A Dream Rides By

January 1, 2010
Crosse turns in another crowd-pleaser, and those with an affinity for the authors beloved Dartmoor, the setting of her past historicals, will welcome this latest and its 1880s locale on the barren moorland. Heather, nicknamed Ling, has taught her parents to read, cultivated her speech, and now works as an assistant teacher, yet she still dreams of possibilities beyond the moor. Then the new Princetown Railways first steam train, a mesmerizing thing of noise and power, suddenly makes the outside world accessible. Powerfully written scenes of Ling and her heavily pregnant sister fighting through a fierce blizzard on the moor and a savage assault bring cinematic energy to this engrossing romance of passion and deceit sparked by a handsome stranger who risks his life to save Ling. Her heart is stirred, though she is a quarrymans daughter, and this outsider, educated and from a class she could never aspire to, . . . is the stuff of dreams. Fans will devour this and look forward to Crosses next dreamy tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)