Ascension of Larks

I am not sure the title is apt for the book.  It does have some meaning to the plot, but a bigger player than the larks is a  Dall porpoise.

 But more on that later.

Ascension of Larks is one of the best books I have read for a while.  Maggie Henry, Marco Firelli and Lena Firelli have been friends since college.  Maggie is a renowned photographer with many awards to her name.  Marco is equally renowned architect as well, and Lena is the one who earned Marco's heart.  Maggie is finishing a photoshoot at a coffee plantation in Central America when she hears that Marco was drowned in an accident in Puget Sound. She rushes to Lena's side to be there for her and the children.

Rachel Linden has presented her readers with the most captivating novel to come out for a while.  In delving into the lives of Marco, Lena, and Maggie, she unearths some depths to each of the characters that some authors would have left unplumbed.  She even brings in a minor player who adds so much to the landscape of the plot of the book, it just would not have been as good without them.

Rachel has done exquisite research especially in some of the customs of the early years of the San Juan Islands.  When Maggie takes the children to a museum, they find a display of a beckoning ceremony, and the children decide they want to do one for their father.  They build a fortress under the fir trees and put things that were important to their father inside the little fortress.  They gather together and have Maggie say a few things to show Marco's spirit where he needs to go.  Soon after, a Dall's porpoise shows up in the sound, and the children believe it is their father coming to greet them.

I am having a hard time giving some idea of what the book is about without spoiling it for other readers who haven't had a chance to read it yet. One thing about this book, faith is very much an undertone to the book rather than the driving force.  What faith is portrayed makes this book all the more winsome.  I must say it is a five-star book, two thumbs up, and a Dall's porpoise to greet you.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson publishers for allowing me to read and review this book.