Book Review: Smoke on the Wind

By Melissa Smoot

Struggling with the tragic end of her marriage, Keaka Denney is on a bittersweet adventure in Scotland with her son, Colin. She’s joining him on a weeklong hike along the West Highland Way before he enters university in Glasgow. Soon into the journey, Keaka’s disquieting visions begin—a woman from ages past reaching for Colin, a burning cottage, violence.

Scotland, 1801. After Sorcha Chisholm and her son are wrenched from their home in a brutal eviction, they face an arduous trek toward a new beginning. When Sorcha learns she’s wanted for a murder she didn’t commit, she and her son run for their lives. Then help arrives from the strangest woman in the most unexpected ways.

Centuries apart, Keaka and Sorcha walk the same path—devoted mothers in circumstances beyond their control who will do anything to keep their sons safe. Defying logic, they find strength in each other. But what does their connection mean? And how far will it go? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I don't even know where to begin with this review. This story captured my attention, and my heart, from the very first chapter. I learned so much about the history of Scotland, and the Highlands, and I was absolutely enthralled from the first page to the last. The heartbreaking story of Sorcha Chisolm and what she and her son went through when they were evicted from their family land in the Highlands in1801 was devastating. The terror and hopelessness they endured in the coming months kept me feverishly turning the pages to find out how their story would end. 

I loved how the author wove in the present-day story of a mother and son traveling the same path, in reverse. The visions that the mother, Keaka, has of Sorcha and her son along the way created a parallel world but in two different centuries. It also connected the women in the undeniable love for their sons. The impeccably descriptive writing helped to see the stunning landscape and towering mountains and forests.

The amount of love and emotion that Estes tells these two stories with is unmatched. I find myself still thinking about their journeys and know that I will for some time. This is a beautiful book, and you will be grateful for having had the honor of reading it. 

Thanks to Kaye Publicity for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase Smoke on the Wind here.

Also by Kelli Estes: 
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
Today We Go Home

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