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Confidence John
A coded journal. A buried treasure. A dangerous journey.
In the early 1800s, as the Spanish surrender Florida to the United States government, Emily Bisset reunites with her estranged mother Simone to solve a family mystery and seek revenge on the man who abandoned them Confidence John.
As they make their way to the southern coast, intending to enter the legendary poker game run by Emily’s con-man father, they encounter escaped slaves, Seminole warriors, Florida patriots, and Spanish missionaries — some friend, some foe, some both.
Soon another mystery presents who is the stranger that pursues them, and how does she know so much about their quest?
Confidence John is a stand-alone novel by Harmony Reed. Fans of Daughter of Fortune and The Sisters Brothers will feel right at home with Confidence John.
This book contains some adult situations and language.
In the early 1800s, as the Spanish surrender Florida to the United States government, Emily Bisset reunites with her estranged mother Simone to solve a family mystery and seek revenge on the man who abandoned them Confidence John.
As they make their way to the southern coast, intending to enter the legendary poker game run by Emily’s con-man father, they encounter escaped slaves, Seminole warriors, Florida patriots, and Spanish missionaries — some friend, some foe, some both.
Soon another mystery presents who is the stranger that pursues them, and how does she know so much about their quest?
Confidence John is a stand-alone novel by Harmony Reed. Fans of Daughter of Fortune and The Sisters Brothers will feel right at home with Confidence John.
This book contains some adult situations and language.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
159 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2022
166 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Harmony Reed
7 books6 followersHarmony Reed writes revelatory stories about what it means to live, how we can become more fully human, and how we can shed the lies we’ve been living by and embrace our truth. Her fiction melds the large-scale with the deeply-personal, yielding insight into the human psyche and the world we all must move through. If you enjoy authors like Michael Chabon and Jodi Picoult, movies like Big Fish and Little Miss Sunshine, or shows like Orange is the New Black and This is Us, you’ll love Harmony Reed.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 1, 2022
Laborious narrative, girl power, and lack of understanding of physics. Exit time 🪂 @ 8%
March 5, 2022
I really like this style - the author says a lot by saying very little, then adding a little thought, a gesture or a grimace.
The story is from a time I knew little about, but this made it even more interesting.
It's a little bit about the life of women in a world of men, about the West, about life in a time of uncertainty and war, and a lot about heartache, grit, determination, endurance and survival against all odds.
Ultimately, it is about seeking revenge and instead finding redemption...
I would have so many comments on the tip of my fingers, but they would all be spoilers, and you deserve better. So I'll just say I really enjoyed this book and this author, it's fresh, different and original.
The story is from a time I knew little about, but this made it even more interesting.
It's a little bit about the life of women in a world of men, about the West, about life in a time of uncertainty and war, and a lot about heartache, grit, determination, endurance and survival against all odds.
Ultimately, it is about seeking revenge and instead finding redemption...
I would have so many comments on the tip of my fingers, but they would all be spoilers, and you deserve better. So I'll just say I really enjoyed this book and this author, it's fresh, different and original.
March 22, 2022
No confidence
Not a fan of crude language, particularly the use of the f-bomb. I think there is better language that can be used.
Not a fan of crude language, particularly the use of the f-bomb. I think there is better language that can be used.
April 23, 2022
The premise was very interesting--a famous con artist in the Wild West of 1800s Florida, and the women he's wronged. Travel up and down the Spanish territory with Seminoles, escaped enslaved people and killers. All this AND a buried treasure chest.
The writing was fine, creating the sights and smells of St. Augustine and the steamy semi-tropical state. The character development--not as good. A daughter with a grudge and killer instincts sets out to kill her father, the elusive Confidence John. Along the way she immediately falls in love with a biracial Seminole, and rediscovers the mother who abandoned her. Said mother, a recovered opium addict, smuggles enslaved people to Havana (I'm not so sure how historically accurate that is), immediately reconciles with her daughter and they travel together, seeking Confidence John.
Ultimately, the book was disappointing. Disappointment number one: the reader never meets Confidence John, the puppet master who has brought all these characters together. Disappointment number two: the characters stew in their own emotions and interiority too much; when they do interact, it comes off as unrealistic. Disappointment number three: the ending was so sudden and and unresolved, I re-read the chapter, thinking I must have missed some pages.
But there were pirates.
The writing was fine, creating the sights and smells of St. Augustine and the steamy semi-tropical state. The character development--not as good. A daughter with a grudge and killer instincts sets out to kill her father, the elusive Confidence John. Along the way she immediately falls in love with a biracial Seminole, and rediscovers the mother who abandoned her. Said mother, a recovered opium addict, smuggles enslaved people to Havana (I'm not so sure how historically accurate that is), immediately reconciles with her daughter and they travel together, seeking Confidence John.
