The Bridge to Belle Island

Written by Julie Klassen

Narrated by James Langton

After a humiliating mistake, lawyer Benjamin Booker resolves to never again trust a beautiful woman. When an old friend is killed, the senior partner isn't satisfied with Bow Street's efforts and asks Benjamin to investigate. Eager to leave London for a while, Benjamin agrees. Evidence takes him to a remote island on the Thames, a world unto itself, shrouded in mist and mystery. Soon he finds himself falling for the main suspect--a woman who claims not to have left the island in ten years. But should he trust her? On Belle Island, Isabelle feels safe and leads a productive life, but fear keeps her trapped there. When Mr. Booker arrives with news of her trustee's murder in London, Isabelle is stunned. She has not left the island, yet she has a recurring dream about the man's death. Or is it a memory? She had been furious with him, but she never intended . . . this. When a second person dies and evidence shockingly points to her, Isabelle doesn't know who to trust: the attractive lawyer or the admirer and friends who assemble on the island, each with grudges against the victim. Can she even trust her own mind? While they search for the truth, secrets come to light and danger comes calling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980052500

Julie Klassen

Julie Klassen (www.julieklassen.com) loves all things Jane--Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold more than 1.5 million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing's Best Award and has been a finalist in the RITA and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full-time. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit julieklassen.com.

Reviews for The Bridge to Belle Island

[Sue Farris · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you, Julie Klassen, for completing the arduous task of creating yet another well constructed, flowing tale with a punch and a lesson. The heroine reminded me of the fear speaker Patsy Clairmont battled over leaving her home hope you continue to write!

[Hilda Merwin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful details and mystery fun that carry you to the end!

[Cynthia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Delightful read. Highly recommended. Very clean, informative, historical and romantic .

[kimpotter-309059 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen is a stand-alone historical novel. Fooled and humiliated by his beautiful client, lawyer Benjamin Booker vows never to trust a beautiful woman again. When the senior law partner asks him to travel to Belle Island to investigate the death of a friend, Ben agrees. The main suspect is beautiful Isabelle Wilder, who hasn’t left the island in ten years. I thought the story started a little slowly. The two lawyers seemed to just wander around to me. About five chapters in the story picked up and I could hardly put the book down. The way that Isabelle protected Rose was so sweet. The love between them was almost a mother/daughter feeling instead of an aunt/niece. The danger level was there in the story but it was subtle, not overbearing. I really enjoyed this book. The island sounds like a beautiful place to take a vacation. I received this book from the author for my honest review.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen is a fascinating historical novel. I believe this is Julie Klassen’s best novel yet. The story contains rich, developed characters. The authors vivid descriptions made the characters come alive for me. I enjoyed the depictions of their clothing along with the scenery and homes. I thought Julie Klassen captured the time period. It was fascinating to learn more about the Thames. Living on Belle Island when there are heavy storms is like living in Florida when a hurricane approaches. The water level rises subjecting the inhabitants to flee to the mainland and hope that their homes will still be there when they return. The mystery was fascinating and fun to solve. Someone with access to Percival Norris’s home must have done the evil deed and we get to follow the clues to discover which individual committed the crime. The romance plays out slowly which I liked. Ben is understandably hesitant to trust any woman and Isabel has her own reasons for distrusting men. Julie Klassen’s writing is compelling and drew me right into the story. The pacing is languid which suits the time period and story. The Bridge to Belle Island has romance and mystery in Regency England which is a fabulous combination.

[ladyofthelodge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“The Bridge to Belle Island” features both a mystery and a romance. Beginning with a suspicious death in the first chapter and ending with a dangerous situation, this book continually engages readers with action and suspense. The romance between Isabelle and Benjamin adds another dimension to the story. These main characters appear human and fallible, as each possesses a hidden characteristic that prevents them living a full and rich life. Overcoming these difficulties presents an underlying lesson and source of encouragement for readers.The opening quotations provide some insight and foreshadowing of themes. Discussion questions at the end of the book also draw attention to key ideas and serve as fodder for discussion groups. The Christian aspects of the story are overt, but not preachy. Readers who enjoy Christian fiction with romance and a touch of danger will enjoy this novel by a well-read and well-known Christian writer.I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

[alekee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author kept me guessing, almost to the end, and thankfully a wonderful job is done to totally complete this read.Greed and Pride, and maybe more, but these come in to play, and end with murder, but who wanted this lawyer dead? When the facts begin to fall, the list grows, and really surprises abound.The setting sounds so ideal, a beautiful island on the Tames, made me want to live there!If you like a book that is filled with action, most you won’t see coming, intrigue, and mystery, and natural disaster, this one won’t leave you wanting!I received this book through Net Galley the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.

[grammy57 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a bit different than the other books I've read by Julie Klassen. This is a murder mystery. It is also a historical fiction with a bit of romance thrown in. I did enjoy the book. The characters were very well developed and the story flowed well. I do admit I was suspicious of whom the actual murder was about 3/4 of the way through. But, that did not detract from the story in any way.The ebook I received was an ARC and it did have a few errors both grammatical and spelling. A couple of times this caused me to have to re-read the sentence and figure it out but hopefully that will all have been addressed at final editing.I would recommend this book and give it a 4 out of 5-star rating. This review is my own opinion and freely given. I was given an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley.