Marlo Schalesky, Veil of Fire

Veil of Fire

Marlo Schalesky

River Oak, May 2007, $9.99

ISBN: 1589190777

In 1894 in Hinckley, Minnesota, the fire came out of nowhere turning the town and a few nearby towns into a raging inferno.

Dressmaker Nola Hanson and her twelve-year-old daughter Ellie Jean are trying to escape by riding a horse towards a train that they hear. Nola passes her daughter through the window of a car into the hands of Arla Anderson before being engulfed by the flames. Arla has her own guilt knowing she had locked up her daughter Rakel, but failed to free her in time when the flames engulfed her house.

Josef Strom watches his beloved wife Maggie die in the blaze. He manages to reach a gravel pit filled with water while holding on to his baby Emma. The preacher's wife tells him to keep soaking himself and his daughter as he ponders why God would allow a cow to live and a mother to die. The preacher's wife tells them they are the remnant who must go on.

When the inferno ends, no one is the same. Ellie Jean mourns her mom while Arla mourns her daughter. Josef mourns his wife while caring for his child. However, rumors spread of a monster living in the shadows. Could that essence be a ghost or the mythical fire-starter or someone hurt by the deadly blaze mentally unable to come home? None of the remnant's life will ever be the same?

This is an exhilarating inspirational historical saga based on a real event. Readers will feel the heat of the fire when Nola tries to save the lives of her daughter and self, the immediate impact on Josef and Arla, the mystery of the "monster", and the loss of faith by some while others are strengthened by just being alive. Readers will appreciate this deep look at the remnant struggling with why.

Harriet Klausner