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MWSA Review
Beneath Texas Skies introduces us to KC Gates, a young woman who bears the scars of her early years, when she experienced sexual abuse in her childhood home and she learned that no adult was going to rescue her. KC returns to her hometown, Singer, in West Texas, with a mission: to help children who may be experiencing abuse. She believes she can achieve this aspiration as a substitute teacher.
Always on edge and distrustful, she is ready to protect herself physically and emotionally. In her teaching role, she has ample opportunity to engage with students in many schools in Singer and neighboring towns. KC can recognize the behaviors abused children exhibit. She lived it. And she wants to be their safe space and the champion she never had.
Two local men suspected of committing child abuse are murdered. A deputy sheriff needs to solve the crimes, and as he digs into the murders, it seems KC—a woman he is beginning to love—may be involved. He knows her well enough to understand her distrust and defensiveness are rooted in the abuse she experienced. But though she maintains her innocence, evidence accumulates and points to the likelihood of her involvement in the murders. She lives under a cloud of suspicion.
Author Liz Beth Rose takes us behind the scenes for a glimpse of the psychological damage childhood abuse can cause throughout a victim’s life. It is told through the lens of a young, wary woman who wants to love, to trust, and to help other children. Some uneven prose is offset by realistic dialogue, the growing attraction between the deputy sheriff and KC, and an occasional sprinkling of humor. The author creates a believable small-town setting.
Filled with warmth and suspense, this romance/murder mystery keeps the reader fully engaged with twists, turns, and surprises. Does KC keep her heart closed? Does she learn to trust? Or is she a psychopath?
Review by Patricia Walkow
Author's Synopsis
In a town filled with memories, can love heal the wounds of the past and offer a second chance at forever?
Haunted by the scars of childhood betrayal, KC Gates had learned one painful truth—crying for help meant nothing if no one cared enough to listen. When she once sought refuge in a teacher’s kindness, her plea was ignored, shattering her heart all over again. Determined to be the voice she never had, she became a teacher herself, vowing to stand as a fierce protector for victims of abuse.
Returning to her hometown in rural West Texas, KC embraced life as a traveling substitute teacher, moving from one classroom to another. But when two locals—both suspected child abusers—were murdered, the town turned its gaze on her. As evidence mounted, every step she took felt like a tightrope walk between justice and condemnation. Even the one man who had broken through her walls—the only man she dared to trust—began to doubt her.
But as the case against her began to unravel, the town’s Deputy Sheriff found himself at a crossroads: follow the case or follow his heart. Working to unmask the real killer, he saw past her defenses, past her pain, to the woman beneath the suspicion. And when the truth pointed to a long-buried secret, KC faced the hardest choice of all—let the past keep her heart closed or risk everything for love.
Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle
Review genre: Fiction—Romance
Pages/Word count: 206 / 58,210