Stained Glass Rose

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: "I see a perfectly crafted masterpiece of beauty and message. The amazing thing is, if the artist had left out even one bit of glass, the picture would be incomplete. No matter how small or colorless, each piece is necessary and valuable."

This excerpt is the secondary, but important character, Father Nick talking to Rose...the main character of Stained Glass Rose. The above sentence describes the book itself tightly written without a piece of 'necessary and valuable' information missing.

Debbie Brockett's research is impeccable. In Stained Glass Rose, she takes a real-life murder case and weaves a story of friendship around its unsolved elements. Thus not only does Stained Glass Rose hold elements of mystery, but is a book about how one important person can make a difference in someone's life.

The book, Stained Glass Rose is told through the eyes of an elderly woman. D.A. Brockett weaves her story so well she can slide her reader back and forth from flashback to present without a jolt. The book's richness is more enhanced by her choice of first person Point of View.

All characters carry a strong individual flavor in this book; a piece of Americana where 'old country' meets new. It gives us a peek of how "The Melting Pot" grew in Grand Junction Colorado.

This is a very well written and enjoyable book with a few surprises. I look forward to more of D.A. Brockett's work.
Reviewer:Jody Gore
Co-Owner/Editor
Writing for Independents, e-zine

Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Book
Review: As a resident of Grand Junction, Colorado, I was captivated by the skillful way in which Ms. Brockett took me into my town's past, leading me along the street into areas that I never knew existed. Not only did the locale grab my attention, but also the characters quickly became three-dimensional, introducing me to a lifestyle that has long since been laid to rest.

Walking the path with protagonist Rose Padroni, I saw through her eyes, heard with her ears, and felt with her heart. Her longing for her widowed father's approval and her pain at not receiving it reached out and touched me, as did her grasping for a mother-figure in the form Marietta Monroe, only a few years her senior but world-wise well beyond her years. When Mari is murdered shortly after their friendship blossoms, Rose reaches beyond her own grief to assist Mari's brother in trying to find those responsible for snuffing out her friend's life.

The realistic story becomes even more powerful when the reader learns it was inspired by an actual murder that occurred in Grand Junction in 1937. Many months of research preceded the writing, and Ms. Brockett deftly wove the threads of that tragedy into the fabric of Stained Glass Rose. This historical novel rivets the reader's attention to its pages from beginning to end-no matter where that reader may happen to live.