Sunlight and Shadow

by Sue Boggio, Mare Pearl

After the death of Bobby's father and a robbery at their restaurant, Abby and Roberto Silva leave San Diego to move to move to Bobby's hometown, the rural farming town of Esperanza, New Mexico, but a secret from Bobby's past returns to haunt them as he vanishes on the first night in their new home. Original. 40,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about Sunlight and Shadow. I'd call it a mixed genre book, because although there is a mystery, the focus is more on human relationships, family history, and how people relate to the culture, climate, and traditions of where they live. It is set in central New Mexico and delves into the contrasts and conflicts between Hispanic and Anglo (and Jewish) cultures. Overall, it is quite a good book. Unfortunately, there are numerous grammatical errors (not just in the dialog) and a few misspellings that interfere with the flow of reading. I expected that University of New Mexico Press would have cleaned up the little problems that get in the way. It is apparently republished from an earlier release: it would have been better to call it a new edition and clean up the grammar. If you can relax and overlook the little mistakes, it's well worth a read.

[Kare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had a quiet feel but big things happen. The main character was easy to connect with and I was constantly interested in finding out what would come next. The relationships of the characters is the main story, but the setting, cultural differences, and circumstances all work to make this a good read!

[Sherry Laskowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man recently released from the Navy and his pregnant wife, go back to his home town when his father passes away. And then the night of the funeral, the husband gets upset, leaves to go to the store and never comes home. It's about the people that become our family and letting people in. It's about developing relationships.

[Nmdb22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting to me because of the San Diego - New Mexico characters and settings. It was engaging and kept me reading until the end. It is not great literature, and the ending was not very satisfying to me. However, it was a good take along read on a trip to Santa Fe!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at a book sale, knowing nothing about it or its authors. Though I had a hunch about the way it would end, it was still satisfying to read. The characters were multi-dimensional. I enjoyed the sensory description and writing style. I don't think many writers could pull off writing an entire book basically about a woman waiting to see what had happened to her husband, but they kept my attention.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written story. The further into the book I got, the more difficult it got to put the book down to do anything else. I am looking forward to reading more about la familia in the sequel to this book.

[Erin O. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was unoriginal-- the literary equivalent of every crime drama on TV. I'd rather watch a Lifetime movie for the same effect.