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Essie Spreckelmeyer is somewhat of a legend in her hometown of Corsicana, Texas. As the founder of the Corsicana Velocipede Club and running her father’s oil business, Essie’s outrageous costumes for bike riding, as well as her often eccentric behavior no longer surprised the townspeople. After a disastrous affair of the heart, Essie had long lost her dream of a husband and babies and embraced Christ and spinsterhood instead. Tony Morgan was the second son of the Morgan Oil company baron. Upon his father’s death, Tony was disinherited and ordered to leave his family home by his older step-brother who was left everything. Tony took his mother’s maiden name of Bryant, shaved mustache and beard, and traveled to Corsicana to find a job at Spreckelmeyer’s - Sullivan oil company. Starting at the bottom, he knew if given a chance he could work his way up the ladder and restore both his name and eventually his fortune. Only one thing stood in his way – Essie Spreckelmeyer who seemed to have taken an instant dislike to the handsome drifter. The lines were drawn, the sparks were flying, and the battle of wills was on! *** Ms. Gist’s characters, are well-defined, generally very wise and almost always having a great sense of humor. While ranked as being ‘inspirational’ her books are not at all preachy and she does not use numerous quotes from the bible to impart Christian beliefs. Instead, her characters (most of them) embrace the lessons allowing the story itself to give food for thought. Essie is smart, independent and born way ahead of her time as far as standing up for women’s rights, and opinionated – I’d liken her to the Gloria Steinam of her generation. Essie had once dreamed of marriage and babies to a handsome fellow, but unfortunately when she had fallen in love, the object of her affection turned out to be a cad. Consequently, while Tony was definitely attractive, she was gun shy and could or would not never ever want to trust her heart again. Tony was frustrated, he’d never tried so hard to win another’s trust and while around Essie he just couldn’t seem to do anything right to please her. Their battles, whether over checkers, racing, or any number of physical/mental activities ended up being just that – battles. But when the real battle came for saving Tony from the hangman’s noose for a murder he was framed for came about, he couldn’t have asked for a better supporter, than Essie. The supporting characters were plentiful as well as colorful, and added much to the richness of the tale which included scheming, vileness, sweet romance, and a lot of laughs. I especially loved Mrs. Lockhart, who recognized and kept Tony’s secret identity as she coached him how to romance Essie by having him read plots in her romance novels. The underlying message of forgiveness and trust was a lesson that both Tony and Essie needed to be learn. Purely a stand-alone though a follow-up to Ms. Gist’s COURTING TROUBLE, this continuation of Essie’s life is a most satisfying and lovely conclusion. Having considered myself lucky to have discovered this author from the very beginning with A BRIDE MOST BEGRUDGING, I have eagerly awaited the publication of her novels. Ms. Gist has since proved herself to be a consummate story teller using well-researched backgrounds, and blending in her fiction admirably along with actual events. A word to the wise – Ms. Gist is a talent you must discover for yourselves and any one of her books, which are all stand-alone would be a perfect start! Marilyn Rondeau – Reviewers International Organization (RIO) |
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE
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