Travels of Quinn by Sasscer Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first book I’ve read by Sasscer Hill, but it will be by no means the last. The story centers around Quinn O’Neill, an Irish Traveller, living in a place called Tinker Town, Georgia. Now it’s entirely possible that many readers will have heard of this real-life group of gypsy-like characters, but I hadn’t. Thankfully, Googling has brought me up to speed, and I believe Hill’s Tinker Town is based on Murphy Village, South Carolina. [In fact, if I have any quibble with this book, it’s that Hill doesn’t offer an author’s note with a bit of the Traveller’s history, facts and fiction, a real opportunity missed.]
As a story, however, the novel clip clops along at the perfect pace, drawing the reader from the opening paragraph, and reigning us in chapter by chapter. When we first meet Quinn, she’s 19, engaged (arranged marriage Traveller style) to a man she doesn’t love, as well as being a gifted, if somewhat guilt-ridden thief and con artist. In these early scenes with her father, Sasscer Hill paints a picture so lifelike that I literally feel as if I’m watching a movie and not reading a book [this would, however, make a great movie].
Fast forward to the part where Quinn is jailed for theft (no spoilers here — the author’s book description reads more like a synopsis that a teaser) and the wealthy woman who takes her in to work on her horse farm. There’s not a ton of horse stuff here — something I gather plays a larger role in Hill’s other works — but there’s enough to make you realize that the author knows her way around a stable.
Thanks to the kindly owner, Quinn is not the only one on probation at the farm. There are three others, all male, with one, Jase, who Quinn is deeply attracted to (and there are subtle hints that the feeling is mutual). Thankfully (for this reader, who really hates it when a good mystery gets mucked up by a lot of romance) there are hints of things that may or may no come, but nothing in the moment.
Life for Quinn, however, is never easy. She has cousins and a horrid stepmother who will do anything to thwart her, and at some point, she’s charged with murder, unsure of who she may or may not be able to trust. The author’s skill at weaving in lies with the truth serves the reader well: we’re never quite sure who to believe, but we do know we’re firmly on the side of Team Quinn.
I mentioned earlier that the book clip clopped along at a perfect pace, and by the end I was literally turning the pages as fast as my fingers would let me. The end was satisfying and…dare I believe it…I’m quite sure we’ll be traveling with Quinn again. At least that’s my hope.
Highly recommended. 4.8 stars, with .1 lost for the synopsis-like trailer — [if you can, read the book BEFORE you read the trailer so you can be suitably surprised at the various turns of events in Quinn’s life, instead of waiting for the promised to happen] and .1 lost for not including an author’s note about the Irish Travellers.
GOODREADS RATING SYSTEM:
5: It was amazing
4: really liked it
3: liked it
2: It was okay
1: didn’t like it