Ultimately, the book was disappointing. Disappointment number one: the reader never meets Confidence John, the puppet master who has brought all these characters together. Disappointment number two: the characters stew in their own emotions and interiority too much; when they do interact, it comes off as unrealistic. Disappointment number three: the ending was so sudden and and unresolved, I re-read the chapter, thinking I must have missed some pages.
But there were pirates.
June 20, 2022
Not sure how to rate this book. The violence was graphic and the language of the characters was R rated at times. The detailed violence and the fowl language did not add to the story. I would have rated this book much better without them.
The message of the book was good . There was revenge in the hearts of the characters. The book was short, but told a story that was interesting.
The book was more about the main characters, but I still don't feel like I know them that well. The characters lives were driven by a past that we did not find out much about. I would have liked to have read more about each main character and their past. I could have related to the characters better with more information.
I would not call this book historical fiction because there was not enough information in the book to set the time in history. As the characters moved around from place to place, there was very little information provided. When new characters were introduced we did not know much about where they came from. What the author shared seemed to be on a "need to know" basis. So I got just enough information to enjoy the book, but more would have been better.
This book would have been better with about a 100 more pages and the same story line.
The message of the book was good . There was revenge in the hearts of the characters. The book was short, but told a story that was interesting.
The book was more about the main characters, but I still don't feel like I know them that well. The characters lives were driven by a past that we did not find out much about. I would have liked to have read more about each main character and their past. I could have related to the characters better with more information.
I would not call this book historical fiction because there was not enough information in the book to set the time in history. As the characters moved around from place to place, there was very little information provided. When new characters were introduced we did not know much about where they came from. What the author shared seemed to be on a "need to know" basis. So I got just enough information to enjoy the book, but more would have been better.
This book would have been better with about a 100 more pages and the same story line.
May 24, 2022
The story sounded promising from the synopsis, but it fell flat. I couldn’t understand half of what I read. I think the bones of the story are there it was just written in a really strange way. The author jumped around from one thing to another and then the ending was just really really anticlimactic. Parts of the book were really fantastic, but other parts were just blah. All in all I guess it just wasn’t the type of story I could really get behind and enjoy. The author spent a lot of time talking about the history behind the time period in that story at times where I felt it pushed the main story to the side.
October 18, 2022
Brief remarks for a short novel…
“We are not what has happened to us. Instead, I think we are what we do about what has happened to us.” (108)
Family. Revenge. Treasure. Disappointment. Blame. Lies. Secrets. Starting over. Betrayal. Hope. Legacy.
Family is what we make it. Blood or not, it is the people we love and with whom we surround ourselves. Who we learn to trust. Who accepts us for who we are. Who comes to see the good in us, despite our past sins. Who stands by us. Who gives us hope for the future.
More thoughts on books and stuff at mytossiecup.blogspot.com
“We are not what has happened to us. Instead, I think we are what we do about what has happened to us.” (108)
Family. Revenge. Treasure. Disappointment. Blame. Lies. Secrets. Starting over. Betrayal. Hope. Legacy.
Family is what we make it. Blood or not, it is the people we love and with whom we surround ourselves. Who we learn to trust. Who accepts us for who we are. Who comes to see the good in us, despite our past sins. Who stands by us. Who gives us hope for the future.
More thoughts on books and stuff at mytossiecup.blogspot.com
July 31, 2022
Excitingly different
Live in the 1800s when no one really knew who owned Florida, France, England... Enter the world of the western atmosphere and the rough exterior of men and women as they live and grow in this wild country. Feel the heat of the day and humid nights as Emily/ Emmit tries to find his father.
Live in the 1800s when no one really knew who owned Florida, France, England... Enter the world of the western atmosphere and the rough exterior of men and women as they live and grow in this wild country. Feel the heat of the day and humid nights as Emily/ Emmit tries to find his father.
April 24, 2022
This book didn’t really work for me. I enjoy historical novels, but I kept re-reading chapters because it wasn’t holding my attention… The storyline was too choppy and it just didn’t seem to flow smoothly.
April 8, 2022
Interesting outlook
This book not only takes you on a journey, but you began to look through the eyes of Hatken and Emily and how they see life today. You can take what you have read and apply it to your life. Great easy read highly recommend.
This book not only takes you on a journey, but you began to look through the eyes of Hatken and Emily and how they see life today. You can take what you have read and apply it to your life. Great easy read highly recommend.
February 5, 2023
Odd combo of graphic violence and sappy love stories. That didn’t work for me. I hope I got this book for free.
April 11, 2024
This bordered a little too closely on high school history, for me. #1463
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews