IR VERDICT:
The brutal murder of a young girl shocks a small farming community in SHADOWS OF THE SUMMER SOLSTICE, the fictionalized account of an 1872 tragedy and its aftermath. Instead of dwelling on the crime itself or leaving readers to guess “whodunnit,” author Sharon Cowen explores how individual fears, community frustrations, and blistering heat combined to turn a peaceful community into an angry mob and creates urgency through short, fast-paced chapters while imbuing each page with sensory details that firmly ensconce the reader in her world.