The Hummingbird's Cage by Tamara Dietrich

She's a victim of domestic violence.  It doesn't help that her husband is a cop.  He's also a monster but that side of him is hidden from the public.  She's the only one who suffers at his hands so far.  But her daughter is getting older...

Penguin sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can find a copy at your local bookstore now.  It also includes a conversation guide for book clubs.

This was not what I was expecting.  I knew it was about domestic violence and I expected her husband to follow her and attempt to hurt her again, but I never expected a spirit world.  She needs time to heal and time to become strong.  When she runs and her husband is right on her tail with his Expedition, she blacks out.  When she wakes up, she's in an old farmhouse with an elderly couple.  They're kind, they ask no questions and they give no advice unless she asks.  The longer she lives there, the more people she meets.  She even finds love.  But she hasn't made her peace with her husband yet.

She could stay and not go back to the real world, but she knows she has to finish it.  Her husband still haunts her.  There will be no lasting happiness until that's resolved. How she resolves it is a bit shocking.  I also was left wondering if she would ever go back to the happiness she discovered.  It's a bit open ended.

I enjoyed the characters Ms. Dietrich created and the life depicted in the long lost town was a lot like visiting my grandparents.  I found it easy to relate to the story.  It had a bit more fantasy than I expected, but it was a nice touch.  The story is set in New Mexico, but it had more of an feel of Native American mythology to me.  You read it and tell me what you think.