Maude Brown's Baby

by Richard Cunningham

Orphaned by the hurricane that wrecked Galveston, Texas, in September 1900, aspiring photojournalist Donald Brown has all but abandoned hope of learning who his parents might have been. He exploits what most consider a handicap: his nearsightedness. With extraordinary close vision he discovers clues to his origins in the photo of himself as an infant. He helps find a missing photographer by analyzing film from a damaged camera, and he gains the friendship of a young woman in distress. Donald's quest begins on September 8, 1918, anniversary of the Great Storm. War in Europe drags on, and he must soon register for the draft. Meanwhile, his friend Jake needs help finding a news photographer who is missing after an assignment in Galveston. Jake, a mercurial and ambitious womanizer, has ties to the island's nascent mafia. Donald finds himself more involved as clues point to murder. When Donald's new friend, Clara, reveals a cache of photos that survived the storm, he discovers both the tragedy of his family and the source of his passion for photography. Maude Brown's Baby is the first in a series of historical mysteries that trace the life and career of Donald Brown.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2012

About the author

Richard Cunningham is a freelance science writer and commercial photographer. He holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Oklahoma State University and a master's in Science and Technology Journalism from Texas A&M University. He has been writing non-fiction magazine articles and books for more than 30 years. Maude Brown's Baby is his first novel. Richard and his wife, LilyAnn, live in Houston.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe I'm biased, but in more than 30 years as a journalist, I've never had more fun.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. I really enjoy a good true to life historical fiction. This story takes place during 1918, even though it is grounded in the great hurricane of 1900 in Galveston. Richard has so vividly described throughout the book the devastation and the aftermath which took place. The images he leaves you with are such striking and realistic. He shows how property and families were totally shattered. His historical details are so fascinating... He has you riveted and glued to your seat not wanting to put this book down. He pulls you in at the beginning of the book and holds you to the very end making it that you do not want this book to be finished. He brings his characters to life making them like able and engagingly real, He makes them become dear friends to your heart and soul. Donald the main charter of this wonderful heartfelt story is orphaned during the storm of 1900. Richard has written this so while you read you can just amazing it all happening in your minds eye. You can see and hear and smell the things happening in this book as if you were there yourself instead of just reading it. You become one with the book. He has written this book so well that even though there are some charters that you may not like they still in a way have a like able side.
I would think that anyone from the Galveston and the Houston areas would totally enjoy and relate to the places and people he refers to. I can't wait till Richard is finished with another installment to this trilogy.
This book will appeal to anyone.
Highly recommended you read this. It is a truly wonderful read and a must!
I am so honored that I was able to read this and give my review of this great book. I totally enjoyed it and was sad that I finished... It will be a book I read over and over again.

[Rick Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Cunningham is an old friend. I just finished reading his first novel, “Maude Brown’s Baby”. It’s good. This may be his first book of fiction, but Richard is a seasoned pro with 30-something years experience as a technical writer and photographer. The petrochemical industry hires him to interpret the arcane jargon of scientists, chemists, engineers, geologists, and drilling hardhats. His clients are mighty demanding. So Richard is no beginner and has a sure grip on his craft.

Richard has a knowing eye for detail - visual, sound, feel and smell. The characters are engaging and real. The dialog flows comfortably. If you know Texas and hot, humid Galveston, you will feel at home. He has done his research homework to set the scene. The seawall is under construction. You will get to ride in a sparking trolley, an Interurban to the Island, a “tin Lizzie”, a new-fangled 1918 Cadillac and the first Rolls Royce in Texas. Electricity, telephones and photographic film have recently arrived. World War One is raging.

The story has some nice twists - but I’m not telling. Each chapter leaves you wanting more. It is a quick, smooth read, but you better pay attention or you might miss some good stuff. This book is pleasantly “G” rated. Even the bad guys have a likable side. The saga pauses at the end of the book with the lovers sitting on the porch swing bashfully holding hands. It’s another era.

Richard says he has already started on the next installment of the trilogy. I recommend that you read this fine book, then stay tuned.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: This is the debut novel by my stepfather, Richard Cunningham. But for the record, I love books waaaayyy too much to ever pad any of my reviews. :-)

And I loved this one. It has a little bit of everything: Romance, intrigue, mystery, history, all woven in together against a wonderfully-described backdrop of life on the vibrant island of Galveston, Texas, shortly after the turn of the century. The different story arcs draw you in, and the characters hold your attention. You can't help but care about them and what happens to them, and the last few chapters make you want to start at the beginning and read the whole thing all over again.

It's available on Amazon now, and should be available on Kindle soon.

Happy reading!

[Erin Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. I am ashamed to say that while I won it in a Goodreads Giveaway many years ago, and I am offering an unbiased review of this book, it has literally been sitting on my shelf unread since I won it. That grievous error has been corrected now. I should have ripped open the package, sat down, and read it immediately. It is charming, beautiful, and desperately sad. My only critique is that I wish there were more of it. I want to know what happens to Donald and the rest of his friends. After it was finished, I promptly loaned it to a woman in my Book Club, the receptionist at my office. I just want more people to read this wonderful book!

(And the author to write a sequel!)

[Emily Conn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I'm not quite finished with the book, I'm finding it hard to put down at night. The characters seem so real and having grown up in Houston and visited Galveston many times, I find myself disappearing into the book.

It is obvious that Richard is a seasoned pro at both writing and photography. His eye for detail has certainly paid off in this book.

With each chapter closer to the end I grow more and more anxious for the second book.

[Richard Gillispie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Brown was left with nurses in Galveston, Texas during the Great Storm of 1900. Eighteen years later on the anniversary of the great storm he begins a quest to learn more about his family. With the help of his friend Jake and new friend Clara Donald will discover a lot of things he didn't know about himself.

