Review: The House on Harbor Hill by Shelly Stratton

The House on Harbor Hill

by Shelly Stratton

Publisher: Dafina

Pages: 368

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Set in the past and present, The House on Harbor Hill is a murder mystery that tackles the issues of racial prejudice and spousal abuse in the lives of two very different women...

She's generous, kind, and compassionate--yet Delilah Grey will forever be an outcast in the small seaside town of Camden Beach, Maryland. She takes in women shattered by abuse, poverty, illness, or events beyond their control. But no matter how far she's come or how many she's helped find their way back, there is no safe place for Delilah. Acquitted of her rich husband's mysterious death decades ago, she lives in her beautiful mansion consumed by secrets--and mistakes she feels she can never atone for. . . . Until she takes in desperate mother Tracey Walters and her two young children.

Tracey won't say where she's from or what sent her into hiding. But her determination and refusal to give up reminds Delilah of the spirited, hopeful girl she once was--and the dreams she still cherishes. As Tracey takes tentative steps to rebuild her life, her unexpected attraction to Delilah's handsome, troubled caretaker inadvertently brings Delilah face to face with the past. And when Tracey's worst fears come brutally calling, both women must find even more strength to confront truths they can no longer ignore--and at last learn how to truly be free . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  A mystery mixed with a women's fiction mixed with some historical fiction story and this interesting book came out of that combination.  Delilah Grey is an outcast in a small town, but she refuses to leave the small town and instead help those who were in a similar boat than she was at a time when no one stood up for her.  Tracey has run away from a toxic relationship and finds solace in Delilah's home, but can you always stay on the run from your problems?

Without completely spoiling the good bits of this book, I will say that I loved this story a lot.  I loved how it wasn't completely a historical fiction book, but had small hints of times of the past and how some things have changed and some have not.  I loved how it was a women's fiction book with a story about marriage and relationships and the ups and downs of those things.  I also loved that there was a mystery around Delilah that slowly unfolded and the mystery part of the book really kept me reading until the end I wanted to know the ins and the outs of Delilah and want really happened to make her who she was in the present day.  

I had recently read a book about the start of sit ins and race relations in the South, so to read this one quickly after was so an interesting coupling.  After reading this one and the other, I almost wanted to pick up a non fiction about race relations and the US to just do a huge deep dive into that topic.  

After reading this book, I looked up Shelly Stratton and she has one book on her backlist and I may have to add it to my TBR and read it quickly to see her progression from that book to this one.  



Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.