In book four of the Doctor Chaney Duvall Series, Chaney is visiting the South in the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era and sees a world that is unlike anything she has ever seen before.  Coming from a very comfortable home, she is facing challenges she has never had to deal with and she realizes they greatly overshadow her own personal struggles.  Doctoring is her life and worldly desire, while serving God is her first love.  Blind to color and gender, she maneuvers through a war-torn area that struggles just to live day to day.  Full of compassion, she sees hope and promise in the darkest of places.  Shiloh, her male nurse, stands by her as her guardian angel, encouraging and protecting her.  Also a main character, Shiloh is slowly uncovering pieces of his past. 

The author, Lynn Morris, is superb at bringing to life the five senses as she describes this Antebellum world.  The pacing is lively and full of action.  Being the fourth book in the series, the main characters continue to grow in depth in the hands of this prolific author; however, it can still be read as a standalone adventure.  This story includes a historical figure who is bigger than life.  Be sure to read the Author’s Notes at the end for a few more details about this figure.  Ultimately, this story weaves a tale of selfless love coming full circle back to the love of God for people. 

Lynn Morris has written at least 20 books.  There are eight in this series with three more in a separate series complimenting the story of Chaney and Shiloh.  I look forward to reading the next book in this series, the Secret Place of Thunder.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  A city in the south has much damage from the ravages of war; war stories of men dead, some details, not gory; a white woman beats the back of a black man’s legs with a riding crop, some physical damage; man remembers a time when another man saved him in a battle, beheading, a little gory; young man recalls when he was attacked two times, some physical damage and description; young man recalls a story of a house burning down, one person disappeared; man remembers the killing part of war, some detail; a mock battle with pistols and blank bullets; five men threaten to kill three men; post war atrocities against white southerners, women accosted and men beaten; men discuss acting in violence toward another man; an overheard conversation that a man had been shot and was bleeding; a man harassed for the color of his skin, shot and murdered; a fight between many men at a funeral; three men arrested and a mob starts beating them up, several injuries, somewhat descriptive but not gory; man threatened to beat up several men if they didn’t allow him to see somebody; man punched another man and shook him violently; a remembered story of a man killing another man who was beating his wife to death; man slaps another man knocking him down, a little blood; men dress-up in costumes in-order to cause fear to others; woman holds a gun pointed at three men who came to attack the two women; two men have guns and are willing to use them to protect others; details of a surgery on a hand, not gory.

Sex/Nudity:  A woman remembers 2 kisses from a man.

Mature Subject Matter:

War, social conflict, slavery, ethics, discrimination, decapitation, martial law, fraud, the KKK, physical deformity.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Cocaine is used as a local anesthetic on a hand, medical only, not ingested.