The Brightest of Dreams

In this last book of the Canadian Crossings Series, Susan Anne Mason has tied up the series with a bow.  Quinten Aspinall is hired by his employer to go find his niece while he hunts for his siblings in Canada.  The hunt is not as easy as it seems and he has to resort to a bit of underhandedness to find the information he wants. 

The first person he finds is Julia, his employer's niece.  He finds her in a less-than-safe situation and takes steps to get her into more suitable housing.

Quinten's siblings had been put into an orphanage while his mother went to the workhouse, hoping to earn enough money to get them out.  The problem is that she will never earn enough money to get them out and they are shuffled to Canada before she knows what has happened to them. 

Quint finds his younger brother and sees the conditions he's living in.  His room is in the stable and his bed is straw.  When Quint finds the youngest brother, the boy has been badly beaten and in poor health himself.  Quint forcibly takes him away from the farmer and puts him up in the same boarding house as Julia. 

The years of this book are post WWI, the problems are that the placing agencies never go back to check on the children they have placed to be sure they are safe, well-fed, and treated equitably.  Susan has done her due diligence in researching the situations and conditions of the era.  The orphanages mentioned actually existed, and the harsh treatment of the children was somewhat based in fact. 

This is a five-star book with two thumbs up and a found relative.

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