Cathy Marie Hake. Letter Perfect. Bethany House Publishers. 2006.

Letter Perfect opens with Ruth Caldwell eating lunch at a Girl’s Academy. She tends to get herself into various predicaments that are not pleasing to the head mistress. Finally, it becomes necessary to send her back home to her slowly dying mother. After many months, Leticia (mother) insists that Ruth should go live with her father although he did not even know about her existence.

Ruth is sent by stagecoach to California where her father owns a ranch. Unfortunately, the mother nor Ruth knew that her father had died earlier and left the ranch to a partner. That partner’s son received the letter intended for her father just shortly before Ruth arrives. Can you imagine a more confused setting to begin a story?

The remaining story concerns Josh’s family’s response to Ruth’s sudden appearance. First, they are concerned that she will claim her rightful inheritance-the ranch. Second, Josh begins developing romantic feelings for this Christian lady that just suddenly appears. Third, Ruth’s continuing mishaps and accidents turn out to be deliberate attempts to injure her. The balance of the book centers around Josh and Ruth’s developing romance. He is forced to confront the person sabotaging situations so that Ruth is injured.

Recommendation

Hake’s ability to weave Christian truths into this very believable story is incredible. She brings each character to life in a way that makes you want to keep reading to find out what will happen next and how each character will react to the developing situations. The ending may not surprise us because it is a historical romance, but when you are watching the struggle Josh goes through, it is somewhat amazing that Ruth and Josh do marry in the end.

Mindy Starns Clark. A Dime a Dozen. Harvest House Publishers. 2003.

Danger, Intrigue, Romance, Humor: You’ll find all of these in the story of Callie Weber. She is in the process of awarding a major grant to a charity set up to honor her deceased husband. That is all put on hold when bodies of migrant workers begin showing up at a local apple farm.

I enjoyed reading this story. Unfortunately, prejudice towards Mexicans is rampant in the nearest town. One of the most horrific discoveries in this book is the body in a crate of apples in the “cold room”. The worker had fallen in the crate before the room was sealed to maintain necessary temperature and humidity to keep the apples fresh longer. Recommendation

I am afraid this book may truly be reflecting prejudice in this country towards Mexicans today. In fact, it is probably increasing because of the number of illegal migrants coming across the border. I couldn’t help but wonder how many small towns near the Mexican border could be telling similar stories today.

Clark’s style of writing is wonderful. She is skillful in her character and plot development. This is a book that should make everyone think about the results of racial prejudice even today.

Copyrighted by Diana Pederson, 2005-2009