full moon, she notices the rusted gate… which now stands open! Completely giddy, Emma races out of the house to the gate. Reaching the opening, she becomes terribly dizzy…
When Emma awakens, she is lying on the ground in the early morning, and surrounded by… cows? Wondering where they had come from, and more than a little groggy, she awakens fully when she realizes that the gate now has a fence.
Where is she?
Suddenly, she hears a voice and, startled, she looks into the face of… Gavin MacKinley.
Emma realizes she has somehow gone back in time two hundred years. But how? Also, how can she tell Gavin, and how does she explain her odd clothing, especially the jeans? More importantly, how will she ever get back to the twenty-first century?
New Surroundings, New (Old) Century, and a Mystery
Emma and Gavin quickly become acquainted, even if she can’t quite tell him the entire truth. Yet.
She begins to wonder how a town that loves Gavin MacKinley so wonderfully could possibly turn against him? She thinks back to what she read in his journals. She is going to have to figure it out before she returns to the twenty-first century… if she can return.
She is going to need Gavin’s help. Together, they are going to have to save not only the town of MacKinley, North Carolina, but Gavin’s reputation as well, before it is too late. But how? Who is behind the devious lies? And why? How can Gavin deter the disaster? Can they change history? And if they do, will it save the town, Gavin, or even Emma herself? They will have to work quickly. Before the next full moon.
Can they do it?
My Overall Opinion
I found Gate to Nowhere, a wonderful getaway for me. If you love mystery, intrigue, and stories of time travel, with a little covert matchmaking thrown in to boot, you will love this book. You will also truly fall in love with the characters. They are believable, easy to like… and some even easy to dislike! But, isn’t that what we love about reading books? I love to jump into a book and then be whisked away to another time and another place. I especially loved that this book is set in my favorite, North Carolina Smoky Mountains. The hardest part about this book is that I didn’t want to come back to the twenty-first century!
I definitely will be ordering from Amazon… Thanks for sharing!❤️📕❤️