Vibrant historic Yellowstone National Park comes to life in this romantic mystery about a man hiding the truth, braving the west to become something more–and the woman who must confront his deception.
A man who can’t read will never amount to anything–or so Nate Webber believes. But he takes a chance to help his family by signing up for the new Civilian Conservation Corps, skirting the truth about certain “requirements.” Nate exchanges the harsh Brooklyn streets for the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, curious if the Eden-like wonderland can transform him as well.
Elsie Brookes was proud to grow up as a ranger’s daughter, but she longs for a future of her own. After four years serving as a maid in the park’s hotels, she still hasn’t saved enough money for her college tuition. A second job, teaching a crowd of rowdy men in the CCC camp, might be the answer, but when Elsie discovers Nate’s secret, it puts his job as camp foreman in jeopardy. Tutoring leads to friendship and romance, until a string of suspicious fires casts a dark shadow over their relationship. Can they find answers before all of their dreams go up in smoke?
Karen Barnett’s Vintage National Park series is amazing, and Ever Faithful is no exception! In fact, the worst thing about this book is that it ends the series, because I’d really love to read more of these books.
I’m not the only one. My daughter and I nearly got into a tug-of-war when the book arrived in the mail. We both wanted first dibs at it! Fortunately for me, since I’m the one writing the review, I pulled rank. 😉
I really love the spin that Barnett put on this story. Not only is it set in Yellowstone National Park, but Nate becomes employed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (the CCC) early in the story. As I used to work in a camp in the Poconos that was built by that organization (and hadn’t been updated since that time, I’m sure), it was fascinating to learn more about the men who traveled and worked to build those types of structures. His story wasn’t straightforward, either, leaving the door wide open for the variety of reasons that men might have applied to work with the CCC.
I really liked Elsie’s story, too. My great-grandmother attended college during these years to become a teacher, and while I’ve heard a story or two about her experiences, hearing more about the effort that women were putting into attending college was really neat. With so many people going to school now, seemingly automatically, this was a very different perspective.
Barnett kept me guessing with the mystery portion of her plot. Each time I thought I had deduced who the ‘bad guy’ was, she’d dribble out some new information and I’d second-guess myself. I love when an author can keep me guessing!
My Little Man is the one among us who really wants to visit all of the national parks, but Barnett’s series has made me much more eager than before. I’d love to go see the beautiful settings she describes!
Ever Faithful is the perfect summer read: it’s sweet, suspenseful, and takes place during the summertime at a beautiful location. Check it out now!
I received a free copy of this book from the author. All opinions are mine.
