Review of:  Endless Mercy

Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse

Bethany House Publishers, $15.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-7642-3250-3

Peterson and Woodhouse continue their Treasures of Nome series with the story of the youngest sister, Madysen.  While Madysen and Daniel’s romance take center stage, the authors continue to weave the ongoing tales of each of the Powell family members into the overarching study in family and faith.  Maddy is grieving the recent loss of her mother when her presumed-dead father shows up in Nome, complete with a second family [p. 17 ff].  As she and her sisters struggle to process this information and sift through their conflicting feelings towards their father, Maddy is tempted to run away from the home she loved and abandon her new sheep farm to become a star performer in a traveling circus [p. 48 ff].  She enjoys the attention and lavish gifts showed upon her by Buddy Merrick, the circus owner [p. 82 ff].  But is he sincere or just a trickster looking to use her for money?  Maddy’s feelings are further conflicted when she meets Daniel, the grandson of her wise mentor, Granny Beaufort, who has returned to Nome after fruitless years searching for gold in the Yukon [p. 31 ff].  Daniel befriends Madysen but has turned his back on God after experiencing life’s suffering [p. p. 43 ff].  Through their friendship, both learn to trust God and his Word to guide them and discover both peace and love result [p. 196 ff]  Peterson and Woodhouse do an excellent job of creating a believable cast of characters with plenty of heroes and heroines to root for, as well as evil conmen and criminals waiting for justice to be served.  Readers are advised to begin with the first book in the series to familiarize themselves with the many characters and backstory before continuing with subsequent installments.  [January 2021]