Road to the Mansfield

Book 1 - an Express Investigations prequel

Three stories. One destination.

A swamp rat-turned lady, a hotshot southern attorney, and a small-town dreamer endure life’s cruel twists on the way to Hollywood’s swanky Mansfield Supper Club.

Louisiana, 1927. A brutal fate sweeps seventeen-year-old Francie Roubideaux from the Louisiana bayou to the iron rule of Miss Claire in New Orleans. She survives using her daddy’s wits and mama’s grace, but fickle fortune isn’t done with her yet….

Illinois, 1937. Rose Donovan’s dreary small-town life takes a turn when a New York City music man whisks her away to Hollywood. But soon she’s torn between addictive passion and another man’s arms…and more than Rose’s heart is on the line.

Georgia, 1936. A rising star on the Atlanta legal circuit, Beau Hartwell is the envy of every lawyer in the city…until his past desperately comes to call. Can big-city Beau handle backwoods justice, or will the case break more than his career?

In one fateful night, their worlds collide in ways no one saw coming…

This book is intended for adults and contains several very dark themes and situations. See the detailed list of warnings if you are susceptible.

After reading the description of Road to the Mansfield I was still wholly unprepared for this book. The title is very accurate for the contents of the book. It is actually three smaller stories that tell the story of what led these three people to the Mansfield and ultimately set them up to be in the right place at the right time on one fateful, tragic night. This book is a fast-paced page turner, it’s absorbing, and suspenseful. I didn’t want to stop reading it.

A fast paced story that has twists and turns that left me turning pages fast. There is much going on in this story but the author did a great job of transitions to keep the story entertaining. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to seeing more from this author. I highly recommend this book.

I just love the characters in this book. Francie is one of my favorite characters, rich and detailed, real and flawed, yet she'll have you rooting for her from the first page. The stories are set in different time periods, different places, but share a common theme of human resilience. And I loved the way the three different stories intertwine together at the end to setup the series. The writing is beautiful and smooth to read, and paints a vivid picture of a different era.