The Going Back Portal by Connie Lacy is a suspenseful novel portraying a battle between good and evil. Kathryn Spears, a producer for an investigative news team, takes care of her grandmother – Nana – who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. When Nana speaks about a family living on her land, Kathryn dismisses the story as a symptom of the disease. There is no family, or is there? While checking out Nana’s story, Kathryn stumbles into a time travel portal and finds herself in 1840 where she meets Forest Water, a young Cherokee Indian. Forest Water is married to an abusive white man she cannot escape, as leaving him will mean giving up her ancestral land. Unwilling to leave Forest Water to her fate, Kathryn intervenes. Will she be able to save Forest Water? And if she does, will changing the past jeopardize the present?
The Going Back Portal is possibly one of the most intriguing novels I’ve read this year. There’s nothing as wonderfully frustrating as willing a character not to make a choice it is obvious she will make, and then see her make it anyway. What can a reader do other than frantically turn the pages to see how the drama will play out? Connie Lacy spins a spell-binding story that will seduce fans of time travel and take them on a thrilling ride through the ages. Her compelling writing style coupled with elements of high drama and relatable characters makes for an emotionally intense read. Connie Lacy has a new fan in me!
Review originally written for and published by Readers’ Favorite.