The Chapel Car Bride

I love when I pick up a novel for one reason and end up learning about the history of things I had never heard about. In the case of Judith Miller's latest novel, The Chapel Car Bride, the history of chapel cars is the setting for this historical romance novel. Pastor Layton Irvine and his 19-year-old daughter Hope journey along the railroads visiting the towns that they pass and offer a traveling church if you will to the residents of those towns known as the Herald of Hope chapel car. It is a service the railroads provide free when they can and often times requires the chapel car to stay on the spur line, until the next train can take them a bit further.

This has offered Hope the opportunity to travel with her father and minister to the children of these small towns where churches haven't even been built yet. With their final destination in the small town of Finch, Hope and Layton offer more than just spiritual teachings. They also help out the town's residents in whatever needs to be done such as repairing buildings, bringing food to those who need it and befriending those families struggling to find hope in their small town existence.

The town of Finch is a mining town that is wary of outsiders. They have had their share of people coming to town trying to take advantage of them or to steal their very livihoods while the families struggle to make ends meet while working whatever hours the Finch Mine and Company offers. Lately with a slow down in production and unsafe working conditions, the mine is struggling to make a profit. Luke Hughes is one of those men who is trying to find a way to help his family after losing his father in a mining accident he believes that the Finch Mine and Company is responsible for. It seems as if the owner of the mine have sent Kirby Finch, his son to find out what has been going on at the mine and to ensure that no one is considering forming a strike against them. Kirby is being forced into the position due to his gambling debts in Pittsburgh which his father consistently has to bail him out of.

Hope Irvine believes that if the mining company would be willing to pay for the repairs needed in the mining cabins they provide for the workers, it might just be the thing to appease the workers and create a more friendly working environment and open up negotiations between the two. Kirby sees it as advantageous to offer small concessions but his has his mind set on improving his own lot in life, even if that means making some cuts in mining safety and finding other resources to supplement his income so he can leave this small town, and Hope just might make passing the time worthwhile.

I received The Chapel Car Bride by Judith Miller compliments of Net Galley and Bethany House Publishers. This is such a great novel because it conveys the living conditions of those living in a small mining town and how they would find ways to make a living when faced with lay offs. Hard to believe some mining companies would take advantage of these workers and force them to take their wages in supplies provided by the mining companies stores and raise the prices to keep the workers in debt to the company so they have to find other ways to make a living if they hope to move on. I give this novel a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion and can't wait to read more novels from Judith Miller!

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The Chapel Car Bride by Judith Miller

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