Starred review from July 10, 2017
In the dynamic conclusion to Peterson’s Heart of the Frontier series, Mercy Flanagan has matured into a strong yet tender-hearted midwife eager to help the weak and defend the downtrodden. Childhood trauma suffered during the 1847 Whitman Massacre in Oregon helped develop her love for the Indians and desire to see peace between them and the white settlers. Despite fears of violence, she moves away from her sisters to help their pregnant friend Eletta, who has been weakened by illness, and meets Eletta’s brother-in-law Adam. Though an earlier broken engagement initially makes Adam cautious about opening up to Mercy, they come to depend on one another when hostilities break out between the local militia and the friendly Tututni tribe. Peterson excels at painting a scene, bringing alive both the rugged frontier landscape and the people in conflict over it. Mercy and Adam, along with her sisters Grace and Hope (best discovered in the two earlier books in the series), put feet to faith as they follow God’s will through emotional and physical danger. This is a powerful completion to an engaging, spiritually sensitive series.