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City of Redemption

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Flower power ignites into firepower when a lonely young woman entangles herself in a treacherous plot and murder during the Summer of Love.

It is 1983 and Liz MacKay waits for parole for the murder of former roommate, Ricky Martinez. Is she guilty? Or is she serving time for another’s crime?

In 1967, partly to blame for her young son's death and abandoned by her husband, Liz Mackay flees Scotland in disgrace, hoping for a second chance at love and life. She arrives in San Francisco during the Summer of Love to lose herself among the groovy people. She joins a commune; a curious mix of Black Panthers trying to change the world, a Vietnam vet seeking inner peace, a flamboyant hairdresser ready for fame and love, a flower child and her drug dealer boyfriend who changes girlfriends often. At first, Liz is happy to have found a welcoming home, but as her new roommates pry into her mysterious past Liz's search for a "jolly good time" brings more grief and a worsening drug addiction. Liz is unwittingly drawn into the dark underbelly of violence and addiction with a callous drug-dealer and a treacherous plot to bring down the Black Panthers. Her unlikely friendship with Black Panther Toni Bordeaux, leads Liz to redemption for her shameful past.

The strong plot and dialogue of "City of Redemption" exposes the seldom seen seedy side of the Summer of Love. It is a vividly recounted story of lies, betrayal, sex, drugs and murder takes place during an unforgettable time and place in history.

137 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2012

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About the author

June Ahern

5 books69 followers
As a self-published author I survived the trial by fire to share tales and truths. The experience of writing, publishing and marketing a huge challenge with a few successes to keep one in the game. It has opened doors to share much more than what readers will find in my books.

My novels "The Skye in June" ('08) and "City of Redemption ('12) as well as my non-fictions, "The Timeless Counselor: The Best Guide to a Successful Psychic Reading" (11) and "How to Talk With Spirits: Seances, Mediums, Ghost Hunts" (17) have afforded me opportunities to meet many interesting people at book events as and travel nationally and internationally.

Like my characters in my novels, I too was born in Glasgow Scotland and in the mid-1950's immigrated to San Francisco, California. We made our home in a district named Eureka Valley, which was to become one of San Francisco's most famous neighborhood known to most as "The Castro."

My novels take place in a place and time that changed history of San Francisco worldwide in the 1960's. Writing about it was an incredible journey back to fond and difficult memories.

"The Timeless Counselor", my first published book in 1990 (originally titled "A Psychic Reading as Alternative Counseling'" was )retitled in'11. It is a complete consumer's guide to receiving the most from a psychic reading or for those uncertain about what it does give it answers all and any questions about a psychic readings and readers.

My new how-to ebook about spirit communication and how to avoid the dark side of it ('14) answers questions posed to me by the curious living and those who also have had strange occurrences with ghosts and spirits. In it I also share my own near death experience and years of experiences as a medium. Come with me on one of my San Francisco historical ghost walks on Youtube. https://youtu.be/TU4BvpvX5AQ

Please review my books and my other "hat" of Metaphysical coaching at www.juneahern.com and www.sfcoaching.com.

Presently in 2020 I'm giving on-line metaphysical and paranormal talks and classes.

While retired from my private practice, my psychic work continues with The Haunted Bay Paranormal Investigation as seen on Amazon Prime and YouTube. My Life Coaching continues.




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5 stars
27 (40%)
4 stars
14 (20%)
3 stars
20 (29%)
2 stars
3 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Mary.
922 reviews34 followers
May 20, 2012
I have found the new mystery writer for me! June Ahern has done it again! Another hit, another super read! This is the second book June has written that is about the 1960s. Time that I lived through in my youth. She has incorporated all aspects of the times.

Elizabeth (Liz) MacKay has had her bad times in Scotland with her mother and husband and has lost her son Patrick. At one of her lonely drinking nights in a Scottish pub she meets up this of all things an Irishman, who trys to help her. He explains how she should leave Scotland and go to America. He explains to her that San Francisco will be her City of Redemption.

As it turns out she falls into a "family" of sorts, one flatmate is a homo, one a Black Panther's girlfriend and a drug dealer. Needless to say she get into the drugs and starts to get into trouble deep with the wrong people.

I did not realize the true concept until she was getting driving lessons, then I thought she was going to be the getaway driver for someone's drug run or something like that. She does wind up in prison and has been there for at least sixteen years.

The story has to be read to fully enjoy the whole story and get to know all the characters.

