When a beloved author switches genres, I go into the new book with a bit of trepidation. And so I put off opening Laurie Alice Eakes’s first contemporary novel, for fear I wouldn’t love it as much as I’ve loved her historical fiction.
I needn’t have worried. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.
The Mountain Midwife has everything–romance, suspense, mystery. You root for Ashley and Hunter from the beginning, not only for their budding relationship, but for the other issues complicating their lives. As Ashley serves the women of Appalachia, it puts you in mind of the midwives and their patients in BBC’s Call the Midwife. And on top of it all, I loved that Ashley was a descendant of the characters in Laurie Alice’s historical The Midwives series. (And there is even a subtle appearance of a descendant from her The Cliffs of Cornwall historical series!)
Laurie Alice proves that a good writer, a good storyteller, transcends historical or contemporary. Once again I know that whatever she writes, I will read.