RETURN OF THE SONG/FREEDOM OF THE SONG by Phyllis Clark Nichols
It is always a joy to discover a new writer – a new good writer. That is what happened to me when a friend recommended I read books by Phyllis Clark Nichols. I had never read anything by Ms. Nichols; I had never even heard of Ms. Nichols. Still I felt my friend had good taste in stories so I took him at his word and looked Ms. Nichols up.
I saw she had a new book titled FREEDOM OF THE SONG and that it was part of a trilogy. The first book is titled RETURN OF THE SONG. Not wanting to jump into the middle of a series I contacted Ms. Nichols and she was kind enough to send me both books. Within a few days of receiving them I was well into the first story. Is beautifully written and feeds any reader’s appetite for a tale full of love, drama, inspiration and even a bit of comedy.
The story focuses on Caroline Carlyle, a young woman living in a small Georgia town who has had a huge tragedy in her life. In order to recover she has moved from the town in which she was raised and settled in another small town where she teaches piano and also works as her church’s music direcxtor. She has been somewhat “adopted” by an older couple who are friends with her parents. They have invited her to live in their “studio” which is located a short distance from their home.
The older couple, Sam and Angel, are part of the fabric of the story. They are Caroline’s emotional supports and are good people through and through. They and the other characters in the town bring to mind the successful series by Jan Karon about the town of Mitford. The books are similar in the theme of small town characters but decidedly different in the way they are presented. Nichols’ books give you more depth of character than do Karon’s books.
Over the first two books Caroline struggles to overcome her past and learn to face the future wth a more optimistic look. It is a real development which will presumably also be carried out in the third and final story of the series.
Music plays an important part in these stories and as a writer Nichols hits all the right notes in locale, plot and character development. Other writers have done this in a way that creates a beautiful song of a novel. In Nichols capable hands the words in these first two books create a symphony of storytelling. Just as beautiful music can take you away from the mundane problems of everyday life, so can these books. They soothe the soul with the texture of their themes.
Both novels were books I could not put down. I wanted to learn more and more about Caroline and all the people in her life. Now I just have to wait for the third story in the series to arrive.
So if you are in the market for a new author to enjoy let me ask you to consider Phyllis Clark Nichols. Just as I “discovered” Lisa Wingate and her brilliant novel BEFORE WE WERE YOURS, I have now made another startling discovery of talent.
RETURN OF THE SONG/FREEDOM OF THE SONG ARE published by Gilead Publishing.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
