About the Book

Book: The Sinner in Mississippi
Author: D.L. Lane
Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Romance
Release Date: May 1, 2020

Not expecting me to live, the midwife cleaned me up, wrapped me in an old tea towel, and placed me in a knitting basket beside the wood-burning stove. According to Mama, the storm raged until morning, but I never made one sound. So, hours later, when they peeked in at me, they were surprised to see me sucking my thumb, staring up at them with eyes the color of bluebells.

Mama told me, that’s when she cried.

See, she hadn’t shed a single tear during the harsh pain of giving birth or out of fear of the horrible storm taking the house and her with it, but she sobbed when she saw me. To her, it would have been better for all of us if I’d passed on in the night, carried off on the wings of angels, never to suffer the evils of this world. And sometimes, I wondered if she hadn’t been right.

–Mississippi Singleton

My Review:

I didn't know what to expect going into this book, I've never read this author before, and her books are quite new to me. But this beautiful historical romance blew me away and got me out of a reading slump that had me dreading picking up new books.

Though set in America during the middle of the 1930's, it does not rely heavily on the time period or current events for the plot, and is more specifically a Christian romance, which in some ways reminded me of books by Lori Wick. Mississippi Singleton is a character that sticks with you, spunky and outspoken, she isn't afraid to say things like they are, and has a hunger for learning. Her charm is that she doesn't have a cultivated or calculated charm, she's just Mississippi. She comes from a hardscrabble, abusive background, she doesn't expect kindness, and has a world weariness about her.

Thayer Drayton King is a tycoon of sorts, the wealthiest man around, a genuine knight in shining armor. He is a man of character and integrity, willing to stand up for those who can't stand for themselves, he is also fair and willing to extend grace. He has presence and a natural leadership.

This is an engaging read, there was not a point in this book where I felt that it ever lagged in pace, in fact I didn't want to put it down. My heart went out to Mississippi and I admired her strength, she was someone that I could cheer for all the way through. While some aspects of this story were unrealistic by some standards, I think that it worked in this story and I didn't mind as I knew that this leaned more romance. One of my favorite things about this book was that it would start setting up in a way that in other books I just find infuriating, but this book swerved and proved me wrong, and it made me admire Thayer even more. This was a highly enjoyable read, and I'm so glad that I gave it a chance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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About the Author

D.L. Lane is a wife, musician, a graduate of Liberty University, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. In 2010 she walked away from the day job and started a writing career using a pen name. As far as the world was concerned, she was very successful writing romances, however, success aside, she knew she wasn’t on the right path but stubbornly kept on going for nine years. Although a Christian and raised in a religious home, D.L went her own way, leaving God out of her choices until He said, “Enough.”
Weary and seeking guidance, she finally listened and left the course she was on as an established novelist to take a new path—putting God first in her life where He always should have been.

More from D.L.

I love writing, and I love to challenge myself as an author, and so I thought, why not write a fictional historical piece. This was a test for me since there are many things to research when writing during a different era, especially when I wasn’t around at that time. But I prayed about it, grabbed my laptop, and started writing about a poor, uneducated girl who grew up in Louisiana during the Great Depression in a motherless home with a group of reprobate males.
Not unlike the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, a boy despised by his brothers who plotted against him, later rose from the depths to become one of the most powerful men in Egypt, facing the very men who had been responsible for the atrocities he’d suffered. Joseph had a choice. Let them die or help the ones who never helped him? This story weaves some of that same treachery with truth, teaching not only the heroine but the hero the ultimate meaning of love.

I wanted to give readers a book demonstrating the fact God will never leave us, even if we have left him for a time. That a personal relationship with Christ is our ultimate source of strength, and with His help, we can be pulled out of the depths of great sorrow, rising to heights we never imagined possible.