RIVER RISING

Author: Dorothy Garlock ISBN: 0446693944 5/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: WARNER
Time Period: Depression Era

When April Asbury arrives in Fertile, Missouri, to take her place as Dr. Forbes's new nurse, she's looking forward to life in this picturesque town. And it doesn't disappoint. Even the driving rain can't dim its charm. But while Fertile may seem as pristine as April's starched white uniforms, it's anything but. April will need all her strength to fight her attraction to Joe Jones, a man who has "heartbreaker" written all over him; stare down a bunch of malicious gossips; and fend off a suitor who's up to no good. And there's worse to come, as a bitter widow plots revenge and her husband's twisted legacy is revealed.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Ms. Garlock returns to Fertile, Missouri, and the Jones family in her latest work, RIVER RISING. As the doctor’s new nurse, April Asbury enjoys the small-town-friendly atmosphere of Fertile. Attracted to Joe Jones ever since their first meeting, April strives to ignore her feelings as she doesn’t want to fall for a ladies man.

As a reader that has loved Ms. Garlock’s depression-era romances, I found RIVER RISING a thrilling adventure. The romance and interaction between April and Joe is marvelous, but I was disappointed with some of the secondary characters and subplots. I especially found some of the actions of the widow’s brother, Fred, disturbing. He seems to have a personality switch in the middle of the story and no satisfactory explanation is made for it. Since that was such a minor critique, I still recommend this one, especially for fans of earlier books in this series.

A note for readers – RIVER RISING does reveal some spoilers from previous books, especially THE EDGE OF TOWN. If you haven’t read it, you might want to read it first.

Kendra Patterson