The Right Kind of Fool
by Sarah Loudin Thomas
Published by Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date November 3, 2020
Genres: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Mystery, Clean Romance
Setting: West Virginia Great Depression - US - 1929-1939
Written for: Adults
Pages: 384
Synopsis:
Thirteen-year-old Loyal Raines is supposed to stay close to home on a hot summer day in 1934. When he slips away for a quick swim in the river and finds a dead body, he wishes he'd obeyed his mother. The ripples caused by his discovery will impact the town of Beverly, West Virginia, in ways no one could have imagined.
The first person those ripples disturb is Loyal's absentee father. When Creed Raines realized his infant son was deaf, he headed for the hills, returning only to help meet his family's basic needs. But when Loyal, now a young teen, stumbles upon a murder it's his father he runs to tell--shaping the words with his hands. As Creed is pulled into the investigation he discovers that what sets his son apart isn't his inability to hear but rather his courage. Longing to reclaim the life he abandoned, Creed will have to do more than help solve a murder if he wants to win his family's hearts again.
I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers, Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
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Creed, Loyal’s father, had been all kinds of a fool for leaving his wife and deaf son. Even if he felt responsible for the loss of Loyal’s hearing. When Loyal came to him for help after discovering a dead man, he began to realize that. Only a fool wouldn’t see what a kind, clever, and brave young man his son had become. And only a fool wouldn’t humble himself and do all he could to woo his wife back into loving him. And only the right kind of fool would take a chance to undo his mistakes.
The Right Kind of Fool is a deeply emotional story about broken people working to put the pieces of their lives together. It is told from the perspectives of all three members of the Raines family, Loyal, Creed, and Delphy. I loved the lessons each of them learned as they dealt with the repercussions of the murder.
I felt that I was able to understand Loyal’s world of only four senses. He was so kind, capable, and courageous. He understood that the world around him experienced things he didn’t because he couldn’t hear and yet that never stopped him from wanting the freedom to simply be a boy. Or from wanting to be treated like the independent young man every thirteen-year-old boy feels he is!
The mystery deepened as Loyal and Creed attempted to solve it. And though I thought I knew exactly what happened – I realized I couldn’t be right! The mystery played a prominent part in this story even though it was much more about the Raines family dynamics.
Anyone who enjoys historical fiction wouldn’t be foolish taking time to read this wonderful story!
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About Sarah Loudin Thomas
Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh generation to live there. Her Christian fiction is set in West Virginia and celebrates the people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia. Her first novel, Miracle in a Dry Season, released August 2014 through Bethany House. Book #2, Until the Harvest, released May 2015. Sarah is represented by Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency.
A graduate of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, Sarah once dreamed of being a marine scientist. But her love for words won out and she has spent much of her career in public relations and marketing. She currently oversees fundraising and communications for a Christian children’s home in Black Mountain, NC.
Sarah and her husband Jim live in the mountains of Western North Carolina with Thistle–the canine equivalent to a personal trainer pushing them to hike, run, and throw sticks. Sarah is active in her local church and enjoys cooking and–you guessed it–reading.
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