Covering All Wrongs Series

"Tense, absorbing, and heartbreakingly authentic… Intriguing and engrossing, Lumpkin's latest novel takes readers into meandering lives of two different people as they try to survive the traumatic circumstances of their lives. With a young mother trying to make ends meet and no father in the picture, little Lacey has seen nothing but grief. All that changes during her late childhood, but the trauma of early years never leaves Lacey's mind. When she meets the charismatic Greg, life begins to feel whole again. But is Greg really the man she's looking for? Elroy has seen difficult circumstances, but when Asha comes into his life, his life becomes brighter. One day Asha goes missing... The suspicion falls on Elroy, and he finds his life turning upside down. Will he be able to get his life back on track? Lumpkin skillfully handles the tightly constructed plot, delving into the stories of her intriguing protagonists as she infuses new life into the well-used plot device of love, marriage, and intricacies of romantic relationships. As the story progresses, the reader realizes that the story is much more than two people's journey to finding love and contentment in life; it is a well-crafted mixture of exploration of life with in-depth analysis of physical and mental abuse, trauma, grief, pain, identity issues, and self-discovery. Lumpkin's prose is both crisp and polished, her narrative engrossing, and the storyline intriguing. But it's her characterization that steals the show. Realistic and utterly complex, the secondary characters come alive in readers' minds with all their hidden insecurities, underlying anger, conflicting emotions, and vulnerabilities. The fast-paced narrative brim with high tension and underlying intrigue. The open ending finale will leave the reader waiting eagerly for the next installment featuring the same cast of characters. Christian symbolism woven into the story along with the open, faith-based questions about the very nature of duty versus desire will delight readers of faith. Evocative prose, a horde of multi-dimensional characters, and a relevant, intriguing theme keep the pages of this engrossing tale turning. A stunner" (The Prairie Books Review)."

"An edgy, intricately plotted psychological thriller…   Lumpkin's latest sequel in Covering all Wrong[s] is a suspenseful and gripping novel about love, marriage, betrayal, manipulation, lies, and mental illness. Lumpkin is good at drawing utterly humane characters. She beautifully portrays Elroy's inner turmoil as he struggles between his yearning for Lacey and doing right by his faith, astutely illustrating the subtle variations and manifestations of his self-doubt. The best part of Lumpkin's writing is her exploration of her protagonists' dull goodness, which despite the difficult circumstances stays intact. A gallery of secondary characters, pivotal to the plot, is infused into the narrative simultaneously: Nina, Alysha, Candy, Jafari are among many others who will leave their mark on readers' minds. The conflict in the plot not only comes from the sinister conspiracy that Elroy and Lacey find themselves entangled in but also from their human anxieties over their personal values, identity, and faith. Equally effective are Lumpkin's delicately woven themes of love, faith, integrity, duty, revenge, redemption, and soul-searching into the narrative. Her understanding of the complicated framework of romantic and marital relationships and of humanity's resilience in the face of impossible circumstances provides this story both authenticity and depth. Throughout, Lumpkin explores the complexities of marriage, love, and relationship, questioning all the while how love can make a person go through so much. This is as much a fast-paced domestic thriller as it's a story of love, family ties, sacrifice, second chances, and self-discovery. Un-put-downable" (The Prairies Book Review).