Those who have read Time and Again and Unclaimed Legacy, the first two books in the young adult time-travel trilogy, know that Abby Thomas, is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And you know that the summer is not going the way Abby had expected—but in a good way. For one thing, she meets a very nice guy named John Roberts. And for another, she discovers a strange computer program called Beautiful House that lets her fast-forward and rewind life. Not her own, of course, but those of the people who lived in Merri’s old house. And the Old Dears’ old house, and…well, any old house.
And now their computer program is starting to attract attention.
Since the program worked so well for the Old Dears’ family tree project, Abby’s college roommate Kate hopes it will help her find out more about her ancestor Ned Greenfield. And Kate’s fiancé Ryan thinks the program has lucrative commercial potential.
Abby and John reluctantly agree to help Kate, but only on the condition that she and Ryan promise to keep the program a secret, because if it fell into the wrong hands…well, no one wants Big Brother invading their privacy.
The two couples take a trip to the tiny town of Equality, set in the hills of southern Illinois and the breath-taking Shawnee National Forest. According to Kate’s research, Ned Greenfield was born there at a place called Hickory Hill.
The mayor, police chief, and townspeople are hospitable and helpful—until the topic of Hickory Hill comes up. They seem determined to keep them away, telling them, “There’s nothing there for you to see.”
Eventually they find Hickory Hill on their own—both the mansion and the lonely hill it sits upon. Built in 1834, Hickory Hill stands sentinel over Half Moon Salt Mine where the original owner John Granger accumulated his blood-tainted fortune.
Abby and her friends meet Miss Granger, Hickory Hill’s current eccentric owner, and they eventually get the chance to time-surf there. Their shocking discovery on the third floor concerning Kate’s ancestor Ned Greenfield is almost too much to bear. What they learn sends them racing to the opposite end of the state to find the missing link in Kate’s family tree. And there they are reminded that God is in the business of redemption—that one day he’ll make all things new.
Deborah Heal, the author of the Time and Again time travel mystery series, was born not far from the setting of her book Every Hill and Mountain and grew up “just down the road” from the setting of Time and Again.
Today she lives with her husband in Waterloo, Illinois, where she enjoys reading, gardening, and learning about regional history. She has three grown children, three grandchildren, and two canine buddies Digger and Scout (a.k.a. Dr. Bob).
She loves to interact with her readers, who may learn more about the history behind the books at her website www.deborahheal.com and her Facebook author page www.facebook.com/DeborahHeal.
My Thoughts
Abby's college roommate and best friend Kate is working on her family tree as a gift to her parent's. She is under the impression that the computer program Abby has been telling her about will give her the answers she is looking for. Abby, John and Merri agree to show the program and reveal the secret of time-travel. When Kate arrives at Merri's house she has a surprise for Abby. But Abby has an even bigger surprise for Kate.
After all their surprises are revealed about the time travel and Kate introduces her fiance' Ryan they all go to a small town Equality to research Kate's family tree. Kate's fiance' turns out to be somewhat snooty and appears to be wanting to change sweet Kate. Abby's friend John has no patience for Ryan's rudeness.
As they asked around to some of the towns people each time it came to a dead end when the asked about the old mansion Hickory Hill that owned by the owners of the Half Moon Salt Mines. Rumors have said the old mansion may have been part of the underground railroad.
What is this town hiding? Why do they want to keep them away from Hickory Hill?
The author has quite the imagination when it comes to time-travel and history. This story is an adventure into ones family history in the state of Illinois. Meeting some wonderful new characters along with revealing more than Kate had ever hoped to discover. Each book in this series has brought me to the belief of the possibilities of time-travel.
I highly recommend this book.
I rated this book a 5 out of 5.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author for review. I was in no way compensated fro this review. This review is my honest opinion.
Abby's college roommate and best friend Kate is working on her family tree as a gift to her parent's. She is under the impression that the computer program Abby has been telling her about will give her the answers she is looking for. Abby, John and Merri agree to show the program and reveal the secret of time-travel. When Kate arrives at Merri's house she has a surprise for Abby. But Abby has an even bigger surprise for Kate.
After all their surprises are revealed about the time travel and Kate introduces her fiance' Ryan they all go to a small town Equality to research Kate's family tree. Kate's fiance' turns out to be somewhat snooty and appears to be wanting to change sweet Kate. Abby's friend John has no patience for Ryan's rudeness.
As they asked around to some of the towns people each time it came to a dead end when the asked about the old mansion Hickory Hill that owned by the owners of the Half Moon Salt Mines. Rumors have said the old mansion may have been part of the underground railroad.
What is this town hiding? Why do they want to keep them away from Hickory Hill?
The author has quite the imagination when it comes to time-travel and history. This story is an adventure into ones family history in the state of Illinois. Meeting some wonderful new characters along with revealing more than Kate had ever hoped to discover. Each book in this series has brought me to the belief of the possibilities of time-travel.
I highly recommend this book.
I rated this book a 5 out of 5.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author for review. I was in no way compensated fro this review. This review is my honest opinion.
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