A Mark of Grace, Secrets of the Canyon #3 by Kimberley Woodhouse Woodhouse

 

Book description:

When everything crumbles, her chance for a new beginning hangs in the balance.

Ruth Anniston survived an injury that left her physically scarred, broken, and angry at God. Now, she finds herself working behind the scenes as a kitchen and dining room supervisor at the El Tovar Hotel, hidden away from curious eyes and with little hope of finding love. When money begins to disappear from the hotel, Ruth's entire livelihood is put at risk when she lands on the list of suspects.

Frank Henderson has at last succeeded in obtaining his dream job as head chef at the El Tovar. But competition in the kitchen is fierce, and one mistake could cost him his future. As the thefts at the hotel continue, and his affection for Ruth grows, Frank's career--and his heart--are in jeopardy.

As tensions run high, Ruth and Frank must work together to save the El Tovar. They find themselves growing closer . . . but can their combined ingenuity overcome the odds against them?

My review:
   No offense to the author, but for some reason I didn't think this book would be as good as the other two were. 

  I was wrong. In my not so humble opinion, this was the best of the three. Of course there is the fact that the setting of the books and the workings of the hotel and Harvey girls has become very familiar, and the reader knows a lot about all that, so the author doesn't have to spend as much time setting up the setting and all that.

  This book was different from the other two in that the two main characters have been in all three books, and did not have to be introduced. Ruth has seemed somewhat of a stern unapproachable character in the previous two books, and that may have played into my thinking that this may not be as good as the other two books. But it definitely gave the author more time for character development.

  I love mystery and suspense, and this book had a lot of both. The reader knows both what is going on and who the bad guy is, but there is a lot of suspense as you wonder what is going to happen next, and if Ruth, Frank, and their boss will ever get to the bottom of things before the hotel is ruined forever. In the labels section of blogger, where I first post my book reviews, I labeled the book as "read in one sitting", and I did read it in one sitting. Once I started reading, I didn't put it down except for a few breaks.

 As much as I loved the mystery/suspense angle of the book, the book has a lot of spiritual "meat" in it. Not only is this author amazing with the historical accuracy in her books, she definitely does not shy away from making her books obviously and unapologetically Christian.

  Ruth struggles throughout most of the book about her injuries and scars from a mountain lion attack. She has built walls and backed off from friends, and has caused Frank to love her from afar as he tries to be her friend. Though Ruth is a fictional character, there is much to be learned about grace, along with the sufferings of Job in the book....enough to make me think on some things I need to think on. Which is most likely the author's intent.

 Slight spoiler: the bad guys are eventually caught, Ruth patches up her relationship with God, and of course the guy gets the girl. And we leave the great El Tovar Hotel....which still exists, by the way.

 This was a great series that had plenty of mystery and suspense, with a lot of Biblical truths and romance all through the series, coming to an end in this last - and best - book of the trilogy.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Kimberley Woodhouse (www.kimberleywoodhouse.com) is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in the Poconos, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.

 A Mark of Grace will be available January 3 from Bethany House Publishers, part of the Baker Publishing House.

 Check out the first two books in the series:

                                                               Book #1

Book #2