The Law and Miss Mary

It is a very sweet and inspiring story. I've enjoyed it very much! It has an excellent plot and great characters. I highly recommend you to read it - It is a page-turner !!! I didn't give it 5 Stars because, in my opinion, this book lacked romance a bit! I would like to see more romance between Mary and Captain Benton!

In The Law and Miss Mary, Mary Randolph and her brother, James, travel to St. Louis on a secret mission to discover who is skimming funds from their family's steamship line and allowing the steamers to fall into disrepair. James, posing as the new manager, plans to go alone, but Mary learns the man she expected to marry only wanted her for her dowry, and she convinces her parents to let her go too. Brokenhearted, she longs for a godly man who will love her for herself, but doubts that could happen since her tall, skinny shape, plain face, and outspoken personality make her undesirable. Samuel Benton, Captain of the St. Louis Police Department, who methodically strives to build a powerful reputation for himself, suspects the Randolphs are behind the steamship company's woes. Soon after meeting them, he escorts Mary to the city's shopping district, where they happen upon a young orphan who's caught stealing food to keep from starving. Mary stops Sam from arresting the child by paying for his food and taking him home. When she learns there are more orphans with similar problems, and their plight is hopeless due to the cruel behavior of civil authorities, she begins a quest to save as many of the destitute children. Sam agrees with her in principle but must enforce the laws that deny the orphans' basic rights. As Mary continues to fight for them, he tries to help and soon reaches a point where he must examine his attitudes toward his actions and career and God Himself. And he is forced to choose between Mary's dream of providing an orphanage to care for the children, or pursue his goal of marrying the mayor's daughter and succeeding her father into office. The characters in The Law and Miss Mary are genuine with strengths and flaws that added to their depth and vulnerability. Though Mary's poor self-esteem makes her fall short in one area, she exhibits wonderful compassion, tenacity, and courage. Sam's shallow, life-long goals overshadow his strong sense of honor and generosity, but when challenged with the children's difficulties, his true personality comes to light. The despicable antagonists provide a great source of conflict, and James's warmhearted wisdom and encouragement is precious. God is the faithful and loving Provider who opens the eyes of His imperfect vessels to truths that set them free and enables them to help Him manifest His perfect plan for children and adults alike. Sweet, sweet, sweet.