Dorothy Garlock, River Rising

Dorothy Garlock, River Rising - April Asbury leaves a big city hospital where she worked as an emergency room nurse to work in the small town of Fertile as Dr. Forbes' office nurse. On the surface, Fertile seems like a serene little town where neighbor helps neighbor survive the Great Depression. She meets Joe Jones when her car breaks down, forcing her to walk until she finds herself in a field with a bull. Joe rescues her and takes her into town where she rents a room at Mrs. Poole's and starts work in Dr. Forbes office.

She begins to sense that the postcard prettiness of the town masks secrets that people want kept hidden. Dr Forbes is in love with a woman most people would consider black and is not allowed to legally marry her. Mrs. Poole's brother Fred spies on April when she is naked in her room and Mrs. Poole is going through with a diabolical plan that could destroy innocent lives. April is afraid to give her heart to Joe because she thinks he is a flirt while Joe thinks April would not want to get involved with a poor farmer. When the river threatens to flood the town, many secrets and feelings finally see the light of day.

Dorothy Garlock is the queen of Americana tales and RIVER RISING is a perfect example of her superior writing talent. The romance of April and Joe plays out against the manipulations and actions of the secondary cast who are drawn very realistically. There are multiple sub-plots that all tie to the main storyline that enables readers to feel what it was like in small Missouri town during the Great Depression.

Warner, May 2005, $12.95, 386 pp.

ISBN 0446693944

Harriet Klausner