Review: High-Wire Heartbreak by Anna Schmidt

About the Book

In 1936--A party at the Ringling mansion Ca d’Zan in Sarasota, Florida, leads to a robbery--and possibly death.

A successful historical mystery writer, Chloe Whitfield comes to Ca’ d’Zan to research her next novel. Chloe’s fascination with the circus is rooted in family stories of her great-grandmother Lucinda Conroy, who reportedly was a trapeze artist of some renown. She’s heard hints of scandal—and perhaps larceny, but no details.

Chloe’s grandmother—rumored to be Lucinda’s only offspring—was raised in an orphanage and never knew her mother. Intrigued as she is, Chloe has no intent of writing about Lucinda until she sees a poster featuring Lucinda as the star performer for a 70th birthday gala for John Ringling in May of 1936. From there the trail goes cold.

Who was Lucinda and what happened to her?

Amazon / Goodreads

MY THOUGHTS

I'm a sucker for any story that involves the circus, so I was instantly intrigued by High-Wire Heartbreak. And while there's not much circus "action", I absolutely adored it. It was even better than I thought it'd be. And Ca' d'Zan was such a great setting! It was so beautiful and grand. I didn't know anything about this winter home of John Ringling before this book, so I found it all to be quite interesting.

This dual timeline story follows Chloe in present day Sarasota as she's working on her next historical mystery, which she plans to set at Ca' d'Zan. We also get a peek into the past of her great-grandmother Lucy, who worked for John Ringling in the 1930s as a trapeze artist. I loved seeing how these two timelines intersected, discovering their secrets, and solving the big mystery surrounding Lucy. And while I enjoyed both timelines a great deal, I've gotta say, the past edged out the present just slightly as my favorite.

This was such a fantastic story that I highly recommend. It's the first book I've read by this author and I'll definitely be looking for more from her.

I won this book in a giveaway and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

4.5 STARS