New Releases/Fiction
Indelible
Kristen Heitzmann
Rescuing
a toddler from the jaws of a mountain lion, Trevor MacDaniel, a high-country
outfi tter, sets in motion events he can’t foresee. His act of bravery
entwines his life with gifted sculptor Natalie Reeve—and attracts a grim
admirer.
Trevor’s need to guard and protect is born of tragedy, prompting his decision
to become a search and rescue volunteer. Natalie’s gift of sculpting comes
from an unusual disability that seeks release through her creative hands. In
each other they see strength and courage as they face an incomprehensible foe.
When a troubled soul views Trevor as archangel and adversary, Redford’s
peaceful mountain community is threatened. Together with Police Chief Jonah
Westfall, Trevor presses his limits to combat the menace who targets the most
helpless and innocent.
The
Journey
Wanda Brunstetter
Publishers Weekly
Brunstetter (A Sister's Hope) sets her latest among the Kentucky Amish; the story may have moved, but the rest of the Amish plot is pretty familiar. Titus Fisher's heart is broken after his girlfriend, Phoebe Stoltzfus, who can't commit to him or to the Amish faith, moves to California. Englischer and family friend Allen Walters is passing through Lancaster County, Pa., to Kentucky, and he happens to know of an available job for a carpenter. So off go Titus and Allen to Kentucky, where Titus meets Suzanne Yoder, a young Amish woman who can't cook but who can do woodworking, and who painfully resembles Phoebe. There's growing and forgiving to do, as well as a fair amount of eating. Some of the plot complications are sensibly organic—Phoebe's return is logical. Others are purely arbitrary—stolen money in Titus's telephone shed—and verge on amateur. Yet given the appetite for Amish fiction, publishers haven't yet hit the limit for shoofly pies. While she's not the best of the bonnet bunch, Brunstetter's been at this a while now, and her readership will wilkom this. (Apr.)
Ella's
Wish
Jerry S.Eicher
Ella Yoder has moved into her dream house. In the stillness of the great house, Ella ponders her options. How is she to survive on her own? How will she ever forget Aden? What is to become of her?
Two would-be suitors soon make their intentions known, but Ella is unsure of her own feelings. As she agrees to take care of Preacher Stutzman's three motherless girls, Ella's heart is touched by their love for her. Could their affection be the answer to Ella's quest? Can God speak through the love of a child?
Readers of Amish fiction will fall in love themselves with Ella Yoder and hope with her that she finds the love and happiness she seeks.
Leaving
Karen Kingsbury
Characters from Kingsbury's Baxter family epic recur in the first of a new series about young actress Bailey Flanigan. Bailey, who has appeared in a film of Unlocked (a real novel by Kingsbury) and is awaiting a callback about her Broadway audition, has a problem: Hollywood hottie Brandon Paul, reformed bad boy and film co-star, is after her; star NFL rookie Matt Keagan is another potential interest. But Bailey really loves Cody Coleman, the regular-guy Iraq war veteran who abruptly left her. Ex-POW Cody is teaching and coaching at a rural high school, visiting his druggie mom in jail, and trying to forget Bailey, whom he left out of fear of his mother's unsavory connections. A parallel story involves firefighter Landon Blake, whose ground zero experience is affecting his health. Fans won't mind the self-promotional reference to Kingsbury's previous book as they enjoy the treacly confection of Hollywood and heroes the popular novelist offers.
The
Lightkeeper's Ball
Colleen Coble
Olivia Stewart's family is one of the Four Hundred-the highest echelon of society in 1910. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Olivia leaves their New York City home for Mercy Falls, California, to determine what befell Eleanor. She suspects Harrison Bennett, the man Eleanor planned to marry. But the more Olivia gets to know him, the more she doubts his guilt-and the more she is drawn to him herself.
When several attempts are made on her life, Olivia turns to Harrison for help. He takes her on a ride in his aeroplane, but then crashes, and they're forced to spend two days alone together. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Harrison offers to marry her to make the situation right. As a charity ball to rebuild the Mercy Falls lighthouse draws near, she realizes she wants more than a sham engagement-she wants Harrison in her life forever. But her enemy plans to shatter the happiness she is ready to grasp. If Olivia dares to drop her masquerade, she just might see the path to true happiness.
Against
the Wind
Brock & Bodie Thoene
As Nazi forces tighten their net of evil over Europe in 1940, famed Jewish concert violist Elisa Lindheim Murphy escapes from Vienna to England. But both Elisa and her American newsman husband, John Murphy, are convinced that nowhere in Europe is safe from Hitler's seemingly unstoppable forces.
As Nazi U-boats patrol and sink Allied vessels in the North Atlantic, Elisa makes a desperate but brave decision—to accompany Jewish refugee children on a civilian transport through treacherous seas to seek asylum in America. At least there, in the land of freedom, the ragged remnant of the Jewish people can live on in peace and safety—or so she hopes. But as German torpedoes streak toward the refugee ship, Elisa will face the greatest trial of her life….
Mine
is the Night~Liz Curtis Higgs
SHE
LOST EVERYTHING SHE LOVED.
HE HAD EVERYTHING SHE NEEDED.
BUT COULD SHE FIND THE COURAGE TO TRUST HIM?
Stepping
from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must
begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of
work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered
remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and
deception?
Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law,
Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any
promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources,
Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still
comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.
Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will
he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or
will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?
The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious
finish in Mine
Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in
eighteenth-century Scotland.