The book is well written and I throughly enjoyed and was not able at the end to put it down.

June, you have a way with story telling and I hope you will not stop with this one! Keep them coming and I promise I will read them.



5 reviews
May 13, 2012
June Ahern's "City of Redemption" brought back many memories of Summer in the city '67. She nailed it with the place and time that meant so much to me. Strong story about life in the hippy days - Summer of Love 1967. Liz McKay is a bit self absorbed young mother and wife. Her vanity and belief her needs are greater than the safety of her son results in a tragedy. She moves to San Francisco to start a new life and meets up with some really interesting characters, one being Toni a Black Panther woman, Bobby, her militant boyfriend, Sam, a Vietnam vet, and Ricky,the drug dealer. There's more in the commune too. Good, fast pace story, one chapter led to the next. Ending was a surprise because I usually figure the mysteries out. Really liked the idea of the song lyrics throughout the story. Set up the plot well and most I remember and still listen to. June Ahern's stories keep getting better. Read it as an ebook but will get the paperback edition in June when it's out.
City of Redemption
3 reviews
September 6, 2012
I like this author's writing style. And because I'm Scottish, I like reading about her Scottish characters.I wasn't part of the 1967 Summer of Love, but had teenagers that were. I lived in San Francisco most my life and June Ahern completely brings it back to me so vividly. All the places and how people were at that time. This book is very different from her 'The Skye in June' novel. Still, the author captures the places, and give life to the characters that once again, I couldn't put the book down. At times I wanted to skip ahead (and did here and there) to learn more of what happened to her kidnapped son. Then I realized I had to go back for pieces I was missing. I couldn't make up my mind if I like the main character, Liz. She was a young mixed-up and frustrating woman to me. I wanted to shake her and say "wake-up!". But that is the story, how she is seeking to be redeemed for her 'sins'. And her 'jolly good time' that she seeks is not truly what she is experiencing in San Francisco during 1967.
2 reviews1 follower
January 7, 2013
City of Redemption is a really good story about the times and events of the late 1960's in San Francisco's Summer of Love. I lived in the city at that time and the author, June Ahern, wrote about it so vividly and real I felt I was right back in that time. Each place, the commune, the rooms in the flat and the styles of clothing and language supported a great plot. I wanted to hurry up and read quickly to find out what was going on but I forced myself to pace the reading enjoyment. This story will not disappoint a person that likes a mystery and a very human story of grief, and sadness mixed with lies and deceptions. I read Ms. Ahern's The Skye in June, which is one of my all time favorite novels, and that she wouldn't do that good again. Although City of Redemption is different in most ways, it still is well written. I recommend both books for a good read and look forward to another novel by June Ahern.
The Skye in June
Profile Image for Steven Arnett.
Author 7 books33 followers
December 18, 2017
A Very Compelling Story!

I became interested in the characters and the story in City of Redemption right from the beginning and enjoyed the novel all the way through. It was especially interesting to me because I lived through the mid-1960s time period when it mostly takes place and think it evokes that era very well. The protagonist, Elizabeth MacKay, has experienced one of the worst tragedies that can happen to someone (I won’t tell you what it is because I don’t want to give away any of the story), and she ends up searching for redemption in a place almost as far away culturally and emotionally from the place she grew up in as a place can be. City of Redemption doesn’t fit neatly into any genre, but any reader who likes a good story that touches the heart will enjoy it.
October 6, 2020
I was totally absorbed in this story. It begins in Scotland as our main character, a young mother at the time, is involved in a heartbreaking family event. Liz eventually ends up in San Francisco during the 1960's and becomes embroiled in all the love and openness as well as the chaos. The characters are interesting and ring true to the times. We learn more about Liz as she navigates the precarious situations in which she finds herself. And she is not the only one to whom redemption is offered as an outcome of these relationships and decisions. The locations of Scotland and Haight-Ashbury, California are beautifully opened up for the reader as well. I could hardly put down and would definitely recommend.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
273 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2017
I liked the book even better this time than the last time I read it. I offered this to our book club and we read it because of it being a part of the Summer of Love and the fact that June is our hometown girl. The book left me thinking and wondering how some of the characters would turn out in their senior years now.

It's fun going back in time and remembering how we came up in the world.
Profile Image for Jazzie Black.
19 reviews8 followers
August 18, 2017
Amazing

This story is kind of like a coming of age story for an older woman. It took the main character many years to finally come to peace with and move on from mistakes of her past. The storyline was a little confusing in the beginning with all of the jumping back and forth but once the story picked up things were better and it was easier to understand the situations.
Profile Image for Sandra Stiles.
Author 1 book77 followers
July 1, 2015
Once again the author has written a story that starts in Scotland and ends in San Francisco. Liz married at an early age and had a son named Patrick. She loved to shop, even though her husband had asked her to stop spending so much money. One day her husband makes her promise she won't go out. She breaks her promise and takes her son shopping. They rush to get home before her husband. When her son claims he's hungry she sends him to the corner market and rushes to her apartment to hide her purchases. Her son never returns. She tells one lie after another which slows down the hunt for her son.

The story switches and Liz in in an American prison. She had gotten herself mixed up with drugs, the Black Panthers and several other things she should not have gotten herself mixed up in. This story goes back and forth between the two events.

Unlike the author's other book I reviewed, I had a difficult time getting into this one. I didn't care for the sexual content and just felt it was a lot more disjointed for me as a reader. I will say that there is a lot of historical information about that time period that was very accurate. The author is very good at making you feel like you are where the author is. This just wasn't a book for me. I know there re many out there who would like it so I would recommend you try it out.
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Profile Image for Angela.
509 reviews40 followers
June 22, 2012
I enjoyed reading City of Redemption by June Ahern. It is a story which spans an interesting and eventful time in world history, from the 1960s through to the 1980s, although most of the action takes place in and around 1967.
The story tells the story of Liz McKay - of her tragic life as a wife and mother in Scotland; of her eventful time in San Francisco during 1967 and her incarceration in an American jail. As well as the protagonist, the characters are an interesting mix - some Vietnam veterans, members of the Black Panther movement, drug dealers, a gay hairdresser - to name but a few. The interweaving of their lives creates an interesting story.
The author uses changes in time sequence to tell her tale, but it is always clear when and where the scene is set. Another feature of the storytelling that I liked, having been a teenager in the 1960s, was the use of lyrics from songs of the time - these helped to give the story an authentic feel.
Profile Image for Erin.
123 reviews1 follower
May 27, 2014
I won this book from a goodreads first reads giveaway. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Liz's story. Liz loses her son in a horrible way because she wants to make it home before her husband. Liz's son goes down to the corner store to buy fish and chips for dinner and never males it home. Once Liz's husband learns that Liz knew where their son had been and lied about it he is furious. If Liz had been honest from the start her son could possibly have still been alive. Liz later moves to San Francisco to start fresh. She gets caught up with the Black Panthers, a drug dealer and a gun runner. This was such an interesting read and I couldn't wait to see how it would be concluded. If you pick up this book you will be delighted with the relationships formed and Liz's redemption.
Profile Image for Ellen.
269 reviews20 followers
February 5, 2013
I can't quite understand the four and five star reviews that others gave this book. It's a good storyline, but I thought the writing was just OK. I found a lot of the dialogue to be choppy and there seemed to be gaps in the telling of the story. It's the story of a woman who made a selfish, stupid decision that ended in tragedy and the loss of her family and friends in Glasgow. She moves to San Francisco to start over and gets mixed up with the Black Panthers in their heyday. She finally finds redemption in making a decision to save a friend.
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,224 reviews12 followers
December 12, 2012
I enjoyed this book so much I couldn't put it down. The author has a way of making the reader feel as if they aren't reading the story but living it.
It has multiple references to drugs and they are a key part of the story but when I think back on the book I think of a story of a battered woman who found redemption not a story of drugs.
This was the first book of Ahern's that I have read but look forward to reading more.
Profile Image for Michelle.
49 reviews
June 11, 2012
The author did a fantastic job of telling the story from a very specific time and place in history - the sensory details really drew me into San Francisco in the late '60's. The protagonist is complex yet likable, the supporting characters colorful and interesting. A real page turner, very hard to put down.
71 reviews37 followers
October 31, 2012
I loved the book! I was attracted at the first few pages, and I kept reading till the end. Also, FYI: there are some profanity, and reference to drugs, sex, and all that.
But that's what makes it exciting.
Plus, I feel as if I was there with the characters, and I could feel their emotions.
This book has everything from drama, thrilling action, mystery, romance, suspense, to deaths.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3 reviews
January 3, 2013
Author June Ahern writes an outstanding tale of intrigue, murder & redemption set in San Francisco during the Summer of Love. This book has all of the elements I look for in a good book. Good storyline, distinctive characters, and colorful dialog. This book is a page turner. Once I opened the book, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book.
January 27, 2013

