Fans of historical fiction should find this love story an adventure worth taking.
An aspiring doctor discovers romance and danger in the Klondike in this debut novel.
In the 1890s, the Klondike Gold Rush attracts scores of people to the Yukon Territory in northwest Canada, including Joseph Buchanan of San Francisco and his wife, Abigail “Abby” Porter. Intelligent and independent, Abby hoped to study medicine but married Joseph instead. Shortly after arriving in Dawson City, Joseph leaves Abby to stake his claim. When he is found dead, Abby is left with limited means of support. She takes a job at the Monte Carlo Hotel as an entertainer and meets Nathan “Nate” Brown, a doctor from Michigan who treats the women who work at the hotel. Impressed with her medical knowledge, he asks her to assist him, but she refuses his offer. When an abusive customer at the hotel is murdered, Nate becomes the prime suspect. But he is released after authorities discover alternate suspects. Nate and Abby pursue a romance, and she is soon pregnant. After she gives birth to a son, they move to Michigan so Abby can enroll in medical school. As the couple balance the responsibilities of school, research, and parenthood, temptations and a menacing figure from Nate’s past threaten the family. Wright’s accomplished novel is a historical romance bolstered by a strong narrative, well-developed characters, and a wealth of period details. Abby is a compelling heroine who is determined to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Her relationship with Nate develops slowly, strengthened by their interest in medicine and in spite of the misgivings of their families. The supporting characters are equally well-drawn, including Abby’s friends Albert Nicholson and his First Nations wife, Kate, and Dr. Julian Carothers, a medical school classmate of Nate’s whose resentment and jealously take a menacing turn. Spanning nearly a decade, the narrative follows the protagonists through several significant historical events, including the suffrage movement, the Klondike Gold Rush, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Although the tale relies heavily on flashbacks for character development, they provide valuable insights into the players and their motivations.
Fans of historical fiction should find this love story an adventure worth taking.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2017
ISBN: 9781977752406
Page Count: 279
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Agreeably credible lovers and a neat piece of home-restoration compensate some for the hokey hauntings on the bayou. Loyal...
A gumbo seasoned with ghosts, love, and murder on the bayou.
When 30-something Declan Fitzgerald of Boston, a successful lawyer and a member of a large and loving family, breaks off his engagement to very suitable Jessica, he knows he needs to change his life. Lawyering is not fun anymore, so, recalling Manet Hall, an old deserted plantation house he once visited with law school classmate and New Orleans native Remy, he buys the property and moves down south. Declan is also a gifted craftsman, a born decorator, and very, very rich. Soon, he meets beautiful Lena, who’s visiting her grandmother Odette, Declan’s friendly Cajun neighbor. Declan is as certain that Lena is destined to be his wife as he was that Manet Hall would become his home. But, surprise, Lena has a troubled past (like the house) and is determined to resist Declan’s courtship. While he suits Lena and works on the place, Declan experiences troubling dreams. It seems he’s actually reliving the novel’s parallel story, which took place in 1899. In that year, the maid, Abbey Manet (from whom Lena, coincidentally, is descended, and who married wealthy Lucian Manet), was raped and murdered by her brother-in-law Julian as she nursed her baby daughter. Her body was dumped into the bayou by her mother-in-law, who despised her. And grief-stricken husband Lucian, away at the time, being told that Abbey had run off, committed suicide. Now, in an unconvincing twist of gender and reincarnation, it’s Declan who hears a baby crying , experiences childbirth and rape as the reincarnation of Abbey, while Lena is Lucian. The two accept all this with equanimity, and, Manet Hall’s secrets revealed, it becomes the setting for predictable and much foreshadowed resolutions.
Agreeably credible lovers and a neat piece of home-restoration compensate some for the hokey hauntings on the bayou. Loyal fans will enjoy.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-14824-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may...
A dog trainer and a wood craftsman dance around love and danger in the Pacific Northwest.
Fiona Bristow is the only victim who got away from serial killer George Perry. Now a copycat, inspired and perhaps guided by the jailed Perry, is on her trail. After Perry murdered her fiancé, Fiona rebuilt her life as a dog trainer and search-and-rescue expert on lovely Orcas Island. She’s recently met talented woodworker Simon Doyle and his misbehaving puppy Jaws, and her dormant love life is about to revive as she and the reluctant Simon slowly build a complicated relationship. Though she’s done her best to overcome her fears and make herself whole again, this new series of killings, with herself as the ultimate target, can’t help but strain her nerves. As the police and FBI track the killer, a persistent reporter makes Fiona’s life more difficult by printing information about her life and location. Through it all, Fiona keeps working. As she continues to go on rescue missions with a team that may soon include Simon and Jaws, her friends help to keep her balanced. But ultimately it will be the trust she has built up with Simon and the talents of her dogs that will change her life forever.
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may well add dog lovers to her legion of fans.Pub Date: July 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-15657-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
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