Margaret Hodapp, Hidden Legacy

Margaret Hodapp, Hidden Legacy Review:

Tessa is married to Sean O'Donnell, an abusive man by nature, who one night becomes stinking drunk and is killed by thieves leaving Tessa to make a new life for herself.

Sean's brother had given him a one-way ticket to America prior to his death. Tessa takes her chance and the ticket then boards the ship. Here she meets and befriends Melissa Duncan, a wealthy woman who suffers from TB. Melissa readily shares her stately room with Tessa, as well as other information regarding her family.

Having worsened, upon their arrival to the Americas, Melissa dies. Tessa then assumes Melissa's identity and heads for Uncle George's estate. But Tessa soon discovers Melissa's uncle has passed away just prior to their arrival, as well as the neighbor, Sarah, who had been caring for Uncle George.

Tessa having moved into the estate in need of groceries and money goes to work for the town grocer. Meanwhile Sarah's husband who had been scheming and plotting in order to obtain rights to the estate, sets out to prove Tessa is a fake and hopefully gain control of the property.

Amazingly enough, Sarah suddenly reappears giving Tessa a series of clues to claim her inheritance. Will Tessa find what she needs before the estate is auctioned off?

Hidden Legacy is well written, and contains humor, suspense, drama, and romance all wrapped into one dramatic story. The book is a rags to riches tale with a smooth flow, not dragging the heart of the book. Nice twists and believable characters help keep the story interesting. Hidden Legacy is an enjoyable and easy to read novel that is great for readers sixteen and up.

Reviewed by Sherry Kruegel; professional reviewer

This is a new twist on the old classic rags to riches story. After everything falls apart in Ireland, Tessa gambles everything that she has left on a one way ticket to America. Fate continues to make her life seem bad. Of course, things have to get worse before they can get better.

In all this was a very nice, well told story. The mix of deception, mystery, riddles and romance serves to keep the reader entwined in the story. Heck if you pay attention you might even learn to make soap. The early Virginia setting makes the story all the more interesting. Nicely done Ms. Hodapp. Recommendation: RECOMMENDED

Tim Hancock is the Director of MWLA, a Reviewer and Author

Margaret Hodapp has written a fascinating story - almost a fairy tale about a poor Irish lass who travels to America on someone else's passage and becomes another person who inherits a farm and a new son. She places the reader right into that era, right down to the clothing worn and the food grown and prepared during that period in history. I could almost smell the rye bread baking and the barley soup simmering in the fireplace. There is not a boring moment throughout the book "filled with intrigue, romance and riddles". With a satisfying end to this "rags to riches" tale- we surely hope there will be more of the same from this new writer.