Salvation Station by Kathryn Schleich ~ a Review

by MK French

Captain Linda Turner of the Lincoln, Nebraska police is haunted by the murders of the Hansen family, two small children and their pastor father. The mother is missing, and the more that Linda digs into it, the more questions are revealed. At the same time in St. Louis, Missouri a televangelist is afraid of losing his show until one of the attendees comes up with ideas to save it. Despite his misgivings, she is charming and charismatic, and he finds himself falling for her.

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April 2020; She Writes Press; 978-1631528927
ebook, print (328 pages); mystery

The mystery sucked me in from page one. The bodies were found in the garden when the Hansens were thought to have gone on a vacation before moving to Africa on a missionary trip. It's heartbreaking, and Linda is determined to find their killer. Of course, suspicion falls on Mrs. Hansen, especially as more and more information is revealed about her behavior before the family would have left. Clues surface, leading Linda to travel to various cities to track down the history of Mrs. Hansen. Interwoven with this main thread is that of the televangelist side of things; Ray actually has faith and cares about his congregation, which is how he is drawn in by Savannah. Her ideas save his show and help him expand, even though he was initially leery of how her ideas would come across.

Some of the tension in the novel comes from the fact that the reader knows more than the characters do, and can infer even more than that. Will Linda discover the truth about the Hansen family's murders? Will Ray discover the truth, no matter how blind he seems to be to it? There is a cast of characters that flesh out these main arcs, and we get a bit of their histories as well. Their actions push the arcs forward in different ways, and it all comes together in the end. There is a body count and little explanation into the reasoning that started this entire process, so don't go looking for a psychological assessment along with the tension. This is more about the mystery and the race against the clock, so to speak. We know Ray is in danger from the start, and see how easily he's manipulated. I feel badly for him because he is one that honestly means well, and does have faith in God. Unfortunately, his blind faith led him to be as badly treated as some of the congregation.

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Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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