'Stealing Mr. Smith' Reveals the Darker Side of Tanya E Williams' Psyche

Tanya E Williams reveals a darker side of her psyche in her second novel, Stealing Mr. Smith--a sequel to Becoming Mrs. Smith (click for my blog post on that novel).  Tanya's main character, Bernice, reminds me somewhat of my antagonist Jessie Bell from The Silk Trilogy, only she's nowhere near so disturbed nor criminal. Bernice has a similarly difficult childhood, though—she cares for her dying mother, and then is abandoned by her father. She’s scrappy and calculating, but for all that she’s ‘bad’, others are much worse to her. Then she meets Mr. Smith, an actually decent sort (somewhat analogous to my series' Clayton Bell), and after all Bernice has been through, it’s hard to absolutely condemn her for doing whatever she can to obtain him. She does no worse than has been done to her by others, and her intent is arguably nobler, though Bernice wastes precious few thoughts on such concerns. Stealing Mr. Smith is an intriguing read. Who can help but sympathize with Bernice after having experienced the traumas of her childhood with her? In this poignant novel, Tanya steeps us in a historic setting around the time of World War II while sensitively unfolding how this sometimes-devious woman is in part a product of her circumstances.