Richard Cunningham has written a great book here. "Maude Brown's Baby" is a awesome debut novel and a great start to a series.

Simply a must read. One of the best books of 2012.

[Linda Cunningham-cohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maude Brown's Baby is truly a book for those of us who love good historical fiction. Well researched and beautifully written, its characters come alive. They are real, with three dimensional personalities that make the reader feel transformed back into a time and place, distant, yet linked to the present day. I loved this book, and I can't wait to see what happens next to Donald Brown.

[Michele Millington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book. Great character development. Feel good reading. Charming. I always looked forward to reading each page. I felt like I was living in the past with these characters and they were nice people. A good, quick,read.

[Marianne Shaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because it was about a baby orphaned by the Galveston hurricane of 1900. Fast forward and Donald Brown is 18, living in Houston with his adoptive parents. Lots of interesting references to Houston and Galveston places and events but also an intriguing story of how one photograph helped Donald gain insight into his lost family.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received my copy from Goodreads in exchange for my review. If you enjoy historical fiction, this story is for you. Cunningham gives us a snapshot of life in Texas during the Great War (1918). Enjoyable read!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maude Brown’s Baby by Richard Cunningham is a well-researched and extremely well written story of a baby orphaned in the Great Storm in Galveston in September 1900. Whenever I read a book that I really love, I e-mail the author if possible. This time however, I didn’t wait for the end of book. This the first book in a series about the fictional life and career of Donald Brown. I want to read all of them. I am now a Richard Cunningham fan.

An orphaned baby is passed to a nurse during the terrible storm in Galveston in 1900 along with a photo. Someone had written in pencil at the bottom of the picture “Maude Brown’s Baby”. That clue is what lent Donald Brown to hope that he would someday find out about his birth parents.

Eighteen years later, Donald Brown, still has the picture of him in a chair and yearns for more information about his birth parents. His hunt for information is coupled with a sweet love story and loads of engrossing details about the Great Storm of Galveston, of Galveston eighteen years after the storm including the tactics to get young men to sign up the fight the Great War. This includes the terrible effect of nerve gas on the troops. I was very interested in that because of a relative who was exposed to nerve gas and was never the same again. Also, for anyone who loves the history of photography, this book will be a pure joy.

This book will not let go of you, after you have read the first page, you will definitely not want to lay it down. The characters are so real that I felt transported back to 1918 in Galveston and Houston and I did not want to come back! I really connected with the characters in this book.

I strongly recommend this book to all historical fiction fans and anyone with an interest in the historical Great Storm of Galveston.

I received an ARC of Maude Brown’s Baby from the author but that had no influence on my feelings or thoughts in this review. They are my own.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction is pretty much my favorite. This is a solid entry into the genre.
Quick read, kept my attention throughout. The historical details are fascinating. The characters are likeable and engaging.
Both the main character and his love interest were traumatized by the great storm as small children. While the emotional reserve/ constriction the characters are drawn with is very authentic to childhood trauma survivors it makes the story much less engaging then it could be. We know what happens, but we can only imagine how the characters feel.

The only other quibble I had is that the central mystery is solved off stage and then presented to the reader as already accomplished. I would have rather the reader were brought along and engaged in the actual solving of the mystery.

Still a very engaging book and a strong effort for a first time writer. Other reviewers have mentioned a trilogy. While I would read a second book if it came out I would probably not seek it out. The characters, due to the lack of emotional involvement, just weren't compelling enough for me to make the effort.

[Dana Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

By grounding his characters to an event, in a period, that was so well known, Cunningham brought his readers up to speed quickly on the milieu of the day. His characters are true in nature to their locations, age and occupation. Cunningham captures the dilemma of the adoptive child well, allowing him to love his "real parents" while wondering then actively searching for his biological parents. The author has a way of describing pedestrian tasks that very clearly sharpens that picture in the reader's mind. Some might find it cumbersome; I found it intriguing.

[Doreen Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Love, Loved this book!
I LOVED this book!
I felt like I really got to know the characters. The story was suspenseful and intriguing.
I am hoping for a sequel, so I know what happens with Don, Clara, and the others.
I often go to antique shops and am in awe that there are photos of people, I often think how precious these photos would be to the ancestors of the people in the photos. So, the summary of the book first picqued my interest.
The setting, characters, and plot made me not want to put this book down.
Thanks Richard Cunningham....please write more?

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why this book took me so long to read! It was a well written book, but I found that during the first half of the book I could put it down, and not read it for a day or two. This is the author's first novel, and it is historical fiction. It takes place in the 1900's towards the end of WWI. The main context of this novel is about the mystery surrounding the main character, Donald, his parentage, and the great hurricane in the Galveston/Houston area.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaways winner. What a delightful book! Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and Maude Brown's Baby does not disappoint! The characters are likeable, but real, and the story is heartwarming. This is set in WWII era in Galveston, TX, but this book is far more about the main character's personal journey than it is about the war. Very good book. I would recommend it to anyone.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Fast, easy, entertaining read. Frequent and interesting use of light (and how light falls on objects) in much of the description ... obviously, the author is also a photographer. Lots of dialogue. Much of the plot is told through dialogue. Novel also reads very much like a YA novel. All in all an entertaining, quick story.

[Chery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but amateurish in writing style. The Galveston storm has fascinated me for some time, and with the addition of lost identity, murder mystery and the fascination of vintage photography, I was excited to read the book. Unfortunately, the writing was disappointing.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This was a great book about finding out where one comes from, with historical history,romance, and mystery thrown in. It's a great start to a series and I can't wait to read more!

[Kayt18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite interesting

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. Loved the main character, history, and mystery of it! I would recommend this book to my friends!