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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This story aptly describes a girl’s folly that results in pregnancy; capably describes the way the “situation” must be dealt with when the girl refuses to name the father and wed; and sadly leaves us hanging at the end – hence a 4 star rating. Maybe I will revise it after I read the sequel.
Yes, the babe is born and yes, [SPOILER] the girl cannot give her up for adoption after all. Weaving the plot line with the Chicago Great Fire works well. The girl’s step-father is a demon and hell can have him in the end. I did skim with impatience at times, I must say.
Excellent. Had to go buy the next book in the series. I never do that.
Great book from start to finish.
Keep me waiting for what happens next. Love mysteries.
Interesting historical story that dealt with tough topics
Wonderful story
After reading the first book I had to continue the series. It was one I did not want to put down, enjoyed very much
I’d read more by this author.
My review has nothing to do with the writing, but with the editing. I found a couple mistakes and that just irritates me. But, the annoyance did not keep me from enjoying the book, and the two that followed, immensely.
I read all the books in the series. Tugs at your heart but this is how many women were treated. However the character has a drive to make a great life. Wonderful read.
A great read
Stopped reading after a few chapters…it seemed more like a Romance than a Mystery. Interesting setting and characters.
Loved all the period specific details the author included.
Couldn’t put it down!! I was sad I was finished. The characters are so well written. Must read.
I truly enjoyed this novel, bravo! It is one of the best books I have recently read. The way Ms. Steen explicitly portrays the settings and the characters I could picture the scene exactly. The book is a page-turner and I stayed up very late to finish it. I am currently searching the others in the series.
I read and enjoyed the first three books in this series and am looking forward to future books that will resolve the cliff-hangers from the third book. I like the historical setting of these books with plenty of historical context included–some of which was new information to me.
I loved this book. The author is very good.
I normally don’t like romance, but couldn’t put this down.
I loved reading this book. I found it to be historical correct and once I started reading I couldn’t put the book down.
An engrossing story that stays with you until you can get back to find out what happens next. Must read, if historical fiction is your genre!