Just finished your book. Well done, ....I really enjoyed it so much I read in one sitting as I didn't want to put the book down. Sooo many memories of that era popped in my head.. the music the events, and the places. wow...I felt like I was one of the "flatmates" watching and listening from my own little room...:)
Profile Image for Cindy B. .
3,860 reviews214 followers
August 27, 2013
Interesting plot, had a little too graphic sex for my taste. political stance not mine, lived in that time and the black panthers were just violent...peace won the day and the time. don't imagine reading this author again.
Profile Image for Sarah Avory.
Author 16 books98 followers
February 2, 2014
City of Redemption is not the usual sort of book I read, but recently I've been trying out different genres. All I can say is... really enjoyed this one. For me personally, a great read from start to finish. No hesitation in giving 5 stars.
240 reviews1 follower
December 8, 2013
Wow. Compelling story. Love isn't about what you get, but what you give. It took a heartbreaking tragedy for Liz to learn that lesson.
Profile Image for Dusty Cox-Medina.
179 reviews2 followers
May 21, 2013
The ending was a bit rushed but everything fell into place. I enjoyed reading it.
31 reviews
July 11, 2017
This was a decent light read, but honestly, the ending felt pretty rushed and it didn't make that much sense.
Profile Image for Renata SG.
502 reviews12 followers
March 5, 2017
INTERESTING STORY SET IN THE 1960's & ALTERNATES TO 1980'S. SOME UNUSUAL CHARACTERS BUT WRITER GIVES A GOOD DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF LIFE BACK IN THE DAYS.

I
Profile Image for Patricia Ibarra.
764 reviews9 followers
November 19, 2013
This is the story of Liz Mackay after her little son died. In an effort to soothe her pain and relieve the guilt for feeling responsible of Patrick's death, she flees to San Francisco, where she lives with a bunch of hippies and drug addicts. I was not hooked by this book. I think that the author wanted to deal with many different topics, such as guilt, treason, lies, friendship, the 60's, but all of them were treated very superficially. I felt that the story could have been told in 50 pages. I was bored with it.
Profile Image for Tessa.
Author 1 book10 followers
August 20, 2014
This was an intriguing story but I'm not sure if I liked it all that much... The characters and plot are alright but I didn't really identify with any of them or find them someone I wanted to know more about. The way the flashbacks happen throughout the book as almost every other chapter was really a bit confusing at first. I guess you can give this book a try if you like "realistic" fiction but its not a great mystery or anything like that.
Profile Image for Tony Parsons.
4,156 reviews89 followers
April 19, 2017
5/25/1966, Glasgow, Scotland. Liz’s home. Liz & Cailean (husband, managerial position) were constantly arguing over their money problems.
1 day Patrick Cameron Mackay (8, son) was missing.
Liz & Cailean went to report it to the authorities.
DI Ferguson took the information down.
The Herald ran a front-page story on the missing boy.

Patrick’s battered body was later found a week after he disappeared.
Liz became an outcast & the talk of the town.
7/11/1967 San Francisco, CA. Haight Asbury-Eureka Valley. Liz by chance met Mason Decatur Perry (MS student, gay), Sam (aka Guru Makul, retired US Special Forces, Vietnam), Antoinette “Toni B” Bordeaux (Black, Moon Beam, U of San Francisco, Law, PT community legal center), Dody, Cat, Ricky “Slick RIck” Martinez (23, Latino, Papi, drug dealer), & Bobby (retired US Special Forces, Vietnam). They belonged to the Black Panthers.
Liz went to work at Andy’s Donut shop.
7/30/1967, 1 P.M. on the Berkeley Campus. Black Panthers Rally.

1984, Chowchilla, CA. Chowchilla State Women’s Facility. Elizabeth “Liz” Mackay (# EM61468) was up for a parole hearing for the murder of Ricky Martinez (former roommate).

What Toni Bordeaux (Liz’s attorney) had suggested just did not make a whole lot of sense to her.
Sam Horowitz (former FBI SA) came to speak on her behalf.
Will Liz finally get out of prison?
Had to eat Spam sandwiches when I was growing up. My biological dad loved them. It was cheap to.

I will never eat 1 again as long as I live.

Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. Wow, a very well written historical fiction book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great suspense movie, or better yet a mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews

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