Dear
Readers,
One
of the best things about fiction books is that you really never know what you
will find between the covers until you open the book and start. When I started
The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton I felt I would get a good story
as I really enjoyed her first book Burning Sky, but other than that I was
unsure. After having read this book, I can safely say I am really glad I
did not live during that time of America’s history. Too much work, too
much danger and not enough running water.
Tamsen
lives with her mother and step-father. Hezekiah Parrish is not anything
like what she remembers her father being like. Her step-father is cruel
and abusive and is looking for a husband for Tamsen who has a large
bankroll. He is not worried about anything else. So Ambrose Kincaid
looks like the perfect fit. He is a land owner with several other
business dealings and will pay a very large dowry. On the outset he
seems like a very nice gentleman, until Tamsen witnesses him interacting with
one of his slaves. Then she knows she cannot live with a man like him,
and she flees.
Jesse
Bird helps her to run away from her step-father at a great risk to himself,
because he is then accused of kidnapping and even murder. As Tamsen and
Jesse flee farther and farther into the wilderness, she is not sure she will
survive out here, but knows she cannot return to her step-father’s
household.
The
rest will give away plot-line and I don’t want to do that. It is
always interesting to step between the pages into a past that you know little
about. What was the norm for the people who inhabited that time in
history is so foreign to me. Plucking geese and saving the feathers and
down for future use, cooking over the fire in the fireplace, houses with few or
no windows, goodness I could go on and on, but not one of those things made me
want to live at that time in history. You also have the danger of not
only Natives in the area who are not welcoming to the new settlers, but also
wild animals and criminals that work their way west to avoid the law. So
living in colonial America wasn't an easy task and was not for the faint of
heart.
With
that in mind, Lori actually writes a story that makes you want to live at that
time. The beautiful unspoiled landscapes, the neighbors who help each
other – no questions asked, and a freedom to take care of things. Lori
has a gift for writing that makes you settle right into the story, walking
alongside her characters and wishing they would stay a bit longer than the few
pages that they have to share their story with you. I really enjoyed this
book because of that, the feeling that I wanted to move in next door and be part
of the neighborhood. Well if I could have running water anyway.
Happy
Reading,
