4.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. I was excited and pleased to receive this book. I seldom read historical romances, but last year read one of her three books set in Nova Scotia with a historical background. I found it such a great read I immediately purchased the other two and was riveted to their pages. The talented author, Genevieve Graham, focuses on interesting and tragic events in Canadian history and informs and enlightens us with her careful research and a vivid sense of place and time.

At the Mountain’s Edge is an epic, poignant tale set in 1897 at the height of the Klondike Goldrush. It takes us to Dawson City, swarming with gold prospectors, fortune hunters, con-men, prostitutes and thieves. Liza Peterson travels with her parents and brother from Vancouver to the Klondike. Her father owned a successful general store in Vancouver and felt a similar business in Dawson City would make their fortune.

On the way, Liza meets Ben, a member of the North-West Mounted Police. The journey North is difficult and beset by great tragedy for Liza and others. On reaching Dawson City Ben and Liza develop a friendship, but a romance fails to flourish because Ben is haunted by a dark past. He has been warned that as a Mountie he must keep his reputation for a bad temper in check. Being quick to anger, he hopes to redeem himself through hard work, being an exemplary Mountie, and by keeping people safe in the dangerous northern town. Liza is growing into an astute businesswoman and both she and Ben have obstacles in their path to a romantic relationship. Later they meet up in Frank, Alberta in 1903 and face a devastating natural disaster.

The author writes vividly about notable Canadian events in a way which makes you feel you are witness to historical tragedies and disasters. She has previously given us a picture of what it must have been like during the expulsion of the Acadians, the Halifax Explosion, and life along the south shore of Nova Scotia during WW2. Her stories are about family, love, heartache, loss, grief and heroism during difficult times, and populated by interesting and believable characters.