October 12, 2015
Eakes (Choices of the Heart) brings her historical Midwives inspirational romance series into a present-day setting, introducing Ashley, the latest in a long line of Cherrett/Tolliver midwives. Ashley Tolliver is well-known in her small Virginia mountain community as a woman to be trusted not only to deliver babies, but to nurture those under her care. Yet her town has little patience for her desire to concentrate attention on children of her own. When a very young mother arrives at her examination room long enough to give birth and then disappear with the baby, Ashley must bring all of her resources to bear in order to ensure the mother and child live. Her paths cross with reluctant hero Hunter McDermott, son of prominent Washington, D.C., lawyers, who comes to Brooks Ridge, Va., to solve a mystery of his own. Inconsistent in its demonstrations of faith, and rife with exaggerated stereotypes of Appalachian culture, the tale focuses primarily on protagonists’ heightened sense of self-discovery, more the result of extended inner reflection than the mysteries both are faced with or their budding romantic relationship. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, Steve Laube Agency