The Legacy of a Lie by Ron Elcombe #bookreview #contemporary #fiction #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

 

Contemporary Fiction

Date Published: January 15, 2026

Publisher: Windy Ridge Publishing

The Legacy of a Lie unravels a web of family secrets when the past resurfaces, threatening everything its keepers tried to protect. At its center is Maarit McDonough Malone, a brilliant yet flawed budding opera singer whose scandalous choices ripple across generations.

Her daughters—Kay, a celebrated mezzo-soprano, and Anna, a self-doubting composer—must confront the emotional fallout of their mother’s long-buried lies. Alongside them are a young, truth-seeking journalist, a lawyer, and a priest, all carrying the weight of secrets they are professionally and morally bound to keep.

Set in the haunting beauty of Minnesota’s river bluffs and Lake Superior’s North Shore, this is a story of legacy and redemption—of truth breaking through the cracks of deception and healing in the wake of generations of silence.

Review

What is the lasting impact that hidden truths will have? That is the main theme I got from this. A long kept secret causes mayhem and consequences for many. 

It was emotional and that is heightened by the way the author was able to connect his reader to these characters. The sisters feel like real people and their struggles feel honest. We are with them along their journey to self-discovery. 

I enjoyed the setting and how it really does a good job of setting the scene and mood of the whole book. 

This really hits you in the feels and makes you think. I enjoyed it. 

About the Author

 

 Ron Elcombe is a professor emeritus at Winona State University (MN), where he taught various advertising and mass communication courses for 25 years. His eclectic career encompasses teaching instrumental music, as well as sales and marketing roles for multiple companies. He has been published in the Lake Country Journal and several professional academic journals and has attended seminars on fiction writing at the Iowa Summer Writers Festival. "The Legacy of a Lie" is the first book in a three-novel series. He resides in Rochester, Minnesota, with his wife, Sharon, and enjoys summers on the golf course and at the family cabin in northern Minnesota.

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