Head to Turtle Springs: Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands!

Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands by Cynthia Hickey, Susan Page Davis, Susanne Dietze, Darlene Franklin, Patty Smith Hall, Carrie Fancett Pagels and Gina Welborn,  is a collection of novellas by seven authors who provide the "voices" in our story. The Civil War was a brutal war in our nation's history, creating widows and orphan of untold numbers. It is spring in the year 1865 and in Turtle Springs Kansas, the women left behind are tired eking out a living and barely getting by.  They band together to solve the shortage of men by placing an ad for mail-order husbands.  Men travel from far and wide for the chance to be interviewed for the honor of courting the husband hunting women.  Imagine a little town of 223 with so many bachelors converging at once that a tent city is constructed near town.  Every man had a different reason for answering the ad but none so sweet as the ones who were featured in this collection.

I liked having the continuity of the story crossing each novella. Each author built on the main story yet added her own rich style to the mix.  Each story had a different aspect that made each couple unique.  Reluctant grooms and grooms who still felt the wounds of war each shared a deep love for the woman they married.

Historical elements like the one used by Carrie Fancett 
Pagels in The Dime Novel  by adding soldiers traveling to real life  Fort  Mackinac through Turtle Springs during that era add an interesting element to the stories.  Little extras added to the story kept me hooked and drove me to search for more history online.

While this collection is fiction it is indeed true that the hardships of war can be felt long after men come home to their families to pick up their lives. For the many women and children left behind it was such a devastating loss to run the farm, run businesses and keep the family going when their man didn't make it home.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy to review this book. I enjoy American fiction and this book gave me new insight to the Civil War. While the book is definitely entertaining, I can't help but think of the untold stories of women who lived through the years after the war ended.

I enjoyed reading Love's Faithful Promise by Susan Anne Mason.  Discovering a new to me  author is exciting. It opens the door to new experiences and new people. Although this is book three in the Courage to Dream series it stood on its own quite well. 

Our heroine, Deidre O'Leary is a young woman who dreamed of becoming a doctor in a time when women were supposed to marry well and raise a family. She completed her nursing studies and was about ready to take a well-fought for seat in medical school. God's will or fate if you will, intervened when her beloved mother was stricken with a stroke. Unwilling to see her strong mother suffer the loss of mobility and on the verge of deep depression, she searched for any means of restoring her mother to health. 

Deidre traveled to meet with Dr. Matthew Clayborne, whose innovative methods in physical therapy worked wonders with critically wounded war veterans.  She worked hard to convince the doctor that she and her family were not simply a rich family entitled to services that any amount of money could buy.  Dr. Clayborne, a widower with a young daughter had trials of his own and didn't need or want anything to do with the O'Leary family. However, Deidre convinced him to bring his young daughter Phoebe to her family compound and treat Mrs. O'Leary.  What Matthew couldn't know was how his own life was on a path to healing.

Even the most hopeless situations can turn around and this story of courage and determination proves that. Love and faith can heal many things. Deidre had her life planned ahead for many years. We may plan our lives  all we want but along the way life happens. In this book a life well lived can be better than a life well planned. Love finds a way to open even the staunchest bitter heart. Well written story with characters who come to life, I recommend this book without hesitation. 

Reviewing: Murder on the Moor

Murder on the Moor is a story that has all the elements of a baffling mystery one would expect of its genre. Set in 1930's England, it is complete with old stone mansions fully staffed with servants, expensive cars and jewel clad ladies who dress for dinner.

Drew Farthering and his lovely wife Madeline have built a reputation of solving unsolvable crimes.  He is not only wealthy and handsome but as clever as he is compassionate. She is beautiful and charming but also the perfect confidant.  Julianna Deering expertly captured the essence of the wealthy sleuthing couple. I could almost imagine Nick and Nora Charles staying at Bloodworth Park Lodge, but Drew and Madeline are the guests of Beaky and Sabrina Bloodworth.

The story began in earnest when a quiet evening at Farthering Place was interrupted by one Hubert (Beaky) Bloodworth, Drew's chum back in his Eton days.  He had just driven 200 miles to entreat Drew and Madeline to see who is behind dreadful mischief on the moor.  Topping off all the mysterious goings on, someone committed the unthinkable by murdering the vicar.

The moor is lonely and desolate, generally not a place to wander about and adding fog to the mix spells danger.  Remnants of an old church tower, an abandoned kiln and an oversized dog had this reader breathing rapidly as I turned the pages for more.  As one murder leads to another one has to wonder how this second murder could possibly be linked to each other in such a quiet village as Bunting's Nest.

Reading about the moor I was reminded of Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. With a cast of savory characters such as Rhys Delwin, the gamekeeper, I could only imagine his bearing a resemblance to the likes of Heathcliff.  The author also prominently placed the Bronte books within the homes of the characters as if to spark even more interest of the moors.

Several red herrings cleverly add to the mix of clues to throw the reader off of the trail of the killer. Everything is tied up in a neat bundle in the end though, to everyone's satisfaction.

Also reminiscent of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane I was pleased to see a reference to The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers in this book. Wealthy couples who love to play detectives in their leisurely lives have proven a successful formula for mystery writers. I recommend Murder on the Moor if you enjoy this genre. It will not disappoint you. Simply put the kettle on and settle down for a good read.