Heedless. Stubborn. Disgraced. Small town Illinois, 1870: “My stepfather was not particularly fond of me to begin with, and now that he’d found out about the baby, he was foaming at the mouth”Desperate to avoid marriage, Nell Lillington refuses to divulge the name of her child’s father and accepts her stepfather’s decision that the baby be born at a Poor Farm and discreetly adopted.Until an … and discreetly adopted.
Until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.
Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and rethinks her decision to abandon her own child to fate. But even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby she may have no safe place to run to.
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Historically and geographically interesting.
I loved the character development of all the characters in this book. I especially loved the growth that the main character underwent. Very thoughtfully written.
You really won’t know what to expect will happen next. Lots of red herrings.
A wonderful, entertaining book for a rainy weekend. Want to read more from this author.
My favorite timeframe for historical fiction is the late 1800’s.. Living Richmond VA, I was hooked from the first page. Wanting to live in Montana, I wanted to continue ..
I really loved that the main character, though young, had strong moral character and even when things were incredibly hard, she had a great attitude.
Looking forward to see what happens in future books.
very good read…great story
I have to give it to Nell for being strong willed…the plot was pretty predictable. could have ended as a stand alone with a few different endings. Don’t think I will read the other books in this series. the come up-pence was lacking a bit.
A sometimes dark story, but believable.
I enjoyed it but it should have ended after the anticlimax. Disappointing ending.
Good enough that I am reading the next one.
The love of a mother for her child and the suspense of finding a murderer make for interesting reading. Loved the book from start to finish.
I loved this book. The main character is immature and finds herself in a difficult situation. The period detail is a excellent. The story well told.
II enjoyed reading this book. It took me back to long ago days when it was considered a tragic event to have a baby out of wedlock. This book left me feeling like there may be many true stories just like this fictional one.
A wonderful story with a, though not unpredictable, twist, it was well told with characters you will relate to and cheer on. I enjoyed it a great deal.
This is a historical fiction set in the 1870’s. Nell is a naive young girl who becomes pregnant out of wedlock. This is her story of how she is forced to deal with her pregnancy by her stepfather. In the process she grows up and you find yourself cheering for her. A great read with a beautiful cover.
Another compelling read and unpredictable.
After reading this book I had to get the 2 others in the trilogy!
Characters are well described. Relate to setting in Illinois. Like strong women characterization. Not traditional ending.
Enjoyed the strong female character.
I enjoyed the story. It kept me interested, and had characters that were good to love and some that felt really good to hate too! You’ll find yourself pulling for the heroine while she goes through her pregnancy and birth and the fight to keep her baby in an age when an unmarried woman with a child was always shunned by society. There’s also a mystery to be solved and a killer to find, so there’s plenty to keep you reading on into the night!