A Land of Sheltered Promise

June 1, 2005
Kirkpatrick strings together three linked novellas, titled "Faith," "Hope," and "Charity" and set on a ranch in Oregon called the Big Muddy. "Faith" is a pioneer tale a little reminiscent of Dorothy S. Johnson's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," about the wife of a man falsely convicted of murder. Ominously enough, "Hope" is set in 1984, and features the goings-on of a New Age cult, which include an act of bioterrorism. "Charity" is a contemporary tale of rebirth, as several starry-eyed youth workers, and one cynic, descend on the old ranch, intent on turning it into a youth camp. Kirkpatrick's several trilogies of nineteenth-century Oregon remain popular, and while " Sheltered Promise" isn't her best work, her many readers will want it. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)