The fourth and final book of the award winning Abercrombie Trail series is Blooming Prairie. To offset the loss of crops due to the Rocky Mountain locusts, Evan takes a job driving a mule train over the Wadsworth Trail. The author takes you along for the ride, describing in detail every jolt of the exhausting, demanding journey. While Evan is away, Anders and Ragna Vollen stay with his family and fight back the growing tension of another Sioux uprising after Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn. Old fears resurface while they struggle to maintain the farm. Meanwhile Serena Gustafson’s story continues as she returns to Pomme de Terre, facing an uncertain future as a widow with a property of diminished value. Candace does an amazing job weaving these story lines seamlessly in a must-read conclusion.
You know an author has met the challenge when the reader doesn’t want the story to end. I’m sorry to say good-bye to the Jacobsons and their pioneering neighbors. Their everyday life became real; their wants and needs were made plain. I’ve gained insight into the psyche of these extraordinary settlers. “Determined” doesn’t adequately describe them. They are unbowed in the face of risk, harm, fear and illness that most of us can only imagine. They share universal traits with immigrants such as Marcello and Luisa Corsi whom I have written about and millions of others, who were striving for a better life in the new world. They are to be admired and remembered. I’m grateful Candace brought them to life.
You can purchase Blooming Praire at: https://www.amazon.com/Blooming-Prairie-Abercrombie-Trail-Candace/dp/1410462641
You can learn more about Candace Simar at: http://candacesimar.com
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