Tom Sawyer Returns — E.E. Burke

This swashbuckling adventure will win the hearts of Twain fans and readers of romance and adventure alike. Publishers Weekly Booklife ReviewAugust 1864 -- The nation is at war, Missouri languishes under martial law, and a once-peaceful river town throngs with soldiers, spies, and sedition. Caught in the middle is Becky Thatcher, a downtrodden, yet determined young woman who is desperate to protect her father from being hanged as a traitor. Her situation can't get worse...until Tom Sawyer stumbles back into her life.Upon awakening from a head injury, Tom doesn't recall crucial facts about his mission as a spy, including the reason he set out for Becky's house before he was attacked. His former childhood sweetheart has every right to despise him for jilting her seven years ago. Nevertheless, he vows to help her clear her father--if she will trust him. But his search for the truth draws them deeper into a sinister conspiracy involving shadowy assassins, unwitting accomplices, and relatives whose motives and alliances are uncertain.As their mutual passion reignites, Becky veers between her instinctive desire for Tom and the promise of security offered by his old nemesis, Alfred Temple, a Union captain who pressures her to marry him. When a series of explosive events culminate in an unexpected showdown, Tom languishes behind bars, her father lies in a cave, gravely ill, and Becky faces near-certain execution if she reveals a damning secret she has guarded all along, even from Tom.Bestselling author E.E. Burke was spotlighted by the Mark Twain House & Museum for her novels featuring a cast of unforgettable characters from Twain's classic tales. Tom Sawyer Returns, won the 2021 Laramie Award Grand Prize in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and is a finalist in the 2022 Mystery and Romance contests. Scroll up and start reading it today.