SECRETS OF MY HEART by TRACIE PETERSON is an exciting romantic suspense novel with an excellent Christian message. We are reminded that people are not always what they seem to be. The situation between whites and Indians and former slaves is also addressed.
The story starts in Portland Oregan in 1879 with the widowed Nancy Pritchard mourning a husband she never really came to know in the eight years they spent together in a loveless marraiage.
Rather stubborn and rebellious, Nancy has always been determined to live her own life without any interference. She opens a boardinghouse for ladies so that she can stay where she is rather than go back to her parents' farm.
With the winding up of her husband's estate, Nancy works with lawyer Seth Carpenter, who is an old family friend who has recently moved to the area.
I love the characters, especially the strange mix of women living in Nancy's boarding house, and also the way the author has such great insight into human nature.
It is a story about living in truth with one another and before God, the importance of forgiveness, and the redemption that can only come from the Lord.
It is a most enjoyable book and one I can highly recommend.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Secrets of My Heart is an excellent book! If you have read Tracie Peterson's series"Heart of the Frontier" you will recognize some of the characters in this book. I loved the story of Nancy's loss of her husband, then meeting up with her former friends from childhood. Seth had always been her brother Gabe's best friend, but now that they are adults, the friendship between Nancy and Seth grows into much more even though there is legal trouble all around them. With frightening threats against her family they still come to a great and exciting end. Great story, beautifully written!