I've read Robin Lee Hatcher books for a long time.  I worked in a used book store for fifteen years where I was first introduced to her secular writings.  She's always had a way with words, and now, she has worked faith into her stories seamlessly.  

Olivia has moved to Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, after a rather bitter divorce in which her ex-husband used his wealth and power to wrest custody of their daughter from her.  Now he is dead and he has left no resources for their daughter, Emma.  Olivia has had to go to Florida and bring Emma back to Idaho.  Emma hates Olivia, hates her circumstances, hates the small town life, hates being away from her friends (who turn out to be fair-weather friends), and hates her life, in general.  Part of the issue is that her father poisoned her mind against her mother and mislead her about her mother's feelings toward her.  The one thing she did find palatable in Bethlehem Springs is the theater group. 

Tyler Murphy has been hired to investigate Olivia and Emma for Emma's paternal grandfather.  Tyler doesn't anticipate falling for the woman he's been scoping out.  He is involved in the theater company as a technician, so he had a front row seat to the dynamic between Olivia and Emma. 

One of the driving factors in this novel is a diary written by a local woman in the 1930s during the height of the Great Depression.  It also held the key to the reparation of Olivia's and Emma's relationship.  

I've read a very similar stories using a diary to describe what life was like in another period of history.  It seems that when a plot device is new, every author starts using it and then it becomes a trope.  It makes the story predictable and to a certain degree less enjoyable because of the predictability.  While Robin did an admirable job using the diary, it wasn't until deep into the novel the reason for the diary being included was explained.  The use of the boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back formula was another factor in the predictability of the story.  I still appreciate Robin's writings and will probably still pick up her books when they are offered. Four Stars. 

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.