Award Winning Indie Author Amy Pendino

In Smokescreen, Amy Pendino weaves together a heartbreaking and heartwarming tale. Protagonist Dani Holden, a warm and caring woman, faces some challenges: she’s a dispatcher-in-training; a teenager needs her help and a place to live; a former friend who betrayed her wants to make amends; and a special man has entered her life. Outside of Dani’s personal life, their small Iowa community has two major concerns: an arsonist is setting buildings on fire, and a woman from a questionable family has gone missing. Moments of warmth and humor are mixed in with suspense and a situation that builds to a dramatic and tragic climax. Kudos, Amy, for another great story. 

In Smokescreen, Amy Pendino highlights a career in law enforcement rarely seen, that of a 911 dispatcher. As a former State Patrol dispatcher, I really appreciated what Pendino went through to make sure her story world was as accurate and as perfectly puzzling as possible. I absolutely loved this book!

Jessie Chandler, award-winning author of the Shay O'Hanlon Caper Series

Amy Pendino brings to life characters who matter to us as they take and lose chances, flee or stay, and dare to love despite the consequences. This is a deeply-satisfying, character-driven novel. It contains mystery, suspense and a long-held secret that, once revealed, offers hope and reconciliation to those who most deserve it.

We love how "The Witness Tree" pairs strong, resilient women with unsolved mysteries... Lush descriptions of the rural landscapes and the characters' inner natures will capture the reader's thoughts and emotions.

In this accomplished debut novel, Amy Pendino portrays two independent women born decades apart--strangers whose lives are bound together by a curse set in motion when a tree in rural Iowa bears silent witness to an unspeakable act. Over six decades pass before the curse finally exacts its retribution on this farming community, which is depicted with all of its small-mindedness and big-heartedness...  The characters display a depth of honesty and a deep understanding of the human condition...  "The Witness Tree" is a page-turner that is insightful, compelling and wonderfully well-written.

From its opening pages, "The Witness Tree" absorbs the reader in a gratifying tale of friendship, love and betrayal, uncovering long-buried truths and characters learning to be brave in a world with its own designs on their destiny.