From a distance, the building may resemble a castle, but it's the last place Jane Prescott, Mamie Dawson, and Ellen Sullivan thought they'd be, and the last place they expected to see love grow.
Broken in spirit and wondering if God has abandoned her, Jane is serving a ten-year sentence at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, even as she hides a startling secret. how ill one caring physician help unravel the hidden meaning behind Jane's courthouse steps quilt?
Mamie told God she'd go anywhere, never dreaming He'd send her to nurture women the world had forgotten as a prison matron. But while helping those around her, will she stubbornly keep the attentions of a kind guard at arm's length?
Ellen was never going to leave Kentucky, but then marriage made her a Nebraska warden's wife. Can she reach past uncertainty and fear to find God's purpose in it all?
Together, these three women form an unlikely friendship that takes them to the end of themselves and, ultimately, on a journey that proves prison walls can neither frustrate God's plans nor keep love out.
My thoughts...
The first in the Quilt Chronicles series, The Key on the Quilt is a fascinating read. Not always one to read historical fiction, I did love the time period this book was set in, 1876.
Jane's story is spellbinding from the beginning. From the onset of the incident, to the long awaited outcome, her story is ever gripping. I seemed to go through an array of emotions with her, from that of sympathy, to that of sheer enjoyment.
Mamie's story was a bit different, I wasn't sure what to think from the start. I assumed she was an uneducated worker, one that few people would have contact with. However, Mamie's strong, quiet presence was one the others would look too, often depending on, in hard times.
And then there was Ellen, whom I guessed to be a spoiled weakling, never coming through for anyone. Little did I know the story she would tell throughout the book!
At times I found myself skipping through paragraphs, not out of boredom, but looking for answers that were yet to come. I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would, and cannot wait for book 2! Unfortunately, it will not be released until Spring 2013.
I give this book 4 stars!
**I was given this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.**
You made my day! thanks so much for your kind words. thought I'd mention that book 2 is titled The Shadow on the Quilt and it will release this September ... next spring is for Book 3, The Message on the Quilt ... thank you again.
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