A Perfect Silhouette

Judith Miller is one of my favorite authors and I will grab her books to read, especially when I need some down-time.  But when I read A Perfect Silhouette, I was thoroughly disappointed. There was so much Judith left unfinished.  Maybe she was leaving room for a sequel to this book, or to make a series, but there were unresolved issues in the plot and I cannot give this book more than three stars.

Mellie has moved to Manchester, NH, to work in the textile mills so that she can help support her sister. As part of her job at the mill, she has to live in a boarding house run by someone employed by the mill to offer a bed to sleep in and three or four meals a day.  There are a strict curfew and rules about church attendance and general conduct.  That much doesn't bother Mellie so much, but she knows she needs to make more money than just her wages at the mill.

Shopping with the girls one night, Mellie sees a photography studio and goes into the store to see if the owner would like to have her do scherenschnitte silhouettes for customers who cannot afford photographic portraits.  As a demonstration of her skill, she does a silhouette of the owner in just a few moments.  They come to an agreement where she pays him two cents out of every silhouette she sells.  It is absolutely a great boon for his business.

While working one night, she meets Morgan Stark, the son of the owner of the mill where Mellie works.  He is working under an assumed name at the mill so that he can get a feel for the conditions the employees are working under.  Because he is an engineer, he is included on a project for a circular loom that makes seamless fabric for feed bags.

Even though Morgan is falling in love with Mellie, he still has to keep his identity protected but his guilt over not telling Mellie the whole truth is eating him inside out.  When she does find out, it is in the most awkward way possible and Morgan has a long row to hoe to win her back. 

Like I said before, the book has an abrupt ending.  Throughout the book, I got the feeling that something was wrong with Mellie's sister, but there is no resolution there.  There are several other girls who have some unresolved issues as well, and the reuniting of Mellie and Morgan isn't as satisfying as it could have been.  It is almost as if the author got to the point where she had enough pages and just tied a bow on it. I am hoping that there will be more novels to come out to make this a series and fill in some of the gaps.

My thanks go to Bethany House and NetGalley.com for allowing me to read and review this book.  Three stars