A Life So True

The ho-hum latest in Peterson’s Minnesota Legacy series (after Faithful of Heart) finds Evie Turner returning home to Minneapolis in the summer of 1893 after finishing up nursing school in Pennsylvania. Though she’s long dreamed of working in her father’s medical practice, Evie has recently realized that nursing makes her physically ill, and she can’t bear the thought of breaking the news to her parents. At a charity event, she meets handsome Max Garrison, a financial manager with family problems of his own. The two hit it off, but Evie is hesitant to pursue a relationship because of Max’s weak faith. When Max is wounded in a fire that devastates the community, Evie must put her nursing skills to use—and get honest with herself and those around her about what she wants out of her life. Peterson depicts the social stratification of late-19th-century Minneapolis with precision, but the story’s stakes—mostly centered on Evie’s anxieties about disappointing her parents—aren’t high enough to keep readers hooked. It’s not Peterson’s best. (July)