Remember Me When by Ginny Aiken - my review

I truly love picking up a book by an author I have never read before and find that I am so totally entertained that I lose track of time and place. Such was the case for me when I entered the world of Ginny Aiken's newest novel, Remember Me When, her second novel in her "Women of Hope" series. This novel was inspired by the biblical story of Abigail in 1 Samuel. She stood up for what she knew was right even though there were life-threatening consequences.

The story takes place in Hope County, Oregon in 1880. Our heroine is Faith Nolan who is the wife of Roger Nolan, the proprietor of a general store.  She married Roger out of need after her parents were both killed by Indians. Roger offered her marriage but from the wedding night on he abused her. Roger's brother lives with them and Faith finds her only solace is when she spends time with her husband's three mules, Maisie, Daisy, and Lazy.

Roger is a very nasty untrustworthy man. Nathan Bartlett, the owner of a local logging camp, orders merchandise and food from Roger's store, but somehow Nathan's orders are never delivered complete. Faith feels bad because she knows the orders arrived. When the new order comes in she waits until her husband drinks himself into oblivion and she sneaks out, loads Nathan's order onto the backs of the three mules and heads up to the logging camp to deliver the much needed order. When she returns, she suffers Roger's wrath and as he pushes at her she falls and hits her head on the hearth and is knocked out. When she awakes, she finds Roger dead and the store and her home on fire. She is able to escape only to find the mules have escaped as well. She soon finds herself on her way back up the mountain to the logging camp and meets up with her three mule friends who lay down around her to help keep her warm during the night.

When Nathan and the loggers see the smoke coming from the base of the mountain they head down to see where it was coming from.  Finding Roger dead inside the burning cabin, Nathan and the rest set out to find Faith. To complicate matters, Roger's brother, Theo, begins accusing Faith of murdering Roger. This sets the plot of the story in motion.

They take Faith into the town of Bountiful to meet with the sheriff. From there other things begin to happen and more fingers are pointed at Faith. Is she guilty? Does Nathan believe in her innocence? Will the jury find her guilty and sentence her to hang? You will have to read the book to find out the answers.  Ms. Aiken kept me on the edge of my seat and I'm sure anyone who enjoys a good Christian suspense will be kept on the edge of their seats as well.

My only sadness in reading this book is that I didn't read the first book in the series first, not that it was necessary, but now, I will definitely pick up a copy of For Such a Time as This which was based on the story of Queen Esther meets the west. The third book in the series will be titled She Shall Be Praised and was inspired by Proverbs 31.

I would highly recommend Remember Me When to anyone who loves Romantic Suspense filled novels. It is a story filled with faith and trust and the message presented was very well done.

On a 5-Star Scale - 5 BIG Stars!!!!!

I would like to thank Sarah Reck and Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Group for my Advanced Reader Copy of Remember Me When. I received my ARC copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,