The amount of
inspirational fiction I read each year is a comparatively high percentage. I’ve
never crunched actual numbers, so while it doesn’t surpass young-adult fiction,
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s close. Here is the first inspirational fiction
post of the year. You’ll likely notice that all of the titles were released
last year; I simply did not get to reading them in 2019.
*This is the final novel in a tetralogy.*
Life in
Minnesota has taken a far different turn than Nilda Carlson could ever have
imagined. Blessings abound on the farms that her family resides on, as do
blessings in her city life in Blackduck with her wealthy employer, Mrs.
Gertrude Schoenleber. Nilda misses spending time with her family and the
satisfaction of a hard day’s physical labor. Yes, one’s busy from sunup to
sundown, going to bed exhausted, but it’s rewarding to reap what one’s sown
while working amongst family. Fortunately, working with Mrs. Schoenleber is
rewarding, too. The experience she is gaining is tremendous, and she’s
proactive with philanthropic opportunities, which are important to her, being a
recent immigrant. Unfortunately, there is one Crawford Galt of the Pinkerton
National Detective Agency who’s been sent to investigate a death. Galt’s
presence doesn’t help Nilda’s nightmares, though an unplanned visit home
appears to nix those. How can Nilda defend herself against one who’s come into
this with a closed mind? Did the deceased’s mother send him?
As if that were not enough on her
mind, Nilda is realizing she has feelings for Fritz Larsson, the handsome
schoolteacher and church organist who gives her piano lessons. But Nilda’s
suddenly caught the attention of an affluent and rather pompous young man from
the Twin Cities. What’s a gal to do? Will Nilda adopt the role of budding
socialite and move to the Cities? Or will she remain humble and God-loving, one
bare foot in the farm life and the other, elegantly-shoed one in the small
city?
I adore Snelling’s Under Northern Skies series. She writes
so realistically that I catch myself thinking things such as, “I should go
hitch up the buggy,” or “It’s time to churn butter again,” when, in reality, I
know how to do neither of those things. The author has created a character in
Nilda that has been given a wealth of opportunity while also keeping her humble
and wanting to stay close to her roots, those roots being family, faith and
hard work. I highly recommend this story and series to anyone who enjoys
inspirational, historical fiction.
*This is a sequel in an unnamed duology with recurring characters from other
books.*
The arrival of
Adeline Pelham has complicated things for the Miller family, already under
scrutiny for Earnest’s lack of forthrightness 20 years previous. The oldest
Miller, Sylvia (Sylvie), now no longer Earnest’s only daughter, is struggling.
She sees her dad bestow interest in the things Adeline does that he never
showed when Sylvie was learning them and notices how much more talkative he is
around Adeline. Is Earnest trying to make up for lost time? Then there’s Sylvie’s
beau, Titus Kauffman, who’s not only overly critical of this new development,
but who tends to discount Sylvie’s trustworthiness by association of her dad’s Englischer past. Who doesn’t hold a judgmental
attitude toward Sylvie or her family? Andy Zook. Will Adeline’s arrival be the
last straw for Hickory Hollow’s Old Order Amish community? Or will God light a
new path for the Miller family?
Whereas I struggled with Sylvie in
the first book, I tolerated her well in this installment. She has her own, very
human, struggles in accepting Adeline, as do her siblings (all younger brothers),
but as she grows, so her mind and heart do as well, opening up space for the
love of a newfound half-sister. The fictional setting of Hickory Hollow in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, continues to sound idyllic. Lewis continues to
be the gold medalist, in my opinion, of Amish fiction. She writes with faith,
depth and heart without overlooking the tough stuff.
*This is the final novel in a tetralogy.*
When FBI Special
Agent Lincoln (Linc) St. John is told his partner, Allison (Allie) Radcliffe,
is dead after an explosion, he is devastated. When he discovers that their
boss, Henry Ogden, led everyone to believe she’s dead because Vladislav Nevsky
won’t look for a dead person, and Allie has gone along with it, Linc is
furious. It is only after talking to Allie that Linc calms and reluctantly
agrees to go along with her “death,” keeping it even from his primarily law
enforcement family. He makes sure to stick close to her as much as possible.
Nevsky’s 17-year-old daughter, Darla, has evidence that could put her dad away
for forever, and now she’s missing. Allie has made finding and protecting Darla
her priority. She’s put Darla above taking down Nevsky and Gregori Radchenko, the
latter of whom has very close ties to her past. Allie tries to do this while
maintaining a low profile, but it’s hard to appear dead when one can’t stay
ahead of the bad guys. They’ve checked vehicles and clothes for trackers, and
there isn’t anything on or in Darla’s backpack. So how do Nevsky’s men know
where they are? And when Allie finds herself confronting Gregori, will she
choose justice or revenge?
Concluding the Blue Justice series in a high-stakes, inspirational, romantic
suspense novel, Eason shows us why she remains top of her game with the good
guys dodging bad guys and bullets. The story leads readers on a swiftly-moving
trajectory where to lag could get you killed and idle moments are few. As with
the other books in the series (and a short story), I love that this series
features siblings of a family, an entire family that I wish were my friends
growing up. Although I enjoyed this story, I will express one disappointment.
Eason normally keeps me guessing, but I knew who the unnamed bad guy was right
away. I was reading along and thought to myself, “I bet this is a bad guy.” And
I was correct.
Book One: Oath of Honor
Book Two: Called to Protect
Book Three: Code of Valor
Novella (in a multi-author short
story collection): Code of Ethics
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