By Kelly Bridgewater
When the young wife of a powerful lumber baron vanishes into the wilds of frontier Michigan, her friend is left to unravel the truth in this captivating dual-timeline novel from bestselling author Lynn Austin.
1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy, a friend of her husband, John, offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate Abernathy, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems . . . and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.
Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the 19th-century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance. What begins as curiosity soon becomes a quest for the truth—one that will connect her to two women whose stories and struggles echo and inspire her own.
1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy, a friend of her husband, John, offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate Abernathy, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems . . . and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.
Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the 19th-century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance. What begins as curiosity soon becomes a quest for the truth—one that will connect her to two women whose stories and struggles echo and inspire her own.
My Thoughts:
The Lumber Baron’s Wife by Lynn Austin took my breath away. Austin does a wonderful job at crafting a town with two Victorian homes crafted with such craftsmanship that it made me wish I owned one. This story brings images of the older homes in my town that have went into disrepair because they are now college apartments or apartments, so nice old Victorians are now holding 4 – 6 families and the elegance of yesterday days are gone. I wish the modern homes had more character like those homes instead of the boxes everything is made of now. No pride just slap’em as fast as they can. As for Austin’s story, I love the dual timeline with the mystery of what happened to the Lumber Baron’s wife. Similarly, Austin does a wonderful job at crafting characters with a backstory that readers will love to come along them and help them change and grow from. I love the faith element because it is important to show how God will love everyone no matter what they might have done in the past. Overall, The Lumber Baron’s Wife by Lynn Austin was a story that I wasn’t too sure that I would like because of the cover and the synopsis, but I have enjoyed her writing before, so I picked up the story, and I’m glad that I did. It is a wonderful story that I really devoured.
I received a complimentary copy of The Lumber Baron’s Wife by Lynn Austin from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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