Signs That Might Be Omens

Bingham Wade lives a solitary life. He leaves his mountain cabin rarely, mostly to do private contract work finding lost children. Cynical and lonely, bound by regret to the past, a photo of a lost girl with curly red hair forces him to his porch in the middle of the night, where he searches the internet for a woman he lost twenty years ago.

Claire Caviness is married and owns an art gallery in Savannah. When she returns to NC for a funeral, things begin to happen: she inherits money, buys a big handsome horse, reconnects with her father, and suddenly, things she lost in the past return to her.

Signs That Might Be Omens, book two in the Claire Quartet, is a story of love, loss, and illumination.

REVIEWS:

Crime Book Beat: Billie Hinton is a gifted writer. In this second volume of her Claire Quartet, she skillfully circles back around crimes of the past, embellishing our understanding. Then subtly sows portents of violations, possibly brutal, perhaps murderous. I find her telling most captivating. Two books in, Claire has already become a memorable figure - in company with Lawrence Durrell's - and at times, de Sade's - Justine. Kudos.

PRAISE FOR SIGNS THAT MIGHT BE OMENS:

"What happens when one casually reads a sample of Billie Hinton's SIGNS THAT MIGHT BE OMENS? What happens is two days later the entire book is consumed in a big greedy gulp. Hinton's characters rise off the page full bloom and real, their movements through life raw, ripping out emotion without over-sentimentality. There is passion, need, desire, and sex - fingers scorched, the page corners curling in upon themselves, blackening to near ash from the heat.

Hinton's equine characters touch a hidden ancient core that wishes to ride until there is nothing or no one else but horse and woman. Such is the power of a woman's words and life and love - such is the power of a well-written, well-wrought novel."

-Kathryn Magendie, publishing editor of Rose & Thorn, author of TENDER GRACES, SECRET GRACES, FAMILY GRACES, SWEETIE, and the novella PETEY.

"Billie Hinton's writing is both elegant and direct, lyrical and raw. Her command of words is second only to the depth of her characters, who are at the same time beautifully heroic and yet tragically flawed. Hinton is a soon-to-be-discovered gem, a talented voice from the American South."

-Dawn DeAnna Wilson, author of Amazon Best Seller LEAVING THE COMFORT CAFE

"Utterly hypnotic prose that draws the reader into a world of both obsession and undying love. this book, and its predecessor, claire-obscure, are bewitching narratives of heartbreak and redemption. Highly, highly recommended!"

-Kathleen Valentine, bestselling author of THE OLD MERMAID'S TALE and THE CRAZY OLD LADY IN THE ATTIC