Lillian Porter has always wanted to fulfill her mother's dream of going west, so when she hears about a nanny position in Angels Camp, California, she defies her grandfather and takes a chance on a new future. But she quickly wonders if she made the right choice. There are rumors in town that her new employer, Woodward Colton, caused the death of his wife. This accusation doesn't match the man Lillian comes to know--and Mrs. Goodman, Woody's long-time housekeeper, is decisively on Woody's side--but many in town stay far away from Lillian because of her association with the Colton family.
Lillian's six-year-old charge, Jimmy, was there when his mother died, and he hasn't spoken a word since. Gently, Lillian tries to coax him out of his shell, hoping he'll one day feel safe enough to tell her the truth about what happened. But the Colton olive farm is no longer a safe place. Lillian encounters suspicious characters on their land and mysterious damage done to the farm. Will Mrs. Goodman and Jimmy be able to speak what they know in time to save Lillian from tragedy? AMAZON 4+
I really liked this book and it had a really emotional start. Both Lillian and Woody have to deal with some emotional things even before they meet. We, the readers get to find out early on the reason why Jimmy stopped talking. We also get to read about the villain of the piece, Darwin Longstreet as he lurks in the background. His isn't the only evil though. The townspeople of Angels Camp whisper and slander Woody with their gossip and false accusations. Storekeeper's wife, Carla wasn't one of them; she was a godly woman who had learned her lesson about the damage of gossiping. Both Mrs. Goodman, the housekeeper/member of the family and Harry (a friend made along the way) are excellent additions to the story. As I was reading, I got so involved that I found I was chanting to myself, "don't let anything happen to Harry, don't let him get killed." Harry was such a sweet boy man; an adult in years but almost the same age as Jimmy in mind. It hurt to see how he suffered and for it. He was such a gentle soul, it just made you hope that he would have a better life. Jimmy had suffered so much too, just a different kind of trauma. But he still knew how to love as well, just not in words.
I was happy with the way the book ended.
It's interesting that the reason for the name of this book, is revealed in one very well placed sentence.
The book also had a very sweet dedication in the front of it.
I received a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment