Morning Sky

Set in Kansas in 1880, MORNING SKY centers on the Harban family in the town of Nicodemus (predominantly African American) and the Boyle family in Hill City (predominantly white). Lilly Verdue has traveled west to see her sister's family, the Harbans. More than a social visit, she's fleeing a promiscuous lifestyle in New Orleans and turns to her only relatives in Kansas. Ezekiel, her brother-in-law and head of the family, isn't happy to see Lilly because he knows her arrival signals some sort of trouble. An expert at manipulation, Lilly takes a position as housekeeper and cook for the family of George Nelson, a banker in nearby Hill City. This is a challenge for Lilly because she has to care for their three children (she doesn't like youngsters), and as a lady of leisure she isn't much into cooking or cleaning. Dr. Samuel Boyle moved his family out west from Kentucky and is the only physician for either town. His daughter Macia, who has fallen in love with the local blacksmith, is sent to New York City by her mother for a summer of education at the Ruthledge Academy of Arts and Languages, a school of distinction for young ladies. Each new student is forced to sign some extra "papers," which turn out to be a life insurance policy. Mr. Marvin Laird, a distant cousin of the Ruthledges, slips into their food or drink a drug that makes them sleep constantly. When the Boyles receive a letter that Macia is sick, they send Truth Harban, their housekeeper and cook, to accompany their daughter home. Eventually, Truth uncovers this sinister plot to keep Macia captive. In coordination with Silas, the African American stable hand at the school, Truth devises a means for the three of them to escape and return to Kansas. While Truth travels to New York, her older sister, Jarena, takes up Truth's duties at the Boyle home. Truth is engaged to newspaperman Moses Wyman, but Lilly decides that her niece is too young for this marriage and plots to put Jarena and Moses together. The scheming backfires and reveals the long-held family secret of an unexpected relationship between Lilly and Jarena. The theme of forgiveness is a strong aspect of this story. As Moses says about some of his past, "Now here's the most important part, Jarena: I wouldn't change one thing in my life. There's been pain and sorrow, but I know that God was always in control." From my standpoint the litmus test for this second title in the Freedom's Path series is to see how quickly I fall back in love with the characters from the first book, despite months of not reading anything about them. It transpired in an instant, and I immediately plunged back into the world of the 1880s; the experience was seamless and rich with drama. With MORNING SKY Judith Miller has created a remarkable story worthy of your reading attention. --- Reviewed by W. Terry Whalin

Aunt Lilly Verdue traveled from New Orleans to Nicodemus and was desperate. Her situation was mysterious. She carries a rabbit's foot and evil eye...items of voodoo magic. Yet she seems afraid of something...or someone. The Harbans lives would change with Aunt Lilly there. Lilly's brother-in-law, Ezekiel, was not at all happy to see her. He felt bitterness towards her and hoped she would go back to New Orleans or anywhere else far away. She has a way of creating trouble for people through her manipulating ways. Truth continued to work at the Boyles taking care of Mrs. Boyle, along with the household duties. Moses wants to marry Truth soon but what does Truth want? With Macia sick at the school her mother insisted she attend, Truth is sent to bring her home. This becomes a difficult, and dangerous, task. Evil lurks at the school and Truth discovers that things are not what they appear. Jarena fills in for Truth at the Boyles while she is gone. She longs to see Thomas again. Will that be possible? She hasn't received a letter from him for a long time. Then she receives news about him. Morning Sky is Book Two of the Freedom's Path series by Judith Miller. First Dawn is Book One of the series. Miller's detail of history and racial struggles in the late 1800's is accurate. She writes a suspenseful story that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next.

In historical fiction, it's key to fall in love with the characters and the setting. If the book is good, then you want to return to these characters over and over. MORNING SKY is one of these books. It is well-written and the characters spring to life from the pen of Judith Miller. I enjoyed the drama and the tension combined with a solid Biblical message about forgiveness. I recommend this FREEDOM'S PATH series and look forward to the next one.

Morning Sky is the second book in Judith Millers Freedom's Path Series about the Harban and Boyle families. Nicodemus, Kansas is settled by predominatly African-American familes while neighboring Hill City is mostly white. Exekiel Harban is doing his best to keep his family together following the death of his wife. Then Lily Verdue, his sister-in-law, arrives from New Orleans. Exekiel suspects Lily is running from someone, which doesn't surprise him one bit. A free spirited woman who makes her own rules, Lily is not the kind of person he wants living in the same house with his daughters. Before long, Lily starts to cause just the kind of trouble Exekiel feared. She tries to break up Truth's engagement to Moses Wyman, because she feels he would be better suited to Jarena. Nevermind that Jarena is in love with Thomas, who is serving in the army, fighting Indians. Lily is a woman of the world and knows what is best for her sheltered nieces. Dr. Boyle asks Truth to travel to New York to see about his daughter Macia, who is enrolled in an exclusive finishing school. Macia has been sick ever since reaching the city. Truth uncovers a diabolic scheme which could be fatal to her friend. The characters in Judith Miller's Morning Sky are so skillfully developed you will feel as if you know them as real people. Morning Sky is an intriguing story guaranteed to hold the readers attention from start to finish.

In 1880 Nicodemus, Kansas, two generations of Harbans live a quiet lifestyle when unwelcome Lilly Verdue arrives from New Orleans. Ezekiel, the Family patriarch, is unhappy to see his sister-in-law and demands she explain why she came to the quiet plains; Lilly refuses to say much about her past and her reason to hastily depart from the big city for a farming community. Though she plans to avoid scandal, Lilly thinks her niece Jarena is engaged to the wrong man, a soldier Thomas Grayson whom she loyally waits for his return while caring for her dad and her sister Grace. When Lilly meets Moses Wyman, she believes that though he is engaged to Truth, he is going to marry the wrong Harban, as she feels he and Jarena belong together. She decides to matchmake, which forces her to reveal the truth to her nieces. Needing escape, Truth travels to New York to bring home her ailing friend Macia Boyle from the academy she attends there only to find something more lethally sinister than illness there. Three years have passed since the events of FIRST DAWN, which enable the audience to see what has happened to the Harban family since then. They remain likable and for the most part admirable while along with a solid support cast bring the late Reconstruction Era Plains to life especially for Christian historical readers. Though the secret and the Truth trip to New York come late, these add suspense by "testing" the Harbans' Christian values including their core belief in God. Judith Miller in her second Freedom's Path tale provides a pleasurable Americana saga. Harriet Klausner