CHRISTMAS IN WHISPERING PINES

A world-famous opera singer returns to her Colorado home in 1876 to find her outlaw brother wreaking havoc and the intriguing, infuriating new pastor an unexpected safe haven when danger threatens her family and community.

Emma Langtry returns from a wildly successful European tour to spend Christmas with her family in Whispering Pines, near Denver. Her grandmother thinks she’d be a good match for the new pastor in town, Clay Hunt, but the man’s apparent interest in another woman, Mrs. Leigh, keeps Emma from warming to him. Mrs. Leigh is also involved with Emma's brother, Frank, a troublemaker who likely robbed a bank. Suspicion is high that Mrs. Leigh was involved in the robbery, too, but the local judge, who is in love with her, won’t hear of it. Clay would like nothing more than to get to know Emma better, but his intentions are complicated by the European prince who follows Emma back to America and Clay’s own tragic past. He’s having a hard enough time trying to put the murder of his wife and son behind him; the fact that Mrs. Leigh bears an uncanny resemblance to his dead wife doesn’t help. Neither does discovering that the men who killed her are in the area. Tempted to seek vengeance, he instead turns to his faith and the many people around him who've helped him build a new life, which he hopes to share with Emma. The couple’s path to love and happiness is bumpy, but they’ll weather the challenges with help from their faith. Dunn’s third Langtry Sisters title has a lot going on, and while it all hangs together, the storytelling feels disjointed and careening and is further hindered by word repetitions and a narrative style that blunts the impact of emotional events.

A textured, uplifting, inspirational love story that often feels too busy and not completely polished.