Summer on Sunset Ridge

Rebecca Albright has a passion for her Quaker family’s work with the Underground Railroad. Clay Dalton is a town sheriff looking for runaway slaves in connection to the murder of their owner. When an accident leaves Clay with no memory of who he is and why he was looking for runaway slaves, the Albright family takes him in, hoping they can help him find the answers to his many questions. Rebecca is in charge of nursing the mysterious man back to good health, much to the objection of Gerald Tuke, the man her parents want her to marry. As Clay learns to live the simple Quaker life with the Albrights, he wonders how his past life could compare with the sense of home on the farmstead in Ellicott City, Md. MacLaren’s (The Tennessee Dreams series) portrayal of a young woman torn between what she wants and what she believes to be true, toeing the line between her own ambitions and respecting her parents and religious customs, rings true throughout the story. The disappointingly simplistic portrayal of the Underground Railroad serves only as a background, providing a way in which Rebecca and Clay can meet and a cause for Clay’s amnesia. However, finely detailed secondary characters add realistic depth to the story, making the world where the Albrights live feel dangerous and alive. Fans of MacLaren will be delighted with this first book in the Forever Freedom series. (Jan.)