Happy Palm Sunday! Plain Confession by Emma Miller along with A Mother's Gift by Charlotte Hubbard and Just in Time by Marie Bostwick will be released on Tuesday, March 27.
Winter Sisters by Robin Oliveira is
the second book in the Mary Sutter series.
In Albany, New York in March of 1879 the O’Donnell family heads
out. David to the lumber district,
Bonnie to her millinery shop and the girls (Claire and Emma) to the grammar
school. That afternoon a horrible blizzard
strikes the area. After the storm, David and Bonnie are both found dead. Claire and Emma were released from school
after the storm, but they never made it home.
Dr. Mary Sutter and her husband, William search for the girls, but they are
unable to locate them. Mary routinely
visits the police station, but Captain Arthur Mantel urges her to give up her
quest. If the girls have not been found
by now, they are presumed dead. Mary is
not about to give up that easily. What
happened to the O’Donnell girls?
While the Winter Sisters is the
second book in the series, it can be read alone. My Name is Mary Sutter is summarized early in
the Winter Sisters along with the history (backstory) of each main character. I
like that the main character is a female doctor (such a rarity in that time
period). I found the pace to be lethargic
which can be attributed to the abundant details and the authors formal (and
descriptive) writing style. The author’s
descriptions help readers visualize the scenes.
However, she needs to find a balance between not enough and too much. I was amazed to find that the age of consent
(for relations) for “women” was ten in New York (how sad and disturbing) in
1879. The author included some fascinating
historical information into the story which helped capture the era. The attitude towards women by many men (but
not all) was accurately portrayed. The
mystery was simple and easily solved before the answers are revealed. Winter Sisters contains foul language as well
as vivid descriptions of violence and child rape (described in graphic detail from
a medical viewpoint by Dr. Sutter). I read
Winter Sisters, but I could not get into the story (it failed to hold my
attention). The ending wraps up all the
storylines neatly and happily (finally). The book is too long at 415 pages. I believe My Name is Mary Sutter is the more compelling of the two books.
Thank you for reading my latest review. I will return on Monday with my thoughts on The Summer of New Beginnings by Bette Lee Crosby. I hope you have a relaxing and blessed day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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