The Express Bride

Kimberley Woodhouse

Jul 2019 · Daughters of the Mayflower Book 9 · Barbour Publishing

About this ebook

The Wilderness Is a Great Place to Hide
Jacqueline Rivers manages a Pony Express station in 1860 Utah territory after her father’s death. There are daily stresses placed on her in this unconventional role—and now a government official is asking her to sniff out counterfeiters. When Elijah Johnson passes through on the stage while on an exhausting quest to find his boss’s heir, he doesn’t want to leave the beguiling station manager. In fact, he may never leave when caught in the crossfire of the territory’s criminal activities. Jackie can’t decide if Elijah is friend or foe. Can she remain strong when secrets of the past and present are finally unearthed?

Join the adventure as the Daughters of the Mayflower series continues with The Express Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse.

More in the Daughters of the Mayflower series:
The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1620 Atlantic Ocean (February 2018)
The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1725 New Orleans (April 2018)
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep – set 1760 during the French and Indian War (June 2018)
The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1774 Philadelphia (August 2018)​
The Cumberland Bride by Shannon McNear – set 1794 on the Wilderness Road (October 2018)
The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall – set 1814 Baltimore (December 2018)
The Alamo Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1836 Texas (February 2019)
The Golden Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1849 San Francisco (April 2019)
The Express Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1860 Utah territory (July 2019)
 

Ratings and reviews

This is the 9th novel in the multi-author Daughters of the Mayflower series and 4th by Kimberley Woodhouse, and this is the best so far! The author gives us a wise young protagonist who is mourning the recent death of her father. The setting is Utah Territory in 1860. There is more than one mystery, involving both Elijah, the man searching for his boss and mentor’s daughter, and discovering who is passing US Treasury Notes through the Pony Express stations, including the one that Jackie aka Jack (Jacqueline) is running since her father passed. Spiritual lessons, one in particular, give heightened value to this novel. Elijah has worked for Charles over a decade. He has become a good Christian man and businessman as a result. Charles has been an excellent mentor, but his health is failing and if he doesn’t take a long break, he won’t live much longer. He asks Elijah to do one huge project as he takes a break from working per his doctor’s orders. When Charles was much younger, his beloved bride left him while he was in yet another drunken rage. She took their infant daughter whose name he didn’t even know. After a pastor literally pulled him from the gutter and helped him stop drinking and grow in faith in the Lord, he wanted to make up the past to Anna. All he learned through the years, after hiring several private investigators, is that she went west, probably into Mexico territory; that her trail dried up at the Rocky Mountains. The only thing he ever received was an anonymous note telling him that Anna had died, and that her last couple years were very happy. Twenty-six years after Anna left, it is Charles’ hope that his protégé, now his business partner, can find his daughter while he is still alive. He is one of the wealthiest men in America and loves and believes in the Lord. He can’t make it up to Anna, but he to make it up to his daughter before he dies. Jackie has chosen to let the Pony Express owners continue to consider her as “Jack”, so she doesn’t lose the station and the young riders who have become as family to her. When James Crowell, secretary to the US Secretary of the Treasury rents a room, he asks for her help with a situation that her father had been helping him with. There are many, many forged treasury notes being used in the west, primarily in or sent through local Pony Express stations. The loss to the government is huge, and they are trying to find who is passing the forgeries and arrest them. This novel is captivating! I enjoyed the characters, especially Jackie, and appreciate how hard it was for Charles to tell Elijah about his past and how dedicated Elijah is to fulfill Charles’ dream. I especially enjoyed learning about the day-to-day workings of the Pony Express. Most of all, I enjoy how those at this Pony Express station love the Lord and study the Bible together, a practice Jackie’s father had begun years earlier. Seeing Jackie, Elijah, and Charles demonstrate their faith through prayers and actions is a vital (but not overbearing) inclusion, as are the spiritual lessons! The end is satisfactory, and I am looking forward to the next one! I highly recommend this novel, and this series, to fans of Christian historical fiction in which the historical period is well-researched along with mysteries and romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

The Express Bride. Woodh.ouse Setting is of 1860.a carriage to take her bundle of joy, and jewelry when she was a treasure to her husband. The threats and bruises she’s wanting to get as far away as she could. To running a pony express station in Utah at the beginning of the civil war, to others she is know as Jack. The work is hard, and hopes she won’t be discovered. Then Elijah comes looking for the lost daughter of his employer, the clue he was given had to be wrong, a good historical era of time when we had the pony express. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion by Net Galley and Berkeley.

The Express Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse Historical Fiction of the American West in the mid 19th century. In this new story in the Daughters of the Mayflower series there is excitement from the beginning pages. Crimes to be solved, a runaway, romance, secrets and mysteries from long ago. The old old story of sick souls and the redemption offered by God. I loved the real historical details of the Pony Express, never ending action and especially the gospel story throughout this book and series. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars

About the author

Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than twenty fiction and nonfiction books. A popular speaker and teacher, she’s shared her theme of “Joy Through Trials” with more than half a million people across the country at more than 2,000 events. Kim and her incredible husband of twenty-five-plus years have two adult children. She’s passionate about music and Bible study and loves the gift of story. You can connect with Kimberley at: www.kimberleywoodhouse.com and www.facebook.com/KimberleyWoodhouseAuthor